Are you sure that hair spray does not contribute to hair loss? I would think the alcohol in it somehow is absorbed into the scalp and negatively affects or dries up the hair follicles.
Yes I am fairly sure, but that assumes that you comb in gently and do not pull on the hair when you brush or comb it.
If saw palmetto works for hair loss, would it work better topically rubbed into the scalp? I read an article online that mentioned that and said it might be more effective that way.
I have no idea if saw palmetto even works when taken orally to treat hair loss, as there is much controversy on this. Going through the skin is even less scientific and so really, your guess is as good as mine. In fact, I’m probably the wrong person to ask about this. Perhaps an herbal specialist would be able to tackle it better, though even then, take that advice with a grain of salt.
Hi. Has anyone managed to stop their genetic hair loss without drugs? The idea of taking meds scares me -all those side effects. There seem to be some options out there: ShenMin, BioFen, Essential Oils for example. I would be curious as to what people’s experiences are.
Thanks
Good luck with this probe. We get many thousands of visitors a day to this blog, so maybe someone has seen value in these natural “home remedies”. I certainly have not seen positive results from those treatments, but I hope some of the visitors will be able to contribute here.
does hair transplant or products like toppik work for all hair textures? i mean like hard african hair
Yes, these concealers work for all hair types, including coarse African hair. Hair transplants also work very well for African hair types (see a recent post about this here).
I don’t know if you have seen this new test by HairDX, but it caught my eye. It supposedly will predict your response to Finasteride.
I also found this interesting news release at Marketwatch.com that discusses the HairDX (RxR) Genetic Test for Finasteride a bit more.
I am trying to understand how I would use the information that this new test would supply. I suppose if the test shows someone is not going to be very responsive to Propecia, then it could open up the possibility for the patient to have a hair transplant earlier, rather than waiting to see results from Propecia that may never occur. It’s not uncommon for me to turn potential surgical patients away if there’s a possibility that a single daily pill could solve their problem (I’d much rather recommend a pill over surgery if it’ll help). I think that I will offer the test to my patients and let them decide how to use it.
Hi Doctor,
I’m on finasteride 5mg (cut into 4 pieces) from past 7-8 months. I have been taking it regularly but have missed it once/twice in a week some times(from a month back). I had no hair loss from past 6 months may be coz i was regular with finasteride and also coz i had head shave. Now im experiencing more hair loss, im counting hair follicles each time i comb my hair. Its around 30 – 40 follicles. Now im totally scared, could you please tell me what can i do to prevent further hair loss.Also im using toppik and dermmatch for better look. I use once in 3 days. I was using dermmatch when i had short hair and since my hairs have grown im using both for better look. Do you think these concealers can cause hair loss if used regularly ??
Also if i need to send a picture of my hair how can i do it ? Please help me out here, and thanks in advance.
Having your head shaved won’t prevent hair loss. Taking your finasteride each day will help halt the hair loss in most men. You should discuss the increase in hair loss you’re seeing with your prescribing doctor, who should hopefully be able to compare your results with photos taken before you started the medication. You might also consider minoxidil, which is available over the counter.
Toppik and DermMatch do not cause hair loss. You can send photos to photos@baldingblog.com, but reference this post when sending so I know you’ve written before.
What are your views on nanogaine?
Nanogaine’s active ingredients are Superoxide Dismutase, Capilecti, and Lo-Seb, but there is no proof that this substance works on hair regrowth or even prevention of hair loss.
Hi Dr Rassman, like many others, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to maintain this blog. I’m 40, have considerable recession at the temples, but recently I started noticing more in the middle front and overall thinning. Obviously that’s not sitting well with me, probably causing a chicken and the egg situation, as its stressing me out, which can be a major contributor.
Do you think Propecia would still do anything for me? In addition, Retane is another product I’ve read about. Have you heard of it and if so, whether its worth looking into further. I hope you will be able to respond to my question. Thanks very much in advance.
Retane doesn’t appear to have anything of value in it to regrow your hair or cease your hair loss. This list the ingredients on their site as inositol, biotin, protodioscin, folic acid, vitamin B5, vitamin E, aloe vera, and ginseng panax extract. These ingredients simply don’t have value in treating hair loss. The product’s website references an 86% success rate over and over — and a closer look at the clinical study they reference shows that it was conducted 7 years ago, included only 22 people (15 men, 7 women), and was only 4 weeks long. Their website informs us that you might see regrowth at the 6 week mark, so why their “study” went to only 4 weeks is beyond me. That is such a half-cooked study for a hair growth treatment that I don’t think I need to go further with my comments.
