Hair loss treatment

The most frequently prescribed treatments for hereditary pattern baldness by dermatologists and hair loss clinics around the world are Propecia, or some other form of finasteride, such as Proscar, and Rogaine, or its generic form - minoxidil. Some doctors will also recommend you to use supplementary vitamin and mineral pills, some special shampoos, such as Nizoral, and a laser comb. But very few dermatologists and hair loss clinics will recommend their patients buy natural hair loss treatments. But there are so many of them out there and most of them claim that they work better than Propecia or any other medicinal treatment prescribed by your doctor, while being free of potential negative side effects so typical of prescription medicine. And some of the manufacturers seem to be so much convinced about the effectiveness of their product as to offer you a full money back guarantee. Or is it a catch?

First, one needs to differentiate between medical practice and the pharmaceutical industry on one hand and the cosmetics industry on the other. The medicinal and pharmaceuticals areas are strictly regulated in almost every country in the world, ensuring patient safety. Doctors can only prescribe certain medications for certain conditions and the safety and efficacy of such medications has to be approved by the national health supervisory authority. Such products are considered safe and clinically proven to help treat the given condition. If your doctor recommends you some other, unproven cosmetic hair loss remedy, they will be taking the risk of supporting a treatment that has not been subjected to any rigorous clinical testing. Most doctors would not do that since they have no guarantee that such a product would be beneficial to their patients and recommending a bad product could hurt their reputation.

Although some of the active ingredients in natural, hair loss products may pose a health risk, such as saw palmetto, despite the common belief that they are safe, this is not their main controversy. The principal question is whether the natural, hair loss remedies are effective in treating baldness. They might be effective to a certain degree since many of them contain generic minoxidil, the only existing, clinically-proven and FDA-approved, topical medicine for treating hereditary hair loss. Additional components usually include minerals, vitamins, proteins, essential fatty acids and herbal extracts. Most of these substances are either essential to ensuring healthy growth of hair and skin or they have been shown to promote hair growth, mostly in small studies conducted on rodents. They have never been clinically tested for treating hair loss and thus their effectiveness and mechanism of action are unknown. They may or may not help promote hair growth but since no clinical proof of their efficacy exists, the only way to find out is to buy them and try for yourself. And should they fail to work as promised, you may find out that the generous money- back guarantee, after deducting their incurred costs, only applies to a small percentage of the original price. This is the way some natural hair loss product manufacturers make their money.

In summary, no natural hair loss remedy has ever been clinically proven and independently verified to treat hereditary baldness. This does not necessarily mean that all natural hair loss remedies are ineffective as they might work for some of us. However, they are usually overpriced and should at best be expected to maintain your existing hair rather than grow new hair from a bald patch.

Although there is no natural hair loss treatment that would sell as much as some of the best-known hair-loss drugs - Propecia or Rogaine/Regaine their popularity is growing and now achieve significant sales volumes. Due to the sheer variety of natural hair-loss products, their combined sales might already exceed the sales of medicinal hair-loss treatments. The key to the growing popularity of natural products is a general belief that they are as effective as medicinal treatments but less expensive and do not carry the risk of negative side-effects. However, none of these claims appear be true.

No herbal or naturally-derived substance has ever been clinically proven and independently verified in a statistically significant sample to treat hereditary pattern baldness in humans. Hence, no matter what the marketers of the natural hair-loss treatments say about the superior effectiveness of their products, you should take their word with a grain of salt. That does not automatically imply, though, that all natural hair-loss products are a scam. Natural treatments are a mixed bag of numerous components that are thought to promote hair growth and they may work for some people but their mechanism of action is not known and their results can vary significantly between patients.

Herbal and naturally-derived supplements have not been subjected to any rigorous clinical testing regarding their safety as medicinal drugs. Most plants and naturally-derived substances are only tested on rodents not on humans. In addition, increasing numbers of herbs and herbal products are becoming responsible for serious allergic reactions. Many marketers tell you that saw palmetto is as effective as finasteride in treating hereditary baldness and that it can be used as its natural alternative. Its mode of action is said to be reducing the dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in your scalp, the same job finasteride does. However, saw palmetto is supposed to have no negative side-effects. Saw palmetto simply enjoys the best of both worlds; it is more effective than finasteride but as harmless as drinking water. A quick internet research turned up the following list of side-effects experienced by saw palmetto users: stomach pains and diarrhoea, severe bleeding during saw palmetto use, allergic reactions, difficulty with erections, testicular discomfort, decline in sexual desire, breast tenderness and enlargement and a warning that saw palmetto extract is not recommended for pregnant or breast-feeding women because of its possible hormonal activity. This shows that herbal substances may not be so harmless after all.

In addition to the aforesaid, the price comparison does not speak in favour of natural hair-loss products, either. They happen to be amongst the most outrageously-overpriced hair-loss cures on the market. Sure, it is not easy to beat the price of cheap generic minoxidil. But why should you pay ten times more for the same generic minoxidil just because it comes in a box with a few herbs and vitamins? Natural hair-loss products usually come as a complete treatment, consisting of topical and oral applications and a shampoo. You are advised to use the entire therapy, as the individual components complement each other and you should not abandon the treatment earlier than after six to nine months. This ensures very good profits for the manufacturer.