I am going to try herbal treatments

[Guest]

I am 22, male from the UK and almost all males on both sides of my family have Male Pattern Baldness from a young age (mid 20's to 30's)

I first noticed my hair getting thin in mid November 2008. I was unsure what was happening as it was just so minor. At the end of January 2009, I have been taking daily a Vitamin B Complex supplement capsules. Since hair growth is involved a bit with Vitamin B, having all the Vitamin Bs including Biotin may help with hair growth.

I have done so much research on heral treatments that I wanted to give it a try. I began buying pure oils on the 15th February, I massaged Virgin Coconut Oil into my scalp and left on for 3 hours afterwards, I shampooed/conditioned. During the massage, many fallen hairs were present on my head.

On 17th February 2009 when the Emu oil arrived; I massaged Virgin Coconut Oil and pure Emu Oil into my scalp and left in for almost 4 hours, before washing out with shampoo and conditioner. By now, I noticed my hair is softer than normal and a lot stronger. I noticed less hair fall during the massage and during the day and see none on my brush. However I still see a bit of fallen hair on my hands when I shampoo.

On 19th February 2009 when all oil arrived which I ordered, I combined a little bit of each oil which is virgin Coconut oil, Emu oil, Jojoba oil, Alma oil and Rosemary and massaged into my scalp and hair. I noticed extremely minor hair fall during the massage, much less than previously. I left the oils in for over 4 hours before washing out with shampoo and conditioner.

I will continue to do this every other day for several months to see if anything happens regarding hair growth. This being massage, shampooing/conditioned, skip a day, and repeat. My hair thinning is located at the frontal region of my hair and the sides of the crown. This thinning has gotten worse since November but is only visible in strong light which you can see faint bits of my scalp.

I am in the process of buying pure Aloe Vera gel online, since I cannot grow it in my garden due to cold English weather. I believe Aloe Vera 200:1 powder is as pure as if it was extracted from the plant. Am I wrong?

I will keep you guys posted and was wondering if anyone else here has had success with herbal treatments? At the moment, I do not want to try things like Minoxidil and Propecia due to known side effects. I understand the oils I am using may have side effects too, but I have done research on each of them and I do not believe they will do me harm.

 

[patagonia]

goten,

you might want to take a good read at Michael Barry posts on essential oils... especially the scottish study on AA and e.oils and the abstract of the japanese study done on some extracts and e.oils and their antiandrogenic properties.. take a look at the effects of tea tree oil, lavender, peppermint... pretty impresive.

search for Old baldy´s posts as well ...he´s posted plenty on the use of bayberry extract and a very intersting study done on in Japan I believe .

e.oils are very good stuff IMO....you can do a good mix of differnt e.oils and apply just like you have been doing.... but you might want to consider using Finestaride (at least a low dose) and also Nizoral (keto) and or Piroctone Olamine shampoos.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I ran a forum search on the author Michael Barry and found 150 results. I then refined the search and searched for "herbal" within his posts and couldn't find anything to do with the Scottish study you speak of, or e oils.

I am guessing e oils are Vitamin E oils? How can this help with hair? Perhaps some of the oils I am using contain Vitamin E?

If you could provide some links on the information you speak of here in this forum, I would be very grateful. As far as Keto goes, I thought this actually increases DHT production?

 

[Petchsky]

http://www.hairloss-research.org/fromth ... sdesk.html

http://www.freewebs.com/immortalhair/my ... egimen.htm

http://www.regrowth.com/hairloss-forums ... ew.cfm?f=5

A few links for you that may be of use. Keep us updated on your experiment as there are a few posters here very interested in the use of essential oils.

 

[patagonia]

type the word "peppermint" when you refine the search on Michael Barry´s posts... yoiull get plenty of info this way...

just a few:

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=45944&hilit=+peppermint+lavender

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=40783&hilit=+peppermint

the abstract of the japanese study is in there..

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the links people, very good.

About peppermint, I didn't read everything but from what I see, it is possible for peppermint and to a lesser extent, spearment to be used to regrow hair? (Providing it's diluted in a lot of water) Have I got this right?

Has anyone tried this? Does it show results?

 

[Petchsky]

I sprayed peppermint, water, aloe vera oil, and some copper peptide on my scalp after my transplant. My scalp felt very warm like from improved blood flow. Only used it for a week though.

 

[but What about Today]

HEY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS STUFF Blossom Hair Oil

They also have some other stuff called Hair Gain, which is a herbal supplement.

 

[but What about Today]

ps. im thinking about usng this stuff just dont wanna be the only one lol

 

[Jonathan Strange]

I have done so much research on heral treatments that I wanted to give it a try. I began buying pure oils on the 15th February, I massaged Virgin Coconut Oil into my scalp and left on for 3 hours afterwards, I shampooed/conditioned. During the massage, many fallen hairs were present on my head.

