old cayane pepper and vodka rinse may have a shred of truth?

[BH 90 NWtwo 10]

Researchers in Japan have found that chemical compounds found in cayenne peppers and soy beans stimulate hair growth.

Capsaicin - a chemical component in cayenne peppers – has been shown to increase IGF-I production in previous studies. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plays an important role in hair growth. In another separate study isoflavone - a phytoestrogen found in soy beans - was also found to increase IGF-1 production.

In the study below the researchers decided to test a combination of capsaicin and isoflavone as a hair growth stimulant.

They first tested it on mice and gave the mice oral doses of capsaicin and isoflavone for a period of 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks they found that the mice that had been given these chemical compounds had increased IGF-I levels in their dermal papillae of their hair follicles.

The researchers then gave it to human volunteers suffering with hair loss. Volunteers with alopecia (hair loss) were given oral doses of capsaicin (6mg/day) and isoflavone (75mg/day) for 5 months.

After 5 months the plasma (blood) levels of IGF-I were significantly increased from baseline levels in the 31 volunteers who had taken the active ingredients, compared to the 17 volunteers who just got a placebo.

In addition, the number of volunteers with alopecia who showed promotion of hair growth at 5 months was significantly higher among volunteers administered capsaicin and isoflavone than the placebo group.

Based on this outcome the researchers concluded that combined administration of capsaicin and isoflavone might increase IGF-I production in hair follicles in the skin, thereby promoting hair growth.

 

[bornthisway]

Part of this study (basically w/ numeric values):

Plasma levels of IGF-I were significantly increased from baseline levels in 31 volunteers with alopecia at 5months after oral administration of capsaicin (6mg/day) and isoflavone (75mg/day) (p<0.01), while they were not increased in 17 volunteers with alopecia administered placebo. The number of volunteers with alopecia who showed promotion of hair growth at 5months after administration was significantly higher among volunteers administered capsaicin and isoflavone (20/31: 64.5%) than among those administered placebo (2/17: 11.8%) (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: These observations strongly suggested that combined administration of capsaicin and isoflavone might increase IGF-I production in hair follicles in the skin, thereby promoting hair growth. Such effects of capsaicin and isoflavone might be mediated by sensory neuron activation in the skin.

 

[bornthisway]

This was reported in the news 3 years ago as well...

"Chili peppers, beans 'promote hair growth"

Main Category: Public Health News
Article Date: 21 Jul 2004 - 9:00 PDT

Eating a combination of chili peppers and soybeans is likely to promote hair growth, according to a researcher at Kumamoto University.

Kenji Okajima, an assistant professor at the university's Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, found that a combination of capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers spicy, and isoflavone, which is found in soy beans, helped restore head and eyebrow hair that had fallen out due to stress.

According to Okajima's research, capsaicin raises levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP, by stimulating the sensory nerves. CGRP in turn raises levels of an insulinlike growth factor, that is recognized as important for hair growth. Isoflavone promotes the production of CGRP.

In the study Okajima, who is a hematologist by trade, asked a man who was losing hair due to stress to take six milligrams of capsaicin--the amount found in about two grams of chili pepper--and 75 milligrams of isoflavone--the amount found in about 200 grams of bean curd--each day.

After about one month of the regime, the man's eyebrows and the hair on the top of his head started to grow back. Now, two months since he started taking capsaicin and isoflavone, his hair is said to be growing normally.

 

[JayB]

How does a person get capsaicin without eating scoldingly hot chilli peppers? Is it available in a pill form, or would that essentially render it useless

 

[BH 90 NWtwo 10]

after reading the artical last week i started putting in 2 table spoons of cayane pepper into my morning freshly blended tomato juice. do you guys think that would work? or does the cayane pepper need to be eatin while fresh... yikes

 

[bornthisway]

I take 500mg cayenne pepper, 200mg caffeine anhydrous, PEA 150mg, and hordenine 50mg part of a workout stack everyday. I have been for months, it was like 15$ for two bottles. The max dosage you can take is 3 times a day, which would give me 1500mg of caffeine pepper.. and 600mg of caffeine. Today, i took 1000mg of caffeine during my workout since I workout for about 2 hours a day. I am not sure if this will help, I'm thinking maybe it needs to be w/ a topical. I cannot say I've had any hair regrowth, that's for sure on that dosage... I'm thinking perhaps 1000mg internal, AND, an external application (which is probably the most beneficial)... otherwise, I need to take another source of cayenne pepper w/o the caffeine and whatnot internally - who knows, it may make a difference..

