There’s been tons of research on the effects of Proscar, a pharmaceutical that prevents the conversion of testosterone to DHT or “dihydrotestosterone”. High levels of DHT have been implicated as a primary cause of male pattern baldness. But what is it that pharmaceuticals have over natural medicines in terms of efficacy? Could you do better using vitamins, minerals and herbs at lowering DHT levels — and shifting other biochemical factors related to hair loss? You sure as heck can, and here’s the supplements to investigate for the best support for your hair loss condition.
Why do we tend to think that synthetic pharmaceutical medicines will be more effective than herbs? It’s the money! It seems like these giant, hi-tech, well-funded companies — who have lots of cash to throw at formal research studies — should be able to produce the most effective medicines on the planet. But why? Why should they be better than plant extracts? When you think about it, there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever. It’s just that the makers of plant extracts can’t afford the huge clinical trials the pharmaceutical companies can. So an herbal medicine can actually be much more effective than a synthetic one, but if the synthetic one is even just slightly better than a placebo, it’s the only one legally allowed to be labeled as “effective in treating hair loss”.
And there are studies which clearly support the efficacy of natural treatments. They tend to be small in scale, and often focus on the effects of the herb extracts “in-vitro”. This means than it can be shown that chemical X can inhibit the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. This is the same thing the pharmaceutical does. But the study to get 100 men involved to take the pill with the herb for six months and evaluate their hair loss (or re-growth) is very costly, and the herb companies can’t afford it. (Though actually some small scale studies are in fact just producing the data we’re looking for — whether the FDA allows it to be used in marketing literature is still another matter).
We can divide up the supplement program into three categories: lowering of DHT production and activity, reducing inflammation (and thereby improving nutrient flow) at the follicles, and supplying nutrients necessary for the actual growth of hair.
To prevent DHT formation and block its binding at hair follicles, the big supplements are saw palmetto berry extract, nettle root extract, flax seed lignans, and soy isoflavones. There are more, but these are the ones that everyone agrees upon will do what you need. Note that the saw palmetto berry should always be an extract, not just the berry itself (it won’t be strong enough). Same with the nettle root.
These supplements actually work together in synergy — some will block formation and some will block binding. Typically these are available together, with the lignans as well, in formulas which support the prostate gland. Interestingly, the same nutrients which prevent prostate swelling also prevent hair loss — so if you want to choose the single most effective supplement, choose a high quality gel-cap (oil-based, for best absorption) prostate support formula. It is actually because we know that these work to reduce prostate swelling resulting from DHT production and binding (the symptoms are alleviated quickly) that it’s safe to believe the same actions will help prevent further hair loss.
Soybean extracts sound a little weird — aren’t these for women who need extra estrogen? It turns out that bacteria naturally found in our digestive system turn certain components of soybean extracts into a chemical that has the strongest DHT inhibiting qualities of any known compound to date.
On to inflammation: Chronic inflammation (as opposed to “acute”, which is the result of an injury of some kind) has been implicated in all sorts of aging processes. Specifically, it seems to be what kills off the hair follicles we so desperately want to keep alive. So find any good quality supplement designed to reduce inflammation throughout the body — the best might be one that contains an easily absorbed form of “curcumin”, an extract of the Indian spice “turmeric”.
As for nutrients that simply support, and perhaps signal the growth of hair: B-vitamins, specifically biotin and inositol; Sulfur sources such as methyl-sulfonyl-methane (“msm”); The amino acids l-taurine, l-arginine and l-lysine; essential fats from flaxseed oil, hempseed oil and coconut oil. All these play some roll in hair growth, and being deficient in any of them can lead to slower hair growth or potentially faster hair loss.
While these seem like a lot, if you choose to take them all, you can simplify the process by spending some time dividing up your daily doses into a vitamin box. This way you won’t have to open 5 bottles a day — just reach in, grab your handful and go. All the supplements her have some sort of scientific support for treating male pattern baldness, and putting them altogether is really likely to have some positive effect on your hair growth if consistently used for 3 months or more. Finally, consider combining them with a topical treatment containing natural hair growth stimulating ingredients such as rosemary, sage and lavender essential oils (yes, they’re not just great scents, they’re medicines as well). You find excellent recipes for blends of these oils as hair treatments, which can be even more effective when combined with the internal supplement program described here.
More information on medical aromatherapy and proper use of aromatherapy carrier oils is available online at the Ananda Apothecary.
