Some nonprescription hair loss products may actually be effective, according to a new review in a prestigious medical journal.
Dec. 7, 2022 -- You’ve likely seen the ads for nutritional supplements, gummies, shampoos, and other nonprescription products that allegedly help stop hair loss.
“For patients that are highly motivated and eager to try this, we’re hoping that this systematic review serves as a foundation to have a conversation,” with a dermatologist, says study co-author Arash Mostaghimi, MD, MPH, assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School. The review is important because “it basically kind of vindicates what some of us have been doing for a number of years in terms of treating hair loss,” she says. “It should hopefully make it more commonplace for dermatologists to consider using nutritional supplements as an adjuvant to treating hair loss."
The review begins with a look at saw palmetto , a botanical compound thought to block the action of 5-alpha reductase, which converts testosterone to dihydroxytestosterone . DHT is involved in male and female pattern hair loss . The drug finasteride works in a similar way. Saw palmetto appears to stabilize hair loss, “although its effect is likely less than that of finasteride,” write the authors.
Multi-ingredient supplements such as Nutrafol and Lambdapil seemed to have some effectiveness, but each of the studies was flawed in some way, say Mostaghimi and his colleagues.Simmons-O’Brien says that when evaluating patients with hair loss, she runs tests to determine if there is anemia or a thyroid issue or deficiencies in vitamins or minerals or other nutritional deficiencies, asks about diet and styling practices, and takes a scalp biopsy.
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