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For the sake of the brevity, I will refer to this protocol as FMP (Fasted Microneedling Protocol).
Also, I have no idea what I’m talking about so read the links and watch the videos I post to form your own opinions.
I wanted to know if there might be some other contributing factors that could influence someones success with microneedling. Perhaps the most effective microneedling results might not only depend on how it's done (the current focus), but the state your body is in when you do it.
In summary, in the few podcasts I listened to, he mentioned that your body accumulates a lot of cells that it doesn’t really need. When you start a prolonged fast (not eating for 36-48+ hours), your body goes though autophagy and apoptosis. Basically, your body kills off and clears these bad/weak cells.
Here is a 3 minute clip with Volter summarizing what happens during fasting.
However, during the re-feeding stage (when you start eating again after the fast), the cells that have been killed off (via autophagy and apoptosis) are regenerated and replaced with brand new cells. And that consuming protein during re-feeding will further help your body rebuild these cells.
Here is a 1 minute clip with Volter summarizing why protein is important in re-feeding the stage.
In summary (if you don’t watch either clips), he basically says that prolonged fasting is the most powerful (that we have discovered so far) regenerative system you can activate since birth.
What does promote angiogenesis mean? Basically, angiogenesis is the process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels. Interesting. It might be possible to create a protocol involving fasting, re-feeding and microneedling to significantly increase the amount of blood vessels to the hair follicles by exploiting the regeneration period your body goes through after a fast. Could be a game changer.
Here’s what they found that got me excited. “Our study provided the first evidence that two times of 24-h fasting in a week before (FASTING 1) or after (FASTING 2) wound injury was sufficient to induce faster wound closure, enhance re-epithelialization and dermal regeneration, and reduce scar formation in mice with diabetic or burn wounds. The promotion of angiogenic responses of adjacent resident endothelial cells in the wound bed might be an important factor contributing to the beneficial effects of these fasting regimens on wound healing, as the mice receiving fasting treatment showed a marked increase of neovascularization in the wound sites and the cultured endothelial cells possessed increased proliferative, migratory and vessel-like structure formation abilities after fasting/refeeding treatment. Our findings suggest an alluring prospect of fasting as a new strategy to induce therapeutic angiogenesis for wound therapy.”.
If this doesn’t make sense, here’s some pictures to show you how fasting before wounding increases angiogenesis in the wounded areas.
Also, notice how low the blood vessels created without fasting (control). That is microneedling right now.
The idea is that when your body is coming out of a fasted state (not being in a fasted state), it begins rejuvenating cells all over your body. We might be able to exploit this process by fasting first, then both wounding your scalp and eating protein DURING the re-feeding stage. The outcome? Possibly much better results from microneedling, accelerating wound healing, minimising damage, triggering angiogenesis (new vessels) and ultimately triggering hair growth and possibly follicle neogensis.
Also, according to the paper, the damage left behind after fasting is significantly decreased compared to wounding without fasting. So even if this doesn’t have a significant impact on hair growth, this may be a way to reduce damage to your scalp since we don't yet fully understand the long term consequences of microneedling. See below for wound size difference with and without fasting.
Again, notice had bad the wound closure without fasting (control). That is microneedling now.
Step 1
Once every 10 - 14 days (guess), do a prolonged water fast (36-48 hours). You can experiment with this, but I probably wouldn't take finasteride or minoxidil during the fast. Your body is going through some pretty significant changes and I don't know how these medications might influence it (possibly negatively).
Step 2
After the fast, on the same day you begin to re-feed, a few hours after your first meal (protein rich), microneedle your scalp with the highest settings / depth (within reason ~ 1 - 1.5 mm) you can tolerate. Again, I wouldn't apply any topicals, at all until 24 hours after wounding.
Step 3
Throughout the re-feeding day include a decent serving of protein with each meal you have.
Step 4
Then 24 hours later (the day after you re-feed), continue medication and diet as normal until the next fast. Make sure you are getting adequate nutrition when you're not fasting. Don't starve yourself.
First and obviously, talk to your doctor. Then just look up ‘water fasting’ on YouTube and visit /r/fasting on reddit.
Why do I need to eat protein with each meal on the day I re-feed?
Refer back to the videos above I posted to know why protein is important when re-feeding after a fast.
Why would you wound a few hours after your first meal?
According to the study, the best results occurred were when the wounding was done DURING the re-feeding stage. As showed below FASTING-1 which had the best results. FASTING-2 was when they wounded first then did the fast and re-feed. It worked, but not as well as FASTING-1.
It could be that fasting might only be the first stage of this process, but without re-feeding and wounding together, you miss the regeneration window because you’re not signalling to your body where it needs regenerate. Wounding after fasting may be specifically what is needed to exploit this process.
What about the DHT, does this replace finasteride?
This protocol doesn't address DHT levels. It’s not a replacement for finasteride and/or minoxidil, it should be used with none, one or both of them.
Post how you will use this protocol below and we’ll see which way works the best.
Also, I have no idea what I’m talking about so read the links and watch the videos I post to form your own opinions.
Background
So, we know that standard microneedling works on some people, but we don't yet know the best way to do it. We don't know how deep / long it needs to be, we don't know how frequently it needs to be done, we don't know why it works well on some and not others, and there's even speculation around how it even works (does it increase absorption of topicals or induce growth via wound induced follicle neogenesis).I wanted to know if there might be some other contributing factors that could influence someones success with microneedling. Perhaps the most effective microneedling results might not only depend on how it's done (the current focus), but the state your body is in when you do it.
