Dermatologist Dr. Jacknin: Your Scalp and Infrared Light

We recently had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jacknin, a San Diego-based dermatologist. Below, you'll find her thoughts on infrared light as a tool for scalp health!

Dr Jacknin: When we look into a mirror at the the hair on our head, we aren’t seeing the whole picture: there is an often-overlooked connection between those visible follicles and the scalp hidden beneath.  I like to think of this relationship as a garden, where the scalp acts as a soil for the hair to flourish. In other words, the skin on the top of our head is important to maintain if we wish to have healthy, resilient hair.

VOLO Beauty: What happens to damage scalp health?

Dr. Jacknin: "Unfortunately, our scalps take a beating every time we go out into the sun. Sun damage—exposure to UVB light—is visibly aging to our skin, especially on the parts of our body which are most susceptible to the sun’s rays (like our heads!). On a chemical level, exposure to UVB light decreases our type I procollagen production, which is a necessary precursor to healthy, youthful skin. That’s bad news for your scalp and your hair. 

VOLO Beauty: What do we do to protect our scalps, or reverse the damage?

Dr. Jacknin: Outside of protecting our scalps from the sun, this is where infrared light could come in. Infrared light therapy is a relative newcomer to the world of beauty, but it’s therapeutic potential is quickly becoming a popular area of study.  In March of this year, two researchers determined that far infrared light (FIR) treatment could actually reverse the damage caused by UVB light, in the same way that retinols and other topicals function.  The infrared light significantly increased procollagen production in mice with UVB damaged skin and collagen fibers—a chemical reversal.  The data is extremely promising. 

VOLO Beauty: That's so cool.

Dr. Jacknin:  Absolutely. Another recent study on infrared light also found that even a single treatment using FIR light can improve local bloodflow to the tissue, another key to a healthy scalp.  Research from the study suggests that just one FIR treatment significantly improved blood flow conditions in an arteriovenous fistula in patients on chronic hemodialysis. One could reasonably think that a treatment (like drying your hair) would produce a similar effect—it’d make for an interesting study! All things considered, the current research strongly suggests that infrared light is a powerful anti-aging tool.

For more information on Dr. Jacknin, you can find her at www.drjacknin.com

Dr. Jacknin kindly showed us the following studies: 

March 2017, Far Infrared Light and Photoaging

June 2017, Far Infrared Light and Blood Flow Conditions