Investigator‐blinded, controlled, and randomized comparative study on 1565 nm non‐ablative fractional laser versus 5% minoxidil for treatment of androgenetic alopecia

Abstract Background Characterized by progressive hair loss due to an excessive response to androgens, androgenetic alopecia (AGA) affects up to 50% of males and females. Minoxidil is one of approved medications for AGA but inadequate responses occur in many patients. Aims To determine whether 1565 nm non‐ablative fractional laser (NAFL) could yield better therapeutic benefits for patients with AGA as compared with 5% minoxidil. Methods Thirty patients with AGA were enrolled; they were randomly assigned into the laser or minoxidil treatment groups. For the laser treatment group, patients were treated by 1565 nm NAFL at 10 mJ, 250 spots/cm 2 with 2 weeks intervals for 4 sessions in total. For the minoxidil treatment group, 1‐milliliter of topical 5% minoxidil solution was applied to hair loss area twice a day. Results The primary outcomes were the changes in numerous hair growth indexes at the Week 10 as compared with the baselines. Both 1565 nm NAFL and 5% minoxidil led to significantly greater hair densities and diameters in patients at the Week 10 than the baselines ( p < 0.01). As compared with 5% minoxidil, 1565 nm NAFL showed significantly greater improvements in total hair number, total hair density (hair/cm 2 ), terminal hair number, terminal hair density (hair/cm 2 ), number of hair follicle units, and average hair number/number of hair follicle units. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that 1565 nm NAFL exhibits superior clinical efficacy in some aspects of hair growth to the topical minoxidil. It is a safe and effective modality in treating AGA.