Hello, I am now 17 and I’ve noticed my hair loss (or receding hairline) about a year ago. The strands of hair around my hairline are uneven with the rest of my head and I knew it’s not gonna last long.

I’ve tried Procerin for the past 3 weeks now (since it seemed like the “safest” way for treating it) but I still shed the same amount of hair than before I started taking it. So much for that.

Then I started to read about stem cell treatments that might come in the next few years, and it sounds promising. Do you think I should wait until cell injection treatments are available? Or am I just fooling myself and should I go with treatments like Rogaine?

At 17 years old, I wouldn’t be surprised if what you’re seeing is a maturing hairline. Have you seen a doctor or are you just treating yourself with over the counter supplements? You might not be experiencing male pattern hair loss, but rather, the maturation of your hairline (a totally normal part of getting older when your hairline goes from juvenile to mature). For more on that, see here.

Procerin is essentially saw palmetto (an herbal that hasn’t been scientifically proven to stop hair loss, though many people on the internet swear by it) with a fancy label and some added vitamins. You can learn more about Procerin here. You’ve only used it for a few weeks, but I wouldn’t expect it to do much for your hairline regardless of how long you used it. Rogaine is proven to regrow hair, but I wouldn’t expect much in the hairline from that either (works best in the crown).

Future treatments are just that — future. There’s no timetable for them to actually make it to market. We’ve been hearing hair cloning would be popular by now, yet it is still in the early stages of trials. We’ve been hearing the cure would be available by now, yet there is no such magical elixir, pill, or lotion available. It’s up to you to decide how long you want to wait for something to maybe become available.

Hi there,

I wanted to know what are the long-term risks and effects of user a mild chemical relaxer. Could it harm the follicles and cause balding? I am a white Jewish male in his mid-30s with very curly and frizzy hair. I have all my hair. My father lost all his hair in his twenties, but the men on my mother’s side seems to have all their hair.

Thanks for your help!

Relaxers require an experienced application. The risks for poor use can be a disaster. With a good professional applying these chemicals, you can get away with it for years.

Hi Dr. Rassman. You’ve talked about the FDA cracking down on “false advertising” in the past, specifically on labels. I was wondering why Head and Shoulders can put on the front of their bottle “Improves Hair and Scalp Health Guaranteed”. This is a loosely based statement lacking specifics; i.e. how it improves my hair or scalp health. I can understand it clearing up dandruff, hence improved scalp health, but hair?

People may associate improved hair health with thicker, stronger hair which I believe no magic shampoo has been factually proven to do so.

I asked FDA consultant Norman F. Estrin, PhD, Managing Partner at Estrin Consulting Group LLC, to answer this one. The following response was what he sent me —

“Improves Hair and Scalp Health” is a claim that the FDA would call “puffery”. Puffery is allowed for cosmetic claims. You correctly pointed out that it is a loosely based statement lacking in specifics”. This is characteristic of puffery. It just as easily could have said “livens up your hair” even though we all know hair outside the body is not alive.

Head and Shoulders is an OTC drug because it treats dandruff. It is also a cosmetic as well and its cosmetic claims are regulated by the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Color Additives, while the drug claims are regulated by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). The Federal Trade Commissions also monitors fraudulent claims, especially in advertising. Here are some other examples of puffery:

• Best shampoo ever!
• Energizes your hair
• Eye awakening
• The skin you want
• Safeguards your beauty
• Age Control
• Helps restore youthful zones
• New life for your hair

Since these claims are qualitative descriptions rather than hard facts, the FDA cannot regulate such claims because they are so hard to define. If, however, a cosmetic company claimed “Proven to increase collagen synthesis”, the cosmetic company would be in trouble because any product that does so would meet the FDA definition of a drug:

“(A) articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease
(B) articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals”

In this example, increasing collagen synthesis in the body would be an effect on the “structure or any function of the body of man”.