On 17th February 2009 when the Emu oil arrived; I massaged Virgin Coconut Oil and pure Emu Oil into my scalp and left in for almost 4 hours, before washing out with shampoo and conditioner. By now, I noticed my hair is softer than normal and a lot stronger. I noticed less hair fall during the massage and during the day and see none on my brush. However I still see a bit of fallen hair on my hands when I shampoo.

On 19th February 2009 when all oil arrived which I ordered, I combined a little bit of each oil which is virgin Coconut oil, Emu oil, Jojoba oil, Alma oil and Rosemary and massaged into my scalp and hair. I noticed extremely minor hair fall during the massage, much less than previously. I left the oils in for over 4 hours before washing out with shampoo and conditioner.

Good luck with your regimen. From what I've read, it seems like the addition of some essential oils (lavender, tea tree oil, rosemary, cedarwood, etc.) is a totally rational way to treat Androgenetic Alopecia. It probably can't hurt, at least. (I'm experimenting with my own EO blend every other night, atm, trying to find something to replace the flutamide I'm currently using.)

Whatever you decide, be sure to give your regimen plenty of time before you start searching for results. AFAIK, the oils you've identified have some AA and AI properties. It will take months before that kind of treatment will produce results, even if it's working right now. Counting the numbers of hairs on your hands each time you rub EO into your scalp won't be helpful and might be counterproductive if it discourages you from going for a full 6 months or so.

I will keep you guys posted and was wondering if anyone else here has had success with herbal treatments? At the moment, I do not want to try things like Minoxidil and Propecia due to known side effects. I understand the oils I am using may have side effects too, but I have done research on each of them and I do not believe they will do me harm.

This is the only thing you've said that doesn't sound rational to me. You sound like an intelligent guy, but the only reason you're afraid of finasteride and not rosemary oil is because we know so much more about finasteride, thanks to data from the clinical trials. We know considerably less about the potentially harmful side effects of these herbal extracts. (That said, I just started taking a bunch of them, too. But I also take propecia.

 

[Guest]

HEY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS STUFF Blossom Hair Oil.

I already have purchased some oils and that hair oil is expensive compared with how much you get. Also, I am not American, I am from the UK.

@Jonathan

What does AA and AI properties mean? Also what is Androgenetic Alopecia?

This is the only thing you've said that doesn't sound rational to me. You sound like an intelligent guy, but the only reason you're afraid of finasteride and not rosemary oil is because we know so much more about finasteride, thanks to data from the clinical trials. We know considerably less about the potentially harmful side effects of these herbal extracts. (That said, I just started taking a bunch of them, too. But I also take propecia

I know the current official treatments for hair loss contain many side effects which I refuse to experience. I am 22 and would rather loss my hair than experience some of those side effects. Things like irregular heartbeat etc scare me. I do not want to spend the rest of my life using things like propecia, especially the long term effects. I hear all the time about people wanting to quit using the drugs.

Yes, little is known about herbal remedies but I believe in them. If there are side effects to these that I notice, I will stop using the oils but so far, I've seen nothing negative. The oils are much cheaper to buy than things like propecia. The oils I selected do have history with tribal groups who have used them for thousands of years. If they say it helps with hairloss, I am willing to give it a go for 6 months.

 

[decro435]

The only way the oils would help is through there anti-androgenic properties.

Lavender and Tea tree are meant to be good for this. Though if you think about it this is just the same as taking a very low dose of finasteride. Oils are best for keeping your scalp in optimum health while using finasteride.

 

[Jonathan Strange]

The only way the oils would help is through there anti-androgenic properties.

Lavender and Tea tree are meant to be good for this. Though if you think about it this is just the same as taking a very low dose of finasteride. Oils are best for keeping your scalp in optimum health while using finasteride.

Lavender and tea tree oil are actually supposed to be pretty potent. In the study posted in the New England Journal of Medicine, the authors found that the in vitro antiandrogenic effects of lavender and tea tree were almost as strong as flutamide. (Their potent in vivo effect is suggested by the boys' gynecomastia.)

Check out the study here: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/5/479

@Decro: AA = antiandrogenic. AI = anti-inflammatory. Both traits of these oils shold be helpful in treating "androgenetic alopecia" (Androgenetic Alopecia), also known as male pattern baldness. Apologies for the shorthand; I'm a lazy guy.

 

[iwantperfection]

say goodbye to your hair mate :tellme:

 

[cuebald]

I'm interested in this stuff too.

