Seeking non-medical treatments

[Spiritmale]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone has had some real success in stopping their genetic hair loss without the use of medication (for example using herbal supplements or essential oils).

The only other thing I know about is low level laser therapy but it is expensive.

Thanks and let's shed less hair. :)

Thanks,

GL

[Mark]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone has had some real success in stopping their genetic hair loss without the use of medication (for example using herbal supplements or essential oils).

The only other thing I know about is low level laser therapy but it is expensive.

Thanks and let's shed less hair. :)

Thanks,

GL

Hi Spiritmale,

I'm sure you know what I'm going to say already, but I'll say it anyway. I work for a hair transplant doctor, and as we're a member of the medical community we're big on having scientific evidence to back up claims of a products efficacy. Unfortunately we haven't seen any real evidence that anything has worked to reduce or reverse hair loss other than antiandrogen drugs like Finasteride. There are any number of herbal "Cures" that you can find anecdotal evidence about on the internet, but we here in the office have yet to see anything that works.

Sorry to be a buzzkill, but believe me, the second we find something that works we'll rant and rave about it.

-Mark

[Spiritmale]

Hi Mark. Thanks for your reply. I really don't like the idea of using potentially harmful medications to stop a natural process.

I found this natural approach - was wondering if anyone has experience using them?

http://www.rejuvhair.com/

Thanks,

GL

[Mark]

Hi Mark. Thanks for your reply. I really don't like the idea of using potentially harmful medications to stop a natural process.

I found this natural approach - was wondering if anyone has experience using them?

http://www.rejuvhair.com/

Thanks,

GL

We've never heard of them here at NHI, but just looking over their products it sounds like a bunch of marketing-speak.

Hair-Grow is an all - natural vitamin and herbal supplement that works to effectively promote faster hair growth. By allowing natural herb and vitamins to penetrate the scalp, Hair Grow restores your hair's natural balance by rejuvenating dead hair follicles and helps re-grow a beautiful, full head of hair. Your overall hair growth rate and quality will improve, and hair loss will slow.

Restoring your hairs "natural balance"? What does that mean? It promotes faster hair growth? How?

It sounds like they're trying to make their product sound really great, without actually saying what it is or what it does. Be wary of companies that do that.

-Mark

[Spiritmale]

I totally disagree - there is non drug alternatives to lowering hair loss.

In a recent documentary by NBC Dateline (can google it), 5 guys tried different treatments for one year -one of them took a supplement from Finland called Viviscal that helped keep what he had.

There is a lot of nutritional treatments out there that shouldnt be written off. Ask any herbalist or naturopath.

For me, the side effects are just not worth staying on the drugs.

[Mark]

I totally disagree - there is non drug alternatives to lowering hair loss.

In a recent documentary by NBC Dateline (can google it), 5 guys tried different treatments for one year -one of them took a supplement from Finland called Viviscal that helped keep what he had.

There is a lot of nutritional treatments out there that shouldnt be written off. Ask any herbalist or naturopath.

For me, the side effects are just not worth staying on the drugs.

I know this sounds odd, but I completely appreciate your viewpoint on nutrition, and I generally agree. I've been a vegetarian for 10 years and I think too many people in western societies don't really think much about what they put in their bodies, to their detriment.

But at the same time I think it's very important to look at these things scientifically. 5 people is not a scientific study, and I hesitate to even call "Dateline" a credible news program, it's entertainment more than anything else.

I think the key to your post is "for me". If you're uncomfortable taking a medication for your hair loss that is not natural, then by all means try whatever other supplements you want. That's a very responsible thing to do. It's your body and only you can say what you want to put in it.

On the other hand, a lot of men have seen great results from taking finasteride and minoxidil. We see patients in the office all the time and we rarely hear about side effects from the drug. At least 5 people in the office, myself included, take finasteride for hair loss and have not seen any adverse side effects. This corresponds quite well to the FDA studies of the drug that show nearly the same amount of men taking a placebo as the ones taking the drug getting side effects from it.

[domaintalk]

Mark I would disagree with you on this. I have used many herbal products like herbal oil and herbal shampoos which have worked a lot for me. They have not only improved the quality of my hair but also have made them better.

[Mexican Hair Off]

The contents of most herbal supplements, Viviscal included, are available in much more bio-available forms as a part of your diet, and don't cost $50/month (first hit on Google, may not be the cheapest)

I agree with Mark to an extent that you need to be careful with what you eat, but I don't think just adding a vitamin pill and cutting out a few of the worst things is enough.
Have a look at what you eat every day, ensure that you get enough B vitamins, Biotin, Zinc, Copper, and Silica especially, but generally look at getting a RDA of every nutrient from your food alone every day. Then don't cook it to death as this ruins a lot of work!

If you don't want the side effects from Propecia (fair enough, I don't get them but they scare the hell out of me!) why not at least try Minoxidil, the worst you get from that is a dry scalp isn't it?

But if you're determined to go the "Natural Route" then good luck to you, but please promise
a) you won't waste money on dodgy products recommended by people saying "it really helped me in x days"
and b) if you find a cure you'll share it with all of us (sorry Mark may be putting you out of work here ;))

[Mark]

Mark I would disagree with you on this. I have used many herbal products like herbal oil and herbal shampoos which have worked a lot for me. They have not only improved the quality of my hair but also have made them better.

I'm glad you've seen positive results from herbal products. From my position though, I have yet to see any real sold evidence that they work via double blind tests and other such scientific studies. The only evidence that I have found is via anecdotes like yours.

Believe me, I really wish that herbal supplements would work well because it would mean that drug companies wouldn't have this stranglehold on the market and be able to charge obscene amounts of money for their products simply because they're protected by patents. But at the same time, I can't let my wishes get in the way of the evidence before me. And unfortunately for herbal supplements and other products that are not approved by the FDA to treat hair loss, they don't really have that much evidence on their side.

A great example is that herbal shampoo that you recommended in another thread. I read that site for quite a while and I couldn't find any real information about how it works. Only vague descriptions about how it "nourishes" the hair.


That's the main problem I see right now. On one side you've got these big pharmaceutical companies that have a complete stranglehold on the market. They're the only companies big enough to be able to afford the costs associated with getting a product approved by the FDA. But on the other hand, you've got all these people selling snake oil, and their primary sales technique is not to speak of how their product works, or subjecting it to double blind studies or anything like that. Instead, it's to use scare tactics to demonize drug companies and put fear into people of putting something in their bodies that is not "natural".

That's unfortunate. I really do hope that eventually we can get to the bottom of these issues and try to determine what works an what doesn't.

-Mark

[Mark]

But if you're determined to go the "Natural Route" then good luck to you, but please promise
a) you won't waste money on dodgy products recommended by people saying "it really helped me in x days"
and b) if you find a cure you'll share it with all of us (sorry Mark may be putting you out of work here ;))

Don't worry about me. I don't get paid by drug companies so if Merck suddenly lost their market share due to a cheap, natural remedy, I wouldn't be any worse off, nor would Doctor Rassman.

I know it's a rare thing these days, but we're really just interested in getting to the truth of what works and what doesn't. We'll take results from wherever we can get them.

-Mark