The most frequently prescribed treatments for male pattern baldness by dermatologists and hair loss clinics around the world are Propecia, or some other form of finasteride, such as Proscar, and Regaine, or its generic form - minoxidil. Some doctors will also recommend you to use supplementary vitamin and mineral pills, some special anti-dandruff shampoos 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’s 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 product, 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 products are effective in treating baldness. They might be effective to a certain degree since many of them contain minoxidil, the only existing clinically-proven and FDA-approved topical medicine for treating hereditary baldness. Additional components usually include minerals, vitamins, amino acids, 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 new 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 manufacturers of natural hair loss products earn their money.
In summary, no natural hair loss product has ever been clinically proven and independently verified to treat male pattern 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 spot.
You are encouraged to visit Dody’s GreyHairLoss blog to read about
treatments for grey hair and hair loss and to share your experiences, in order to warn other sufferers about hair scams and recommend products that you have found effective.
