HairGenesis

Dear Dr. Rassman,
I’ve been taking propecia since I first noticed my hairloss, at age 20. Now I’m almost 24, and while I’ve retained some hair in the vertex, there’s been substantially more loss in the front/temple areas. Transplants are probably not a financially plausible option for me presently, so I’ve weighed other solutions (mostly vitamin/herbal supplements), bearing in mind the advice published in your blog. The website for “hairgenesis” touts an FDA-regulated published study supporting it’s claims: Is this information credible, or is it merely a marketing ploy? What other information should I look for when considering treatments other than propecia and surgery?

Thank you in advance for considering my question.

I do not like the Hair Genesis site, because it is very heavy on claims that appear unsubstantiated. As I have no experience with it, I can not tell you what I do not know or have not learned, but when there are so many claims and reflections on FDA ‘endorsements’, I would doubt their credibility. The field of homeopathic and herbal medications is generally unregulated, but it is not proper or ethical to claim FDA ‘endorsements’ like this company seems to have done. To my knowlege, only minoxidil and Propecia have been FDA approved for safe and effective hair loss treatment and there is good scientific evidence that minoxidil and Propecia works. When it comes to natural and herbal medications, there are many harmful natural and herbal medications. Arsenic, of example, is a natural medication that has been used in historical medicine for the treatment of syphilis, but I would not use it for prevention of syphilis nor for any human use as it is a well known poison, so ‘natural’ does not imply safety. The message here is BUYER BEWARE, and remember that just because claims are posted on a website, it does not imply true safety or effectiveness.