Dody the Guinea Pig
Hi! My name is Dody, I am the editor of this website. I am 39 years of age, balding and turning grey from the age of 18. I am currently NW4 and half of my hair is naturally grey. There is no shortage of baldness and premature greying in my family history. I have long accepted the fact that I was going to be bald and I let nature take its own course. That makes me a bad example of a hair loss patient, as I only started treating my baldness when it had progressed too far. I have tried many treatments, both for grey hair and hair loss, with varying degrees of success. You can scroll down the page to read about my experiences with the treatments I have used. I set up this blog in order to share my experiences and would like to encourage you to share yours too, by writing consumer reviews on any product you have used. Just click on the
"RATE IT" button wherever you find it and fill in the form. Please use this function to warn other readers about
'snake oils' and to recommend treatments that you have found effective. The scope of this website is not limited to reviewing topical and oral hair treatments. If you have had a hair transplant, you are very welcome to leave a comment too. Just type in
"hair transplant" in the "Name of the Product" box.
My Current Regimen
Finasteride - 1mg a day
Minoxidil - foam in the morning and lotion (5%) in the evening
Grecian formula - twice a week (grey hair treatment)
Things I have tried in the past
This is a list of treatments I have tried since the beginning of my experiments. You should not take it as instruction for your own treatment. Consult your doctor. We are all different. Things that have or have not worked for me might have a completely different effect on you.
Grey Hair Treatments
Grecian formula: since 2002, twice a week, topical
I have been using Grecian formula and Greyout for years with very good success. I also have my own recipe that I occasionally get prepared for me in the pharmacy. It is basically the same mixture as Grecian but more greasy.
Folic acid and PABA: May 2007 - October 2007, 800 mcg of folic acid and 370 mg of PABA daily, oral
I have been studying the effect of extra intake of folic acid and PABA together with Fo-Ti on my greying hair for six months. No difference in colour.
Fo-Ti: July 2006 - October 2007, 2g of extract daily (12:1), oral
No visible impact on my grey hair. It only gave me slight diarrhoea at the beginning of the treatment. I do not know of anybody personally who could report positive results from treating grey hair with Fo-Ti.
Apple cider vinegar: solution in water (1:3), tried daily for two weeks, topical
I have been applying the apple cider vinegar on my grey hair, but as I saw my re-pigmented hair turning grey after about two weeks of using it, I dropped it. Although, I didn’t use it long enough to see any long-term impact, I doubt there would be any.
Hair Loss Treatments
Finasteride: since October 2007, 1 mg daily, oral
I am finally registering some thickening of vellus hair in the vertex area. This is the first time since I began treating my baldness that I have noticed more fullness on my scalp. To date I have not experienced any side effects.
Minoxidil: since November 2006, 1 ml 2x day, foam and liquid form 5%, topical
Minoxidil (probably in combination with aminexil) helped me stop my hair loss but I have not seen any regrowth from minoxidil alone. It was only when I added finasteride to my daily regimen that the full potential of minoxidil was achieved and some vellus hair started growing longer and increasing its diameter. I have been using 15% generic minoxidil lotion with 5% azelaic acid since mid-March.
Aminexil: November/December 2006, September/October 2007, topical
I have done two six-week treatments with aminexil so far, as recommended by the manufacturer and I noticed a mild improvement in the fullness of my hair after the first treatment.
Azelaic acid: since April 2007, 5% solution with minoxidil 5%, almost daily, topical
I cannot notice any real difference between the efficacy of plain minoxidil and a mixture of minoxidil with azelaic acid.
Green Tea: ca seven cups a day for ages
I have been drinking gallons of green tea for years (it is my favourite drink, narrowly beating beer) but it has not prevented me from balding.
Beta-sitosterol: January 2007 - December 2007, 375 mg daily, oral
I added beta-sitosterol to my saw palmetto treatment but I have not experienced any improvement of my hair loss condition. However, I have noticed that it has made my complexion become smoother and this observation has also been confirmed by other beta-sitosterol users. I am still using it irregularly as I want to finish my stock.
Saw palmetto: November 2005 - September 2007, 320 mg of extract (4:1) daily, oral
I have been using saw palmetto daily for almost two years and have not registered any positive impact on my hair.
Caffeine: May 2007 - July 2007, 0.005% solution in apple cider vinegar and water (1:3), daily, topical
I have been using my own caffeine topical daily for about three months (too short to get measurable results), applying it to my scalp for about 5-10 minutes before washing my hair in the morning. I was afraid that caffeine could interfere with minoxidil (due to its opposite mode of action) and waited for hours before applying minoxidil. I discontinued the use of caffeine as I saw no immediate results.
Ginkgo biloba: August 2006 - January 2007, 60 mg of 24% extract, daily, oral
I have been using this herb for six months and I have not observed any improvement in my hair loss condition.
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM): August 2006 - January 2007, 800 mg daily, oral
I have been using MSM for about six months and the accelerated growth of my hair was the only benefit I noticed.
Alfatradiol: November 2005 - October 2006, 3 ml daily, 0.03% solution, topical
I have spent one year on Pantostin as the only topical I have been using, without results.
Viviscal: December 2005 - February 2006, two capsules daily
I have also stumbled over this expensive "cure'. BTW, it does not taste as bad as many consumers say.
