Vibrational Anesthesia: A Key Tool for the Hair Specialist

Vibration and Pain Sensation:

Injections are a key part of being a hair loss specialist. I perform steroid injections, PRP injections and use a variety of local anesthetics to freeze (numb) the scalp (ie biopsies, hair transplants). One should strive to perform injections in as pain-free manner as possible. There are several ways to limit the pain of injections including going slowly with administration, using small gauge needles, adjusting pH, and warming solutions to be injected. I also use variety of vibration devices to distract pain during injections. 

Vibration helps block the perception of pain. According to the Melzack & Wall's "gate control" theory of pain, nerve fibers known as A-β nerve fibers (which transmit information from vibration & touch receptors in the skin) stimulate inhibitory interneurons in the spinal cord, which in turn decrease the amount of pain signals generated from A-δ and C fibers to the brain.

This photo shows two vibration devices I use at present. Other helpful methods of vibration include scratching the skin in the area where one is injecting.