In the war against baldness, weapons run the gamut?from spray paint and toupees to transplants and hormone-based drugs. Now the follically challenged can add laser technology to their arsenal.

Lexington International in Boca Raton, Fla., is conducting clinical trials on its HairMax LaserComb (www.hairmax.com). The handheld device uses low-level laser technology to awaken dormant hair follicles, reportedly sans side effects. According to Lexington’s medical director, Dr. Martin Unger, the LaserComb complies with the Food and Drug Administration’s safety standards for cosmetic devices and is now available online for $645. The current trials are designed to add teeth to the LaserComb’s boast that it will stop hair loss, regrow hair and improve scalp tissue.

Unger says results from a previous study involving men and women were promising. "In excess of 80 percent of patients significantly increased the amount of hair they had," he says. He also claims that preliminary results from the FDA trials are in that same ballpark. Unger expects the FDA’s final results to be in by the end of 2003 and, if they’re positive, the LaserComb hopes to bring about a new era of hair today, hair tomorrow.