As for the other part to your question — I haven’t seen your photos and don’t really have a full history of your hair loss, but if your doctor prescribes Propecia to you, I don’t see why it couldn’t work. At the very least, it could halt the hair loss from progressing for some time. As long as you know that you for sure have genetic balding (think miniaturization mapping), you should spend your money on a hair loss treatment that is proven to work, like Propecia and minoxidil.
Hello,
I am a 27 year old with red hair. Over the past several months it has been receeding quite quickly especially in the temple region. I went to a specialist today in Toronto to learn more about hair transplants to see if I might get one in the future. He told me that because I have redhair & fair skin that a transplant would look unnatural on me? I suffer from depression & this made me very sad as I was thinking that my hair loss is not so bad because if worst comes to worst I could always get a transplant. Now I’m afraid because of what he said that this is not in the cards. Please I would really appreciate it if you could let me know if you’ve ever transplanted a fair skinned ginger & if the results have looked natural? He also recommended provillus & advised against propecia, which I have been on for a month now? Thanks for your time.
I don’t know what this “specialist” you went to is talking about in regards to the results being unnatural. I have some of my best results from transplanting people with red hair. Plus, all of his advice on Propecia (which I believe is a great medication) and Provillus (which I do not believe has much value) seems opposite to everything I’ve written here on this blog.
If you’d like me to set your mind at ease, we can arrange to have a telephone consultation. First, send me photographs of your hair loss and your contact info (reference this post when sending), and I’ll be in contact so I can address the misinformation with you.
I noticed that Aderans has started their phase 2 studies: AderansResearch.com. However, I can’t seem to find anything from the FDA clinical site regarding their study. I tried e-mailing Aderans and got no response, so I was hoping somone with more clout might be able to help. Do you know anything about this? Are they going to go through FDA procedures and oversite?
Also, I thought that Ken Washenik was legit (he’s even presenting at the AAD conference this year). But he’s associated with this project and Bosley. Any insight into this? Is this going to be something we should consider if the technology does come out?
Finally, given the new information from Histogen, I have done some research and found that there’s a concern that some people may develp tumors from stem cell therapy. Is this something we should be worried about with this new technique presented by Histogen?
Thanks for all your help!
All of your questions and insights are significant and right on. We can not force Aderans to reveal what it is doing. FDA studies in this phase are kept confidential until results are formally released.
Yes, Dr. Washenik is the medical director at Bosley, which is one of the many companies Aderans owns. Also in their portfolio of companies is Aderans Co. Ltd (wig maker), Medical Hair Restoration (another large hair clinic chain), and a variety of others across the globe (see Aderans Group).
The concept of tumors produced by stem cells has been published in many articles over the years and you can research this on Google.
Snippet from the press release:
Dr. Gail Naughton, CEO of Histogen, Inc., a regenerative medicine company developing solutions based on the products of newborn fibroblasts grown under embryonic conditions, will address attendees tomorrow at the 4th Annual Stem Cell Summit in New York. Dr. Naughton will be presenting preliminary mid-trial results from Histogen’s first human clinical evaluation of ReGenicaTM for hair regrowth.
The primary objective of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study is to evaluate safety in the clinical application of the ReGenica product for hair regrowth. Histogen is also examining product efficacy as a secondary objective, specifically looking at the same end-points the Company has seen in the animal model – new hair growth, and the thickness of new and existing hair. The study is in progress, but the Company has reviewed data from the scheduled 12 week time point and is pleased with the results to date.
Read the full text — Histogen to Present Preliminary Hair Regrowth Clinical Results at Stem Cell Summit
This is all quite exciting! Until I see actual data it wouldn’t be professional of me to comment further, though. There’s also an article I just found from yesterday with a photo of preliminary results, and they look very promising (see here). The hair count does appear to be increased. Remember, this is all very early clinical trial stuff, but I’ll post more info as it becomes available.
Their site is here if you want to do some further research. Or to read more about Wnt proteins, as it seems that it relates to the ReGenica product, see here.
It seems you overlooked yet another laser device maker that was issued a warning letter from the FDA. Apparently the FDA had some problems with the marketing of the Sunetics laser brush. Funny thing is if you read the warning letter (provided in the link below), the FDA acknowledges that they applied for clearance in January of 2008. It’s been over 1 year and they still haven’t received clearance!? Also it’s funny how the Lexington International’s Lasercomb hasn’t yet received clearance for hair growth in women yet that study had to have been completed at least when Lexington received their warning letter back in May. Which leads me to one final question, if 650 nm is the optimal wavelength for hair growth, and all of these laser devices are within that wavelength, how can only one device receive clearance (and only for men)? Almost forgot, here is the link to the Sunetics warning letter page.
