Will An $859.99 Red Light Hair Helmet Stop Hair Loss? My Honest 3 Month Review
As an award-winning beauty editor, I put the CurrentBody LED Hair Regrowth Helmet to the test to see if it actually beats midlife hair loss and thinning.
You know the feeling: you’re standing in the shower, rinsing out your conditioner, and you lean back slightly so those annoying loose hairs don’t stick down your back or legs. You then vigorously rub your fingers together to clump together the wet wad of hair you’ve accumulated so that it doesn’t clog up your drain. And then as you flush said wad down the loo, you’re trying to reassure yourself that you’re not going bald!
Ah, yes, welcome to another midlife reality check! One that feels extra familiar to me. In fact, it’s so familar that when you google my name, the phrase ‘hair loss’ immediately follows thanks to how much I’ve written about it for publications like The Daily Mail and HELLO!.
The Hormonal Reality of Hair Loss in Midlife Women
If you’re a midlife woman, please understand that hormones and hair loss go hand in hand. You only have to read the forums on Reddit to know that. One woman shared: “I drop my hair on the ground in one big pile. I then try to hurry my shower, but I’m just presented with another few clumps while I put my leave-in spray in.” Another wrote: “Cleaning a mouse-sized clump of my own hair out of the drain every single morning is a physical countdown of my confidence disappearing down the pipes.”
My Personal Experience: Realising My Hair Loss Was Hormonal
When my hair started showing the classic signs of perimenopausal thinning and breakage - the timing felt like a cruel joke. It was during Covid; my dad was on life support (he thankfully and miraculously pulled through!); my husband was nursing his terminally ill uncle in America while I was back in the UK; I was home-schooling my kids and trying to hold down a job. To say it was a stressful is an understatement.
So I initially dismissed my hair thinning and breakage as stress. I was so concerned that my scalp was balding that I thought it might be alopecia, which my mum suffers from. But then when Covid passed, and my dad got much better, and the kids returned to school, and my husband returned to the UK and work started improving…my hair just continued to get worse. I could see my scalp more and more and the ends would constantly break. So if it wasn’t stress, what was it? It took writing a few articles about perimenopause and hormones for me to put two and two together…
Testing Red Light Therapy: My Honest CurrentBody LED Hair Regrowth Helmet Review
As an award-winning Beauty Editor, I have spent decades testing hundreds of hair products, trying to cut through all the brand marketing fluff so I can give you my honest thoughts about them. Do they work? Are they worth the money? And since my hair loss experience began, I have been road testing all the latest products, gadgets and gimmicks: scalp serums, tonics, supplements, masks - you name it, I’ve most likely tried it.
And while there are a handful of products that really do work (I’ll save those for another feature), when I was sent the CurrentBody Red Light Helmet to test, I was reluctant to believe that it would be one of them.
Even though I knew the helmet was FDA approved and the claims behind the technology were backed by data and science, I was sceptical that this would really work. Why? Strangely, the price point was to blame. Expensive at-home gadgets that promise miraculous-sounding results are rarely worth their money. You’re often better off going to a clinic for a more personalised treatment.
But as a journalist who values science over TikTok trends, I committed to a trial. And now that I’m three months into the process, I want to give you an update as to what has actually happened to my hair and what the experts think about the science behind the helmet too…
My 3-Month Verdict CurrentBody LED Helmet Verdict
Let’s start with one honest observation: three months in - I can’t actually tell if it has made any real difference. However, this must be caveated by the fact that I haven’t exactly been using it properly. The experts at CurrentBody claim that you should see a 123% increase in hair growth after 3 months, BUT in order for this to happen, you must be using the device once daily for at least 10 minutes. This is the part that I have not been doing…
Which leads to my second honest observation: 3 months has given me enough time to realise that while the helmet is lightweight and pretty comfortable considering how cumbersome it is, it doesn’t really fit into my routine that well. Which makes consistency - ie. the entire key to its success - feel like a chore and hard to keep up with in my routine.
Unlike LED face masks, which I find relaxing and soothing to wear while watching TV or reading in bed, I don’t really look forward to wearing the helmet. The kids think I look like an absolute lunatic walking around the house in what they now call - The Tron Helmet. The best option for me is wearing it while I’m working at my laptop. I just have to get used to the passing p*ss take comments if my husband or sons are at home at the same time.
I’ve tried wearing the helmet and my LED mask at the same time too - but that’s uncomfortable and an unrealistic habit that I would never stick to.
There’s also the issue of storing it. It’s big! It comes with a stand, which looks smart, but unless you’ve got a huge f*ck off bathroom or walk-in wardrobe like Kim K, it will probably just end up gathering dust on top of an erm, a trunk like mine or underneath your bed.
Why Holistic Health & Upgraded Haircare Matter Most
The irony is though, that actually, my hair is currently in the best health of its life. Well, its midlife. It’s shiny, it’s strong, and I’ve even managed to grow it past my bra strap - something I haven’t managed to do since I was in my twenties.
But this hasn’t been a quick fix. And you must remember that we can’t expect a $859.99 helmet to undo all of the complex hormonal shifts that we experience in midlife while we keep doing everything else the same.
While testing the helmet (probably around three times a week), I’ve been consistently taking care of myself too. I have daily stress, yes, don’t we all? But I haven’t drank alcohol for two years. I go to the gym most days, and I am using some really amazing hair products (K18 Hair Mask - I am looking at you as per). Oh and I take HRT. So let’s say, the helmet is likely the extra 5%-10% on top. The icing on the perimenopausal hair loss cake if you like…
What the Experts Say: Dermatologist Dr. Nicole Chiang Gives Her Verdict
I recently spoke to consultant dermatologist Dr. Nicole Chiang on my podcast, Smiling Gives You Wrinkles®, who confirmed that while there is “no harm” in trying red light therapy for perimenopausal hair loss, and that there is “great science” behind it, the effects for using an at-home device is nuanced and “quite small.”
“As a main treatment, I don’t tend to see significant improvement in the hair density even after six months down the line. There’s some evidence [it works], and if somebody has significant thinning, I would use it as an adjunct rather than the main treatment.” explains Dr. Nicole Chiang.
Dr. Nicole also notes that if you have thick hair, a bulky helmet like the one from CurrentBody can block the light from reaching the scalp, which may make it less effective and the results inconsistent. So she suggests trying a red light therapy comb - like this one from Hairmax - that parts the hair so the red light accurately and more precisely reaches the scalp skin and so may be more effective.
PROS & CONS OF RED LIGHT THERAPY FOR HAIR: A DERMATOLOGIST’S OPINION
🎬 WATCH THIS CLIP FROM SMILING GIVES YOU WRINKLES®
My Personal Experience: The Fixes That Actually Work
If you find yourself staring at all the hair in your shower plug after every shampoo and feel overwhelmed, I know it’s hard, but please try not to worry! Instead, look at your everyday habits. Think about your diet - are you eating enough protein? Are you keeping hydrated? Are you really stressed? How is your sleep? These lifestyle factors play a huge role in the health of your hair. And please review the products that you are using. Avoid any that contain drying silicones and sulphates. These can strip the hair and scalp of moisture making it more prone to dryness and breakage. Also try not to shampoo everyday - that can really dry out your scalp too!
And if you have the money, and the patience to try out a new long-term routine, there is no harm in trying a red light therapy hair device like the CurrentBody one. I also like the look of the Hairmax comb and the LED caps like this one from Beauty Pie which is currently on sale in the UK for £332. I just think they would be easier to store and pop on while you’re making a cup of tea or answering emails…