I think CCS tried Lavender oil on his big toe to see what would happen, and he said it increased hair growth (he was expecting the opposite due to the oil being an anti-androgen.) I'm going to try applying it once daily on my left arm, leaving my right arm alone, just to see what (if anything) will happen.

I'm also going to try internal Licorice (with glycyrrhizin, meant to be the active) as it is said to be a mild anti-androgen that slightly lowers T and not just DHT. I've been on ~100mg of glycyrrhizin (with about 400mg licorice per cap) and I can't say I've noticed any sides relating to the use of anti-androgens (no lowered sex drive or anything, but it is early days)

Michael Barry and Brian posted studies saying that topical Licorice actually reduced hair in rats, rather than growing it, so it sounds bad news for male pattern baldness. I've got some oil on the way, and I'll try some on my left leg to see what happens. (guess I'll have to shave it to apply it properly, it is a good thing that it's winter).

and yeah, I know that body hair is "inverse" to head hair, and if hair is stimulated on my body, it might not be stimulated on my head (and if growth is lessened on my body, it might be lessened on my head too ), maybe once I see what happens on my body I will try it on my head.

Will get some tea-tree oil and peppermint in as well I suppose.
I don't really expect them to be as effective as finasteride, but I can't seem to find any posts where people have followed through applying, and I'm interested to see what happens. These oils/supplements are very cheap, too

 

[Guest]

So Lavender and Tea Tree oil is suppose to help with Male Pattern Baldness but as a side effect, it may have a small chance of introducing Gynecomastia (as shown in the study on children)? Sorry if I got this wrong but that study is very hard to understand and I wish it was in plain, easy to understand English.

About trying oils on other body parts. Just because an oil may increase hair growth on say a toe, how can this relate to the scalp? Body hair is not effected by DHT like the scalp is so I fail to see what any tests done to the arm or toe will prove.

It is my understanding that the more thicker your hair is on your body, the more DHT build up you have on your scalp, is there any truth in this?

 

[follicle84]

I like your thinking but without minoxidil and finasteride your results will be very limited. Still its better than nothing and i am considering these alternatives. Good luck

 

[Jonathan Strange]

say goodbye to your hair mate :tellme:

That's naive. Not only have lavender oil and tea tree oil been shown in vitro to have strong AA effects (approximating flutamide, one of the strongest AAs known to man), they're potent enough in vivo to cause gynecomastia in children.

Applying a carrier oil like grapeseed, even without the addition of topical essential oils like lavender, is a totally rational way to treat Androgenetic Alopecia. Grapeseed oil contains oleic and linoleic acid in high concentrations. Both of these acids have been shown to inhibit 5AR when applied topically. Which is what finasteride does systemically.

I'm not saying these oils have finasteride-equivalent effects in vivo. Maybe they're worse, maybe they're better. But they're rational to use.

 

[cuebald]

About trying oils on other body parts. Just because an oil may increase hair growth on say a toe, how can this relate to the scalp? Body hair is not effected by DHT like the scalp is so I fail to see what any tests done to the arm or toe will prove.

It is my understanding that the more thicker your hair is on your body, the more DHT build up you have on your scalp, is there any truth in this?

I am wanting to see if any other mechanism apart from DHT is responsible for the hair growth/inhibiting effects of Lavender/Tea Tree Oil etc that others have noticed. Of course it won't be scientific and I have no way of proving anything.
Something that increases body hair due to increasing DHT is obviously going to be bad for the scalp, and it seems that the more you grow body hair, the balder you get (this isn't to say that all people with lots of body hair are bald, I've also seen bald people with hardly any body hair).
Back on that study of topical Licorice inhibiting growth in rats, I'd be suprised if that was due to inhibiting DHT. if it removed a lot of hair from my body, I still wouldn't use it on my head - there might be something else involved.
If nothing happens at all - I neither gain or lose any hair, I will be more comfortable knowing they might be safe to use on my hair. They also might be completely pointless.
I'm no expert on male pattern baldness, biology, chemistry or anything, I'm just saying what I'm doing. The stuff is cheap and I am interested. I'm sure CCS or someone experimented with herbal treatments too, but I think CCS being CCS waited a week, saw that he didn't have a massive NW1, and gave up.

 

[JLL]

In case you're interested:

Lygodium japonicum (Japanese climbing fern) inhibits conversion from testosterone to DHT

From the blog post:

According to the authors, the spore extract "showed remarkable activity" in inhibiting 5-alpha-reductase --

In hamsters treated with testosterone, the strongest Lygodii Spora extract showed the highest inhibition of growth --

Shaved mice treated with topical testosterone showed, unsurprisingly, a marked suppression of hair regrowth. However, when a 2% topical Lygodii Spora extract was applied after the testosterone treatment, they grew significantly more hair.