The warning letter starts:
“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has learned that your firm is marketing the Sunetics Laser Hair Brush and the Laser Skin Brush in the United States (U.S.) without marketing clearance or approval, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act).”
The letter from the FDA is dated in August, 2008. The FDA usually posts their warning letters publicly months after they send them out. I don’t know if Sunetics got their act together, but I assume that is the case, as their website still shows these products. I know I’ve said it before, but I don’t believe that the low level light therapy works. It is just that simple.
I read your blog daily and I know you are very skeptical about laser treatment of hair loss in men/women. However, it benefits us all to know about new stories and developments so I figured I would send this to you and ask your thoughts about it. I saw a laser procedure on the T.V. show “The Doctors” of a woman receiving a procedure and as I could not find it discussed on your
site, here is the link: thedoctorstv.comIs this basically the same thinking behind the Lasercomb and other laser treatments or is this something new? Is this something only to be beneficial to women and not men is this is something worthwhile? I am skeptical about it myself. Thank you for your time!
The machine they showed looks to be the same one I had in my office for some time (and got rid of). Each hair laser maker will tell you their product is best because of various reasons, but you’re good to be skeptical. As soon as the FDA clearance (showing that it is safe, not that is effective) happened for the lasers, the flood gates opened. There are very few options for women with genetic hair loss, so it’s not hard to see why someone might try to market a new hair device towards the female group. Plus, it makes for good television.
I’ve written about the various handheld and full sit-down lasers before. Bottom line — there is no solid scientific evidence that the low level light therapy (laser) will positively impact hair growth.
Doctor I found a bunch of so called “cures” for hair loss online can you tell me if any of these are true.
(taken from Amazines.com)
“Excess stress, lack of hair care, a dirty scalp, and the lack of nutritious foods can precipitate hair loss. As well, consuming excess amounts of caffeine, sugar, fats and carbonated drinks can cause hair loss.
On the contrary, various forms of exercises that require the body to be bent forwards or backwards will also result in increased blood flow to the scalp, which will promote healthy hair and a healthy scalp. Consuming foods rich with essential nutrients will also promote healthy hair growth.
Home remedies for hair loss are the best options, and they are safe and dirt cheap. They do not have any side effects and don’t cause any damage. And the good news is that there are so many remedies available to stop hair loss, that if one doesn’t work another one might.
One of the methods is to take some fenugreek seeds and soak them in water overnight in a big bowl. Next morning, apply the water to your scalp and wrap the head in a towel.
Let it remain like that for three hours and then shampoo to get rid of the fenugreek smell. Following this routine daily for a month may solve your problem; however, those who catch colds easily shouldn’t try this or stop as soon as they feel that they are about to catch cold.
Another method for hair loss prevention is to apply castor oil to hair roots and scalp before bedtime, yet try to avoid getting castor oil on the rest of your hair. In the morning, shampoo to remove the oil. Continue this process once every week for 7 to 10 weeks. This is one of the many hair loss treatments that may stop hair loss, although it may not work for some people. There is no harm in trying this treatment.”
If none of these are true why are so many people so ignorant on hair loss?
We all look for that miracle cure for hair loss, but it is elusive. I couldn’t begin to guess why people are ignorant about these “treatments”. Perhaps the power of suggestion is at play. Perhaps they are easy to dupe. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…
Quite a funny list there, though. Why not apply manure to your head? I mean, fertilizer helps crops grow in the field, so why wouldn’t it work to regrow hair on your scalp? I’m sure if I put a “Rassman’s Own” label on a bag of cow droppings, someone would buy it with the express purpose of applying it to their head. Any takers?
I am a 52-year-old woman with diffuse hair loss. I’m using Toppik and thinking about starting Rogaine. My question: do I have to wash the Toppik out of my hair in the evening before I can put the Rogaine on?
The Toppik tends to “clump” on my scalp by the end of the day, so if I don’t wash it out, I’ll be rubbing the Rogaine on top of the Toppik fibers. But having to wash my hair twice a day (morning and evening) seems excessive.
Thanks for any advice.
It is best to use Toppik as the last thing you do. The Rogaine should be applied first and give it some time before the use of Toppik.