Latisse, the prescription drug most famous for growing luscious eyelashes, could be a promising solution for thousands of men and women living with hair loss.

The medication (developed by Allergan, the same company that introduced the world to Botox and Juvederm) was initially released as a treatment for glaucoma under the name Lumigan. The drug was rebranded as Latisse in 2008, when doctors realized that patients were growing thick, luxurious lashes as a peculiar side effect to the eye care treatment.

Now, Allergan and some doctors in the United States have been testing Latisse as another treatment for hair loss, and so far, the results look great.

Dr. Alan Bauman, a board-certified hair restoration specialist in Boca Raton, Florida told Today Health, “Patients who were using it for eyelashes sometimes have eyebrow problems, so it’s a short hop to the eyebrows. So, of course, if it was working there, too – from the eyebrows, it’s just a short hop to the hairline.”

This definitely makes sense, and the most exciting prospect of the drug’s new use is that it’s easy and convenient – especially when compared to other hair loss treatments like minoxidil (or Rogaine), Propecia, and hair transplant surgery procedures follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE).

Although he meets almost 1,000 hair loss patients a year, Dr. Bauman told Today that he’s tried Latisse on just a “couple dozen” patients, who have been allergic to other treatment options.

One of those patients is Rhoda Kelly, a 70-year-old woman who was experiencing thinning hair on the back of her scalp. She had tried Rogaine in the past, but suffered an allergic reaction, according to the report, so Dr. Bauman told her to give Latisse a shot at reclaiming her lost locks.

For Kelly, the new hair loss treatment has worked wonders, showing obvious improvement in just four months.

Of course, she is using Latisse along with a combination of other hair loss remedies, including vitamins, biotin, polysaccaride, and a hat, to protect her hair from the damaging effects of the sun.

Nevertheless, Kelly couldn’t be happier with Latisse. She said, “My hair is in much better condition – it looks healthy,” which is exactly what other hair loss patients are hoping to hear.

The surprising thing about this revolutionary new hair loss treatment is its lack of side effects. Latisse does come with some interesting side effects when used for eyelashes, including turning light-colored eyes to brown, but this doesn’t seem to apply when treating hair loss.

Kelly’s hair is a light, strawberry blonde hue, but the color hasn’t changed at all after using Latisse on a daily basis for the last 14 months.

For hair loss patients, this new discovery may sound like a miracle, but doctors warn that Latisse probably isn’t for everyone.

People with clear bald spots won’t benefit from using Latisse, and on top of that, it is also insanely expensive – the medication alone can cost patients up to $450 per month.

Perry Romanowski, a cosmetic chemist and blogger for The Beauty Brains, told Today Health, “Expense is a big disadvantage, but perhaps the biggest problem with this technology is that it does not restart hair growth for hair that has stopped growing. If it works on scalp hair at all (and this hasn’t been definitively proven), it will only be able to thicken existing, working hair follicles.”

He also added, “Since what people really want from this product is something that will bring their hair back, I suspect that they will be disappointed because that will not happen. Are a few thicker, fuller strands going to be worth the expense? Perhaps to some people.”

While Latisse for hair loss may still have its critics, this treatment could possibly be the answer men and women with thinning hair have been looking for all along.

For people with severe balding, hair transplant surgery is still the most effective way to restore lost hair, but there’s no reason to give up hope. At the rate hair loss treatments are improving today, there is sure to be even better solutions for hair restoration in the very near future.

To learn more about hair loss treatment options, contact a hair transplant surgeon near you.