Great link and an interesting web site. Here is my two cents:
Like you, I find waiting as my brainpan gets bigger and my hair gets thinner very frustrating. The problem is proof requires time to...well...prove. Large, well constructed, double blind, placebo controlled studies require a large patient population and the results are (basically) based on averages. It's far more complicated than that (controls, exclusions, PT evaluations, blah, blah, blah) but that's the jist of it. None of the products we commonly use (other than FDA approved, *on label* medications) have the genuine data to back-up their claims. That's not to say I wouldn’t use (and I do) over the counter options typically sold from places like this great web site. What I'm getting at is the old proverb: The three great lies in life are: lies, dam lies and statistics.
Let me give you an example: in pharmaceuticals there are recognized studies (very expensive to undertake, well controlled, well designed, take a long time to complete and have a large patient population). There are also "Case Studies" that are published in popular trade journals. These case studies usually contain one, sometimes a few, patient, have essentially no controls and are almost entirely subjective in their conclusion. Professionals use case studies as antidotal information only - not as proof. Most of the "proof" I read about the common products we use are somewhere south of a case study. They use the words you would expect to see in a well-designed study, but when you dig deeper what you find is laughable. One herbal "remedy" was touting a study by an "independent" testing group and they claimed their product grew hair. The study was designed by a marketing flack and their own conclusions stated that their product didn't make the 5 test subjects hair loss *any worse*. These are my words, not theirs, but that is exactly what the result verbiage stated.
Another example is the laser comb. I do think there might be something there, but even the makers say they aren’t exactly sure why it works – but put forth their best, educated guess. However, I am not saying it doesn’t work….I think it does – for some. Without well-designed studies to find out who does and who does not respond and what criteria are favorable for results, you are shooting in the dark. For $700 dollars. I have no doubt that those who claim it works for them are telling the truth. I also suspect that for every 1 person it works, there is at least 1 for whom it does not work. Just consider that.
All of that is a long way of saying please know the reality of what we put on our heads and also use a healthy amount of skepticism before you spend you hard earned cash.
Like you, I find waiting as my brainpan gets bigger and my hair gets thinner very frustrating. The problem is proof requires time to...well...prove. Large, well constructed, double blind, placebo controlled studies require a large patient population and the results are (basically) based on averages. It's far more complicated than that (controls, exclusions, PT evaluations, blah, blah, blah) but that's the jist of it. None of the products we commonly use (other than FDA approved, *on label* medications) have the genuine data to back-up their claims. That's not to say I wouldn’t use (and I do) over the counter options typically sold from places like this great web site. What I'm getting at is the old proverb: The three great lies in life are: lies, dam lies and statistics.
Let me give you an example: in pharmaceuticals there are recognized studies (very expensive to undertake, well controlled, well designed, take a long time to complete and have a large patient population). There are also "Case Studies" that are published in popular trade journals. These case studies usually contain one, sometimes a few, patient, have essentially no controls and are almost entirely subjective in their conclusion. Professionals use case studies as antidotal information only - not as proof. Most of the "proof" I read about the common products we use are somewhere south of a case study. They use the words you would expect to see in a well-designed study, but when you dig deeper what you find is laughable. One herbal "remedy" was touting a study by an "independent" testing group and they claimed their product grew hair. The study was designed by a marketing flack and their own conclusions stated that their product didn't make the 5 test subjects hair loss *any worse*. These are my words, not theirs, but that is exactly what the result verbiage stated.
Another example is the laser comb. I do think there might be something there, but even the makers say they aren’t exactly sure why it works – but put forth their best, educated guess. However, I am not saying it doesn’t work….I think it does – for some. Without well-designed studies to find out who does and who does not respond and what criteria are favorable for results, you are shooting in the dark. For $700 dollars. I have no doubt that those who claim it works for them are telling the truth. I also suspect that for every 1 person it works, there is at least 1 for whom it does not work. Just consider that.
All of that is a long way of saying please know the reality of what we put on our heads and also use a healthy amount of skepticism before you spend you hard earned cash.