You know how hard it is to find a review on this product where it wasn’t sponsored or at least given for free? Seriously, trying to find someone who actually spent their own hard earned money on this thing was near impossible – I wasn’t able to. But if you’re here, that means you did – you found me. Hi there.

A bit of balding background…

Let me explain how I got here. I always had very full bodied wavy hair. It’s light brown and thin, but there was always a lot of it – until about 3/4 years ago, when my hairdresser made a comment about how I used to have more. At first I wasn’t bothered, I had enough hair to knit a blanket for a baby elephant. A few less hairs actually made it easier to style.

However, year after year, I started noticing that during shedding season, more and more hair started to fall off. My inlets (yes, I have them, and yes I’m a girl) started to get bigger and bigger, to the point that I started to get kind of uncomfortable. To clarify: I still have a lot of hair, and no one who looks at me would say that I’m balding or suffer from hair loss. But I know I used to have more. And although no one would say I have reason to panic, the truth is I didn’t want to be one of those people that says “I wish I would have done something sooner to prevent this”.

So my search for something that would delay or stop the hair thinning – that actually comes naturally with age, that old b*tch – began. I tried vitamins, I tried specialty shampoos. Fully aware that does nothing to grow back hair, that only improves the quality of what hair you still have. And yet, I tried. No real results.

Then I came across a youtube video from Dr. Dray (the dermatologist, not the rapper) where she spoke about this product. I got excited. I saw the price. 1000$. Hell NO. Nope. Niet. No.

“Well, it’s the same price as a good computer”, Sir Fiancé said. “And if it’s the only thing that could work” without involving future surgery if worse came to worse… I started justifying this purchase to myself. It would be for both of us. And what if in 10 years time my hair would became so thin that it would make me self conscious to walk outside – I mean, wouldn’t 1000$ be worth it to prevent that?

What the hell. We ordered it. We ordered the fancy helmet from the States. With a complementary hair loss preventing shampoo and conditioner that I already know won’t work.

iRestore Laser Hair Growth System – the review

Let’s do this, FAQ style:

How does it work?

Our hair doesn’t just fall off our scalp one day and decides never to grow again. What happens is it starts thinning first. The new baby hairs start to grow more slowly, and get thinner and thinner at each cycle until they stop growing altogether. What low level laser therapy does, supposedly, is it stimulates the hair follicle so that it restores the thinning hairs to their normal, thicker condition, giving back the look of a fuller, denser hair and preventing the thinning hairs from disappearing altogether. There are several videos, including from dermatologists, that explain this better than I do, but my personal favourite is this one: Does Laser Hair Treatment Work? The Science Behind It.

The iRestore professional, that is the one I have, has 282 individual red low level lasers (that you can see in the picture, on the inside of the helmet). I wear this for 25 minutes (this comes with a timer) every other day.

Does the iRestore helmet hurt/ is it uncomfortable?

It does not hurt. By the end of the 25 minutes, your head is ever so slightly warmer, but it’s very superficial, it’s only in the top layer of hair, you actually can’t feel any warmth while using the helmet. The gray silicone parts you see on the helmet are malleable and they’re there to guarantee that the helmet fits and stays put on your head without moving around. But if you are like me where my big head is more than just ego, than those silicone parts may feel tight and slightly uncomfortable. It’s not bothersome to me but it is to my fiancé – he also has a big head (our poor future children) and by the end of the 25 minutes he can’t wait to take if off.

Does the iRestore system have any side effects?

Nope. Well, your wallet will weep. But other than that, none at all.

Stop beating around the bush, woman, does the iRestore system ACTUALLY WORK?

Yes. Yes it does. See it for yourselves.

iRestore before and after pictures:

Excuse the massive forehead. I tried to take pictures with the exact same angles but it’s difficult when you’re taking a selfie of your scalp. Also, the before pictures are kinda sh*tty because when I took them I didn’t plan on making a blog post with them – they were just to send to an iRestore specialist so he could tell if the product was appropriate for me.

The major difference is definitely on the right side of my hairline, which was the worse initially as well. On the left side it is harder to tell the difference, but I notice it clearly, and so does my mother. And if mother says, then it’s true.

I also have a lot more baby hairs near my front hairline. I started using this on the 23rd of September 2020, and those after pictures were taken today (29th January 2021). You’re expected to give it 6 months of consistent use before seeing a real difference, but I’m one of the lucky ones: I started noticing an improvement one and a half months in. Sir Fiancé has been using it for the same time, with the same consistency, and his results aren’t as obvious or drastic as mine, but there’s definitely a lot more (thick) baby hairs.

This helmet in particular works better than other laser products like the combs and brushes because it covers the full scalp surface. It’s not that these lights are more special, it’s just that there are more of them, and it’s more convenient to use then a comb.

Are you really not sponsored?

B*tch, I wish. I spent my own money. Well, mine and my fiancé’s – we split it 50/50. I don’t have an affiliate code for you. I earn nothing if you buy anything from iRestore. But there are a lot of people who do have discount codes – search for one of those if you are going to purchase anything from them.

Do your research though. Check other products in the market as well and choose what’s right for you, your lifestyle and your budget. I believe the success rates are high, but they are not 100%. It will never make the situation worse – but it is an expensive investment. I’m really glad I did it though. One less stressor. One less (major) thing to be self conscious about. Definitely worth the price of a computer.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section, I’ll be happy to answer them.