Your
Best Bet
Simply put, the treatments that are best to start with are those with
FDA approval, or clinical trials proving their effectiveness at
treating hair loss. The following treatments represent the
ONLY FDA approved or clinically backed treatments for hair loss
today. No matter what you read elsewhere, these are the
ONLY products out there that have actually been shown to work in
treating hair loss in men and women.
Propecia
Men Only |
83% effectiveness at
maintaining or regrowing hair in men only. This is by
far the best treatment out there. |
Minoxidil
2%
Men or Women |
Mainly for
stimulating hair growth. If you're new to hair loss
and don't want to try Propecia, this is a good place to
start. |
Rogaine
5%
Men or Women |
Also for stimulating
growth. Typically used by men with a good amount of
lost hair. Both this and Minox 2% can be used in
conjunction with Propecia to nearly double the chances of
good results. |
Tricomin Therapy Spray
Men or Women |
Very
effective growth stimulant. Also can be used in
conjunction with Propecia or Minoxidil. |
Nizoral
Shampoo
Men or Women |
You can get this in the
grocery store. Used once every 3 days it is the only
shampoo out there that can actually stimulate hair growth. |
All of these treatments
must be used religiously for 8-10 months at the very least before
they will really begin to work well. Losing your hair is a
slow process, so gaining it back or stopping it in its tracks is
very slow as well. Propecia can take up to a year to
work. A few of them can cause initial shedding as well, so the
key is to stick with it no matter what. They work.
They've been proven to. Your
Next Best Bet
Moving on from there you have a class of treatments which do not
have FDA approval, but contain ingredients which have been shown to
inhibit DHT or stimulate hair growth in mice or in the lab.
For the most part, these are the only *OTHER* treatments you should
ever consider. This set of treatments includes:
Revivogen
Men or Women |
Potentially a topical DHT
inhibitor, as an alternative to Propecia which inhibits DHT
systemically |
Crinagen
Men or Women |
Another
topical DHT inhibitor |
Folligen
Men or Women |
From the maker of Tricomin -
uses similar technology to stimulate growth |
Nizoral
2%
Men or Women - Prescription |
Stronger
than grocery store Nizoral, antiandrogen/growth stimulant
only if 1% doesn't work. |
Topical
Spironolactone
Men or Women - Prescription |
Powerful antiandrogen, only
for use topically in men, orally in women. |
Proxiphen
Men or Women - Prescription |
A combo
topical treatment with growth stimulants and Antiandrogens |
Custom Minoxidil Solutions
Men or Women - Prescription |
Stronger % Minoxidil solutions
than the standard 2 and 5 %. May or may not work. |
These products should only be considered if you have already used one
or all of the FDA approved treatments for at least a year without any
success. There is no reason why you should risk your wallet or your
hair by trying these treatments first, unless you have some concerns about
side effects, which have been shown to be minimal in the FDA approved
products. Some like to use these treatments in conjunction with
the FDA approved treatments. This is up to you.
"But
what about _____ ?"
So you heard about a product on the radio, or saw something on TV, and
its not listed above. They claimed it works for hair loss.
Guess what. It probably doesn't. We have researched all the
possible products out there, and the handful listed above are the ONLY
treatments with potential or proof to work for hair loss. Period.
Without a doubt, any
other products you have heard of fit into this last category, most
commonly known as Snake Oils. These comprise of a whole class
of products that might work, but have little or no clinical evidence
to back such claims. You should avoid these products like your
hair depended on it, because quite honestly, it does.
 |
My
BALONEY has a first name...
Snake oils typically make one of the following claims:
- Reverses
hair loss by cleaning dirt out of the Follicles - Dirt
does not stop hair from growing.
- Reverses
hair loss by cleaning Sebum which clogs the follicle - Hair can grow through several layers of
solid skin. Ingrown hairs are proof of this. Sebum -
oil - therefore is not going to stop hair from growing by
"blocking" its path.
- Reverses
hair loss by "cleaning DHT" from the scalp -
You can't clean DHT from the scalp like you clean dirt from your
skin, this is impossible.
- Stimulates
long term hair growth by improving circulation - While
improving circulation can stimulate short term hair growth, it
alone cannot stimulate long term hair growth. Any hair
gained on treatments like this will most likely not exist after
3-6 months, if you notice any at all.
- Claiming
FDA approval - As you know, there are only two FDA
approved treatments. Propecia and Minoxidil. Any
treatment claiming this is not only breaking the law, you can
most likely write it off as a snake oil.
- Herbal
Remedies - To date, there are no herbal remedies out
there that have clinical studies backing their efficacy for
treating hair loss.
|
Some
final Tips...
Your best bet is to make yourself an informed consumer. This involves
visiting reputable web sites that don't just promote one
product. Sites that do are typically biased and not always
trustworthy. Educating yourself on what really causes hair
loss is your biggest defense against being fooled by a snake
oil. If you find a product you're in question about, simply
get a list of ingredients and see what science is backing
them. Following these steps will enable you to avoid the the minefield
of snake oils out there. Print
this page out. The next time you hear an advertisement on the
radio for a hair loss treatment you're interested in, refer to this
page and see if it passes the criteria. If it does, let us
know about it If it doesn't you have our permission to call
and verbally abuse them. So
Where Can I buy the Treatments that REALLY work, online? |