 

[Jkkezh]

after reading the artical last week i started putting in 2 table spoons of cayane pepper into my morning freshly blended tomato juice. do you guys think that would work? or does the cayane pepper need to be eatin while fresh... yikes

2 tablespoons!!??

 

[BH 90 NWtwo 10]

haha sorry! teaspoons**

 

[harold]

The ammount of capsaicin varies greatly between types of chillis. It is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU). Pure cappsaicin has about 16 000 000 SHU. Cayenne pepper between 30-50,000. Habareno peppers have about 300,000 SHU. This should give some very rough idea of the ammount of chilli necessary to consume to reach those ammounts.
External application of something like a crushed up habareno chilli? Could be scary stuff. Tried it myself on my face after reading this article. After a few minutes it burns. Another few minutes and a giant red rash had formed as the spots where I had applied the juice became flushed with blood. This went on for a couple of hours. It was not unbearable but it leads to the next point - it is really difficult to get off and it gets everywhere. Lets just say dont mess with contact lenses with this kind of stuff. Capsaicin is highly hydrophobic so you need detergent or something to rinse it off. Even then my girlfriend would touch her eye or something after being in contact with me and be in sudden pain. Kind of makes you thinnk about stuff like topical dutasteride and how it always seems to have systemic effects. As another substance largely insoluble in water it may not be washing off in the shower and just basically getting everywhere as you touch your hair/head.
The crazy things I try to try in order to get away from oral finasteride/dutasteride......
hh

 

[Jkkezh]

So how much cayenne pepper would one have to take daily to get the 6mg capsaicin from the study??

 

[BH 90 NWtwo 10]

for those of us with a buzzed or shaved head, would u agree it is much easier to use?

 

[otis]

Its bogus people hav tried pepper for a hundred years already.
its an old folk remidy here in the U.S.

 

[Jkkezh]

So how much cayenne pepper would one have to take daily to get the 6mg capsaicin from the study??

The recommended amount of cayenne pepper would be 1-3 grams, and the recommended amount of soy would be 1 capsule of Super Absorbable Soy Isoflavones,(approximately doubling the amount of isoflavones used in this study) for those looking to replicate this study for personal use. Cayenne pepper is widely and inexpensively available at most nutrition stores.

from: http://www.hairloss-research.org/UpdateCayenne7-07.html

 

[Renegade]

I'm inclined to agree with otis. Spectral DNC has capsicum in it (it's what gives you that burning sensation when applied), and in the 3 1/2 months I've been on it, I've steadily gone downhill. This has been after substituting it for my nightly application of the foam, so I guess I will be going back to that.

Next possible miracle compound please!

 

[ripple-effect]

Where am I supposed to find 6mg of capsaicin in pill form? I found some cayenne pepper w/ .25% capsaicin in each pill I think that contains 450 mg of cayenne pepper. Do the math...wouldn't it be about 5 pills a day to equal about 6mg of capsaicin?

Is it safe to take this many at a time? The suggested use is 1 capsule 3 times a day.

 

[Jkkezh]

Why not just buy some cayenne pepper, and mix it in your food, should be very cheap. It tastes pretty good mixed with tomato soup or juice. 1-2 teaspoons should be enough to get the 1-3 grams of cayenne pepper for 6mg of caspaicin....

 

[ripple-effect]

Are all soy isoflavone capsules "Super Absorbable"?

Renegade, does Spectral also have isoflavones in it? This study includes capsaicin + isoflavones...not just capsaicin.

 

[Renegade]

Nope, no soy isoflavones in it.

As for the capsacin, it's possible to have some benefit when taken internally. I have no idea how much it would take.

As for the soy isoflavones, I drink "Silk" (soy milk) pretty regularly which is loaded with those and I don't think it has any effect on hair. They are good for overall health though.

 

[ripple-effect]

I also drink soy milk in place of regular milk and I agree that it has little or no impact on hair loss but I heard someone on this site (I think allen_austrailia) say that drinking soy milk isn't enough. You have to get the soy isoflavones + soy protein directly from the source (e.g. soybeans, tofu).