Hair Loss & Grey Hair Remedy Reviews

Choosing the Best Treatment for Hair Loss

Posted by Dody in: Hair Loss

The main existing approaches to combating hair loss include a) antiandrogen treatment, which addresses the leading cause of hereditary baldness – dihydrotestosterone's (DHT) negative effects on hair follicles and b) promoting new hair growth with hair growth stimulants. Hereditary hair loss in both men and women is caused by DHT attacking our hair follicles, leading to their miniaturisation and eventual death. Propecia (generic name finasteride) is the only FDA-approved antiandrogen for treating hair loss in men and one of the only two FDA-approved hair loss treatments available today. The other FDA-approved treatment is Rogaine (generic name minoxidil) and it is a hair growth stimulant that can be used by both sexes. These two drugs are generally considered the best options for treating male hair loss at the moment and should be tried first.

Some doctors recommend fortifying the effects of these two drugs with a ketoconazole-containing shampoo such as Nizoral. Both finasteride and minoxidil are, besides their original formulations, also available in generic, and, therefore, less expensive formulations. Dutasteride is a drug similar to finasteride in its effects and also frequently prescribed to male customers. Though considered to be yet more effective than finasteride, its FDA approval for hair loss is still pending. Female alternatives to finasteride are two antiandrogens - spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) and cyproterone acetate (Diane 35, Diane 50, Ginette 35). Both of them are commonly prescribed to female hair loss patients and have demonstrated some efficacy, although none of them has been approved as a hair loss treatment by the FDA.

However, the aforementioned medicinal treatments, and particularly finasteride, are often blamed for causing negative side effects. Finasteride works by inhibiting the conversion of the male hormone testosterone into follicle-harming DHT, thus reducing its plasma levels. This can have feminising effects on some male patients. Therefore, scientists are looking for alternative antiandrogen therapies that would, instead of preventing the conversion into DHT, bind to the receptor sites in hair follicles and thus compete with DHT. This approach is expected to prevent the negative side effects resulting from the artificially low DHT levels in the male body caused by finasteride treatment.

Many herbs and naturally-derived substances are claimed to address hair loss by binding to and blocking activity in the androgen receptor sites of hair follicles. Although no relevant clinical proof exists some of those substances have demonstrated, in smaller, usually sponsored, studies, the ability to promote hair growth and can be found in numerous generic, hair loss products. A list of such substances includes extracts from saw palmetto, stinging nettle, pygeum africanum and green tea, beta-sitosterol, azelaic acid, caffeine, essential fatty acids, alfatradiol, etc.

Other promising substances that have been shown to promote hair growth but which do not seem to interfere with DHT include aminexil, a molecule similar to minoxidil, procyanidins, adenosine, copper peptides and superoxide dismutase. The HairMax laser comb, though not FDA-approved, as often misleadingly claimed by its marketers, may be considered helpful in improving the overall health of the scalp and is often used as a supportive treatment to some of the above-mentioned therapies.

When deciding on the best treatment for your current condition, you should first try the two FDA-approved remedies and start experimenting with alternative treatments only to enhance this basic regimen or if negative side effects occur, forcing you to abandon medicinal treatments. Although it is often necessary to experiment with several different treatments, avoid using them all at the same time. We are all different and, therefore, it is impossible to say what works best for everybody. Some treatments work better than others and this list mentions only the most promising hair loss remedies available today, so look out for them when deciding what to buy.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, dutasteride, minoxidil, antiandrogen

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Choosing the Best Product for Your Greying Hair

Posted by Dody in: Grey Hair

Given the current medicinal options, it is not possible to reverse the colour of your grey hair naturally. Although there are a number of products that derive their anti-grey hair effects from Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine or homeopathy, all of them have one thing in common and that is they are not effective for the great majority of grey hair sufferers and were made to earn money for their originators rather than to reverse grey hair. The only remaining effective option for changing the colour of your grey hair is to cover it. You can colour your hair either with hair dyes or progressive hair colorants. Both hair dyes and progressive hair colorants use chemicals that in some individuals can cause allergies. Hair dyes can be temporary, semi-permanent, demi-permanent or permanent, depending on the durability of their coverage, which goes hand in hand with their aggressiveness. The longer-lasting hair dyes need to penetrate deeper into the hair shaft, which makes them more destructive to your hair. The colour change with all hair dyes is sudden and they colour all your hair – white and pigmented alike.

Progressive hair colorants, as their name says, colour your hair gradually and unnoticeably and enable you to keep some of your hair grey, to look more natural. They are the preferred option for all those who seek a discrete solution for covering their greying hair. They are typically less aggressive to your hair than durable forms of hair dyes. Some progressive hair colorants use metallic salts and some are organic based. The most recommended products in this category are Re-Nature, which uses organic chemicals, and GreyBan. GreyBan is sold worldwide in two versions – the older version, which uses lead acetate, and a new, improved product that employs bismuth citrate and is, therefore, considered a safer option. The most recommended product among hair dyes is Touch of Gray that works stepwise, which makes it similar to progressive hair colorants.

Tags: grey hair, gray hair, hair colorant, white hair, hair dye

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Dutasteride Review (Avodart)

Posted by Dody in: Hair Loss Treatments

Dutasteride (trade name Avodart) is a dual, 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. 5-alpha reductase is an enzyme present in the human body, which converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT has been found to be the main cause of hair loss, known as male pattern baldness. Dutasteride belongs to the same group of drugs as finasteride (the main active ingredient of Propecia) but it is a dual, 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, so that it inhibits both isoforms of 5-alpha reductase and is therefore believed to be a more potent DHT blocker. It is a newer drug than finasteride and, in the form of Avodart, it has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

GlaxoSmithKline developed this drug and has conducted a clinical trial with the aim of examining its effects on hair loss. The final phase of this trial was completed this year and the release of the study’s results is pending. Preliminary data so far indicate that dutasteride is a more powerful hair loss pill than finasteride and many hope it could be more effective in regrowing hair in the frontal area of the scalp. The main concern associated with the continued use of dutasteride is its potential side effects. They are thought to be similar to those of finasteride, such as decreased libido, ejaculation disorders, weight gain and, in extreme cases, breast enlargement. However, dutasteride, being a dual 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, stays in the human body much longer. Finasteride virtually disappears within 24 hours, whereas the serum half-life for dutasteride can be several months.

Dutasteride, though not yet approved for treating hair loss by the FDA in the US, is in some countries a commonly prescribed pill for male pattern baldness. It is also being prescribed by some doctors in the US as an "off label" treatment for hair loss, though with caution and after a complete examination and diagnosis by an experienced hair restoration specialist. Consumer reviews of dutasteride's effectiveness in treating hair loss can be found at online forums and seem largely positive. The main negative factor mentioned in such reviews is obviously the fear of side effects, though the immediate effects do not seem to be any more worrying than those from the use of finasteride.

Tags: dutasteride, dutasteride review, Avodart, hair loss

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