Hair Loss - Getting back to the Basics

Your Best Bet

Simply put, the treatments that are best to start with are those with FDA approval, or clinical trials proving their effectiveness at treating hair loss. The following treatments represent the ONLY FDA approved or clinically backed treatments for hair loss today. No matter what you read elsewhere, these are the ONLY products out there that have actually been shown to work in treating hair loss in men and women.

Propecia Men Only	83% effectiveness at maintaining or regrowing hair in men only. This is by far the best treatment out there.
Minoxidil 2% Men or Women	Mainly for stimulating hair growth. If you're new to hair loss and don't want to try Propecia, this is a good place to start.
Rogaine 5% Men or Women	Also for stimulating growth. Typically used by men with a good amount of lost hair. Both this and Minox 2% can be used in conjunction with Propecia to nearly double the chances of good results.
Tricomin Therapy Spray Men or Women	Very effective growth stimulant. Also can be used in conjunction with Propecia or Minoxidil.
Nizoral Shampoo Men or Women	You can get this in the grocery store. Used once every 3 days it is the only shampoo out there that can actually stimulate hair growth.

All of these treatments must be used religiously for 8-10 months at the very least before they will really begin to work well. Losing your hair is a slow process, so gaining it back or stopping it in its tracks is very slow as well. Propecia can take up to a year to work. A few of them can cause initial shedding as well, so the key is to stick with it no matter what. They work. They've been proven to.

Your Next Best Bet

Moving on from there you have a class of treatments which do not have FDA approval, but contain ingredients which have been shown to inhibit DHT or stimulate hair growth in mice or in the lab. For the most part, these are the only *OTHER* treatments you should ever consider.

Revivogen Men or Women	Potentially a topical DHT inhibitor, as an alternative to Propecia which inhibits DHT systemically
Crinagen Men or Women	Another topical DHT inhibitor
Folligen Men or Women	From the maker of Tricomin - uses similar technology to stimulate growth
Nizoral 2% Men or Women - Prescription	Stronger than grocery store Nizoral, antiandrogen/growth stimulant only if 1% doesn't work.
Topical Spironolactone Men or Women - Prescription	Powerful antiandrogen, only for use topically in men, orally in women.
Proxiphen Men or Women - Prescription	A combo topical treatment with growth stimulants and Antiandrogens
Custom Minoxidil Solutions Men or Women - Prescription	Stronger % Minoxidil solutions than the standard 2 and 5 %. May or may not work.

These products should only be considered if you have already used one or all of the FDA approved treatments for at least a year without any success. There is no reason why you should risk your wallet or your hair by trying these treatments first, unless you have some concerns about side effects, which have been shown to be minimal in the FDA approved products. Some like to use these treatments in conjunction with the FDA approved treatments. This is up to you.

"But what about _____ ?"

So you heard about a product on the radio, or saw something on TV, and its not listed above. They claimed it works for hair loss. Guess what. It probably doesn't. We have researched all the possible products out there, and the handful listed above are the ONLY treatments with potential or proof to work for hair loss. Period.

Without a doubt, any other products you have heard of fit into this last category, most commonly known as Snake Oils. These comprise of a whole class of products that might work, but have little or no clinical evidence to back such claims. You should avoid these products like your hair depended on it, because quite honestly, it does.

My BALONEY has a first name...

Snake oils typically make one of the following claims:

Reverses hair loss by cleaning dirt out of the Follicles - Dirt does not stop hair from growing.
Reverses hair loss by cleaning Sebum which clogs the follicle - Hair can grow through several layers of solid skin. Ingrown hairs are proof of this. Sebum - oil - therefore is not going to stop hair from growing by "blocking" its path.
Reverses hair loss by "cleaning DHT" from the scalp - You can't clean DHT from the scalp like you clean dirt from your skin, this is impossible.
Stimulates long term hair growth by improving circulation - While improving circulation can stimulate short term hair growth, it alone cannot stimulate long term hair growth. Any hair gained on treatments like this will most likely not exist after 3-6 months, if you notice any at all.
Claiming FDA approval - As you know, there are only two FDA approved treatments. Propecia and Minoxidil. Any treatment claiming this is not only breaking the law, you can most likely write it off as a snake oil.
Herbal Remedies - To date, there are no herbal remedies out there that have clinical studies backing their efficacy for treating hair loss.

Your best bet is to make yourself an informed consumer. This involves visiting reputable web sites that don't just promote one product. Sites that do are typically biased and not always trustworthy. Educating yourself on what really causes hair loss is your biggest defense against being fooled by a snake oil. If you find a product you're in question about, simply get a list of ingredients and see what science is backing them. Following these steps will enable you to avoid the the minefield of snake oils out there.

Print this page out. The next time you hear an advertisement on the radio for a hair loss treatment you're interested in, refer to this page and see if it passes the criteria. If it does, let us know about it If it doesn't you have our permission to call and verbally abuse them.