What kind of success (or lack of) has anyone had with the shampoos and conditioners designed for thinning hair? My hair dresser recommended a shampoo and leave in conditioner for me to try and I'm just wondering what to expect.

i would be surprised if a shampoo or conditioner could do anything to stop hair from thinning...there may be volumizing products that try to make the hair appear thicker...have you seen a dr to try and find out why you are losing hair?

I'd use Nioxin. Look at their website and ask some salons about it. It is more costly than many, but worth it and it last a long time. They make some specific products, as more of a treatment, for hair loss. Good luck.

I tried Nioxin and wasn't too thrilled with the results - been using Rogaine and much happier with the results.

BTW - I had one of my eyebrows "massacred" a few months ago when I was getting it shaped/waxed. The dermatologist rec'd putting Rogaine on a q-tip daily and rubbing it on my eyebrow - it DID grow back in faster!

You can also get regrowth of hair using a tea tree oil shampoo, it cleans and gets the hair folical in the right working order. And you can add extra tea tree oil to the shampoo, you'd need to empty some of the shampoo into a container so there would be enough room for shaking it up. Only a few though, 8 drops for a 8oz bottle, so if you pour some out take that into consideration. This is much cheaper than rogain. If money saving is something you like to do, this would be a good alternative. You can even make your own tea/tree shampoo's too, and remember to just massage it in, let it set on the hair for awhile, twenty min. or so. Do a test with the oil..to check for allergic reations, a drop of pure tea/tree oil on the inside of the arm, you will know within minutes if you are allergic. Tea/tree oil is spendy, but one little bottle goes along way, and there are all kinds of great uses for it. Store it where it's cool and dark and don't store the bottle with other med. or cosmetics.
After a few treatments, you'll want to go every other shampoo with the stronger mix. Diana

[This message has been edited by drs (edited 08-22-2002).]

I've been using the new shampoo for about a week now. The fallout seems to be worse now than before. I've heard about the shampoos which get rid of the sebum(?) which clogs and eventually kills the hair folicle. I guess I thought that was how the shampoos for thinning hair would work. Should I expect to see a temporary increase in fallout when I first start it? From the things I've read, if there's too much sebum, the hairs that have already fallen out, get "stuck" in the sebum, so that when the shampoo cuts away at the sebum, these hairs also fall away.

I went to the doctor. I had my thyroid checked last year and it was normal and since I don't have any other symptoms of thyroid problems, he doesn't think that's the problem. He told me to try saw palmetto (this doctor is into herbs/supplements) because it has something to do with preventing testosterone from converting into DHT which is what can cause male baldness. (I'm female). I have an appointment made with a dermatologist, but my regular doctor doesn't think it will do much good, since my hair's thinning all over.

Also, I've never heard of a tea tree oil shampoo. Is this something that can be bought in at a drugstore?

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated as I'm at a loss for what to do.

I am 25 and lost about half of my hair due to the combination of Depakote and Accutane. I tried all the shampoos and FOUND ONE. You can order it from HSN.com. It is cosmetic, I do not believe it regrows hair, but my hair looks and feels like a full head when I wash it. It is called SAMY VOLUME PLUS. It is not very expensive. You get a set of shampoo and conditioner and spray for 30 or so dollars. Trust this!! The best thing is that if you have thinning hair or thin hair usually conditioners make it lifeless, but this product does the opposite so do not be afraid to use the conditioner.

Debe.

In addition to using this Sammy product I would definately try the tea tree oil for the regrowth, you can buy just the oil and add it to your favorite shampoo, I would try alternating between the two. I do know that for an 8 oz bottle you should add about 10 drops. The tea tree oil is sold at some pharmacies, or health food stores, vitamin shops, just call around, and see if they have it. When I say it is spendy, I mean about 8or9 dollars for a 1/2 oz. If you get a bigger size it's cheaper over all. I use it for zits, red marks that refuse to go away, bug bites, fungal infections...the list goes on..since your hair is coming out all over the head and not in just one spot, use the shampoo and make sure it sits on the head awhile, use the instructions I gave in the last post, this stuff is pretty strong..good luck. Diana

I have been having hari loss for a few years now. I've tried Rogaine.....didn't work. I go to see an endochronologist today to see if he can figure out whats going on.

Anyhow, Suave makes a very good volumizing conditioner and it does seems to make my hair feel and look thicker, plus it's inexpensive so if you try it and don't like it you've only invested about $2. But I've used it for about a month now and I like it.

I have seen tea/tree oil shampoos at a pharmacy (drug emporium). Do you think this works or should I get the real tea tree oil that you are speaking of? I have very bad hairloss and am very very desperate for something to help my hair grow back.