Why the Nizoral?

[GNUist (formerly FC)]

Hello. I'm taking proscer. It seems like everyone taking the proscer/propecia also takes "Nizoral", some kind of health shampoo. Does this actually help stop the baldness, and if so can someone eexplain it to me? Or does it just make your scalp healthy, which is more important when you're thinning and poeple might see it? :turned:

 

[treadstone]

My eyes!!!! :shock:

 

[GNUist (formerly FC)]

My eyes!!!! :shock:

oops, didn't know it would look that bad...

here's what i said:

Hello. I'm taking proscer. It seems like everyone taking the proscer/propecia also takes "Nizoral", some kind of health shampoo. Does this actually help stop the baldness, and if so can someone eexplain it to me? Or does it just make your scalp healthy, which is more important when you're thinning and poeple might see it?

 

[treadstone]

There's a lot you can read about it on the main website (as well as on the forums), but the short of it is that hairloss tends to be seen as an inflammatory or a byproduct of inflammatory processes. So controlling the inflammation through an anti-inflammatory shampoo like Nizoral aids other treatments. Some people report not seeing any results with Propecia/Proscar until they added Nizoral in their regimen. On its own though, Nizoral probably won't do much, but it's a good way to ensure your scalp is not in a condition that can be detrimental to hair maintenence/regrowth.

The other major benefit to Nizoral is that its active ingredient, ketoconazole is also a mild antiandrogen.

 

[pproctor]

Nizoral (ketoconazole) is thought to work by killing the fungus that induces seborrheic dermatitis. There is significant evidence that seborrheic dermatitis exacerbates the balding process, perhap, as others have noted, by exacerbating the inflammatory component.

Interestingly, the efficacy of antiseborrheal agents in some cases of pattern loss has been known for 2000 years. E.g., a 1st century medical writer reports the use of "tar" ) an antiseborrheic agent in the treatment of pattern loss. A modern application of this is the use of a coal-tar preparation ("T-gel") in both wings of the finasteride trial to minimize seborrheic dermatitis as a variable. It may not be a big effect, but it is certainly a real one.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

 

[GNUist (formerly FC)]

Nizoral (ketoconazole) is thought to work by killing the fungus that induces seborrheic dermatitis. There is significant evidence that seborrheic dermatitis exacerbates the balding process, perhap, as others have noted, by exacerbating the inflammatory component.

Interestingly, the efficacy of antiseborrheal agents in some cases of pattern loss has been known for 2000 years. E.g., a 1st century medical writer reports the use of "tar" ) an antiseborrheic agent in the treatment of pattern loss. A modern application of this is the use of a coal-tar preparation ("T-gel") in both wings of the finasteride trial to minimize seborrheic dermatitis as a variable. It may not be a big effect, but it is certainly a real one.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD

T-Gel? I use that stuff, because sometimes in the winter i get really bad dandruff... But some chicks really into hair told me it would make me go bald... So it's a good idea? And is T-Gel a kind of ketoconazole?

 

[CCS]

My eyes!!!! :shock:

Just highlight it. Reads easy then. Yeah, just proves my color vision not as good as I'd like. Military color vision test was easy except the last 3.

 

[CCS]

There's a lot you can read about it on the main website (as well as on the forums), but the short of it is that hairloss tends to be seen as an inflammatory or a byproduct of inflammatory processes. So controlling the inflammation through an anti-inflammatory shampoo like Nizoral aids other treatments. Some people report not seeing any results with Propecia/Proscar until they added Nizoral in their regimen. On its own though, Nizoral probably won't do much, but it's a good way to ensure your scalp is not in a condition that can be detrimental to hair maintenence/regrowth.

The other major benefit to Nizoral is that its active ingredient, ketoconazole is also a mild antiandrogen.

Correct 100%. Inflammation is believed to be a major player in balding. You need a 5ar2 inhibitor, and anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant, an androgen receptor blocker, a local estrogen mimicker, some copper peptides, and even a 5ar1 inhibitor for maximum results.

Anti-oxidants preserve NO, and prevent super oxide, thereby having a natural minoxidil effect. Minoxidil is like artificial NO.

 

[pproctor]

T-Gel? I use that stuff, because sometimes in the winter i get really bad dandruff... But some chicks really into hair told me it would make me go bald... So it's a good idea? And is T-Gel a kind of ketoconazole?

Nizoral works by killing the fungus that causes seborrheic dermatitis. However, nobody knows exactly how "tars' work. The most likely explaination is that they inhibit the action/replication of the inflammatory cells present in Seb derm.

Clearing up seb derm may help in pattern loss. Except in some cases of frank seborrheic dermatitis, this is generally not a big effect. This is why it took so long to be generally recognized, although it is all over the older medical literature. "Older" meaning extending back nearly 2000 years. Few, if any, modern medications go this far back.

But every little bit helps. It is also true that "The dose makes the poison" and that too much T-gel (or whatever) might hurt hair growth.

Peter H. Proctor, PhD,MD