Investigation
At the beginning of 2019, I was listening to some podcasts about fasting, what it does to the body and the best way to do it. During this time, I found a guy named Volter Longo, who is extremely well known for his fasting research.In summary, in the few podcasts I listened to, he mentioned that your body accumulates a lot of cells that it doesn’t really need. When you start a prolonged fast (not eating for 36-48+ hours), your body goes though autophagy and apoptosis. Basically, your body kills off and clears these bad/weak cells.
Here is a 3 minute clip with Volter summarizing what happens during fasting.
However, during the re-feeding stage (when you start eating again after the fast), the cells that have been killed off (via autophagy and apoptosis) are regenerated and replaced with brand new cells. And that consuming protein during re-feeding will further help your body rebuild these cells.
Here is a 1 minute clip with Volter summarizing why protein is important in re-feeding the stage.
In summary (if you don’t watch either clips), he basically says that prolonged fasting is the most powerful (that we have discovered so far) regenerative system you can activate since birth.
The research
Okay, cool, but what does it have to do with hair loss? Well, I hadn’t thought much about it until I came upon this paper published this year titled "Fasting before or after wound injury accelerates wound healing through the activation of pro-angiogenic SMOC1 and SCG2”. Basically, they wounded some mice and “determined whether fasting prior to or after wound injury for a certain period of time can promote angiogenesis and speed up the process of wound healing”.What does promote angiogenesis mean? Basically, angiogenesis is the process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels. Interesting. It might be possible to create a protocol involving fasting, re-feeding and microneedling to significantly increase the amount of blood vessels to the hair follicles by exploiting the regeneration period your body goes through after a fast. Could be a game changer.
Here’s what they found that got me excited. “Our study provided the first evidence that two times of 24-h fasting in a week before (FASTING 1) or after (FASTING 2) wound injury was sufficient to induce faster wound closure, enhance re-epithelialization and dermal regeneration, and reduce scar formation in mice with diabetic or burn wounds. The promotion of angiogenic responses of adjacent resident endothelial cells in the wound bed might be an important factor contributing to the beneficial effects of these fasting regimens on wound healing, as the mice receiving fasting treatment showed a marked increase of neovascularization in the wound sites and the cultured endothelial cells possessed increased proliferative, migratory and vessel-like structure formation abilities after fasting/refeeding treatment. Our findings suggest an alluring prospect of fasting as a new strategy to induce therapeutic angiogenesis for wound therapy.”.
If this doesn’t make sense, here’s some pictures to show you how fasting before wounding increases angiogenesis in the wounded areas.
Also, notice how low the blood vessels created without fasting (control). That is microneedling right now.
What this could mean:
It could mean that the key to a successful microneedling protocol involves in a very specific staged fasting protocol which exploits your body's ability to regenerate cells.The idea is that when your body is coming out of a fasted state (not being in a fasted state), it begins rejuvenating cells all over your body. We might be able to exploit this process by fasting first, then both wounding your scalp and eating protein DURING the re-feeding stage. The outcome? Possibly much better results from microneedling, accelerating wound healing, minimising damage, triggering angiogenesis (new vessels) and ultimately triggering hair growth and possibly follicle neogensis.
Also, according to the paper, the damage left behind after fasting is significantly decreased compared to wounding without fasting. So even if this doesn’t have a significant impact on hair growth, this may be a way to reduce damage to your scalp since we don't yet fully understand the long term consequences of microneedling. See below for wound size difference with and without fasting.
Again, notice had bad the wound closure without fasting (control). That is microneedling now.
FMP Protocol:
Check this with your doctor before trying anything in this post.Step 1
Once every 10 - 14 days (guess), do a prolonged water fast (36-48 hours). You can experiment with this, but I probably wouldn't take finasteride or minoxidil during the fast. Your body is going through some pretty significant changes and I don't know how these medications might influence it (possibly negatively).
Step 2
After the fast, on the same day you begin to re-feed, a few hours after your first meal (protein rich), microneedle your scalp with the highest settings / depth (within reason ~ 1 - 1.5 mm) you can tolerate. Again, I wouldn't apply any topicals, at all until 24 hours after wounding.
Step 3
Throughout the re-feeding day include a decent serving of protein with each meal you have.
Step 4
Then 24 hours later (the day after you re-feed), continue medication and diet as normal until the next fast. Make sure you are getting adequate nutrition when you're not fasting. Don't starve yourself.
Protocol FAQ:
How do you water fast?First and obviously, talk to your doctor. Then just look up ‘water fasting’ on YouTube and visit /r/fasting on reddit.
Why do I need to eat protein with each meal on the day I re-feed?
Refer back to the videos above I posted to know why protein is important when re-feeding after a fast.
Why would you wound a few hours after your first meal?
According to the study, the best results occurred were when the wounding was done DURING the re-feeding stage. As showed below FASTING-1 which had the best results. FASTING-2 was when they wounded first then did the fast and re-feed. It worked, but not as well as FASTING-1.
Devil's Advocate
Why are there still bald people in areas of the world where fasting is a significant part of their culture?It could be that fasting might only be the first stage of this process, but without re-feeding and wounding together, you miss the regeneration window because you’re not signalling to your body where it needs regenerate. Wounding after fasting may be specifically what is needed to exploit this process.
What about the DHT, does this replace finasteride?
This protocol doesn't address DHT levels. It’s not a replacement for finasteride and/or minoxidil, it should be used with none, one or both of them.
Final Words
This is just another tool. It might work, it might not, and I don't see the harm in trying it. Even if it doesn't work, you will all end up looking like Master Roshi Max Power (google it) and live to 150 because periodic prolonged fasting is really good for you.Post how you will use this protocol below and we’ll see which way works the best.