I'm loosing a lot of hair recently and I was wondering if anyone has tried any products, conditioners or oils in the store that have helped with that? I've read the other posts and have started taking a multi-vitamin, and also a vitamin supplement just for hair. But I am looking for good products to put directly on my head/hair.

Your best regimen for hairloss:
- Propecia
- Nizoral shampoo
- minoxodil

Problems could be elsewhere; but if DHT is wreaking havoc on your system; you can't beat the above treatment

I don't know of any products or anything about hair loss but maybe just searching on the internet for stuff about hair loss could help you, or you could go see your doctor.

Hereiam:
I wasn't sure if you are male/female, but if you are female and the hair loss is related to a drop in hormone levels due to age, you can try a multivitamin distributed by GNC (Hair/Skin/Nails for Women) or a similar product that contains evening primose or bayberry extracts, along with B-vitamins. I noticed hair thinning/loss starting at around age 35 and began taking these vitamins and within about 2 months time, I noticed a slow down in the number of hairs lost per day. I also began to take note that at certain times of the month, the loss was greater or less than at other times, which confirmed my belief that the cause was hormone-related. You can find many many articles on the Internet concerning this topic and I advise you do the research since there could be so many causes and if you inform yourself before a visit to your doctor, you'll have a better visit with her/him to discuss this problem (which you should do if you're that concerned). If medical help is not available to you, definitely try a multivitamin made specifically for women (or men ,if you're a man) and give it a good few months before deciding if it has made any difference. Good luck to you!

I hear NIOXIN is the best for hairloss. But it depends on the reason for your hairloss. I did try Nioxin but it didn't work for me but my condition was more based on stress and thyroid problems. Its a little pricy about 15 US dollars per bottle at a hair salon but it supposedly works.

I've mentioned this in a post before.....I have read in various places that shampoos containing ammonium lauryl sulfate & sodium lauryl sulfate aren't very healthy and "may" cause hair loss. I have been moulting more than i think is necessary and have had blood tests and everything comes up normal. It could be hormonal as i've heard that hormone levels can change and at the time of having a blood test they may be fine, but alter later. In the mean time, i came across a shampoo which specifically states that it doesnt contain any "sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate". I've now been using it for 2 weeks and have noticed a big difference as before i'd be losing a lot of hair whether i'd washed it or not. Now on days that i dont wash it i only lose the odd hair and when i do wash it i'm only losing half as much as i was. It could be a coincidence, but i'll keep monitoring what's actually happening. Maybe these sodium/sulfate ingredients only affect some people, just like allergies. The shampoo brand is Organic Botanicals by Avalon. It's worth a try, especially if your doctor has ruled out all other health issues.

I have tried the Nioxin and it has not helped me. My neighbor got it for me cause her mom works in a salon but she also go it for color treated hair which i do not have anymore. But I feel that this shampoo/conditioner totally is drying my hair so much worse that it is so brittle, it just breaks. I am losing large amounts of my hair and still try medically to figure out what is causing it but just wanted to let you know that this shampoo did not help and it is costly. Others have said they like it so I guess it really does depend on the diagnosis.

I have been using Nixion now for about a year and have noticed a big difference. I don't loose as much hair and it seems so much fuller. If you use their regular conditioner it was drying on my hair too. They have another conditioner for dry hair called moistner & strength and it works great. I leave it on a few minutes and comb threw, rinse and my hair feels soft. I also started using folligen cream and emu oil after I lost hair near my hairline due to surgery. I'll let you know how that works!

Absolutely nothing you put on your hair or scalp will prevent it from falling out. The problem is all under skin surface and in hair follicles which cannot be reached from the outside. If your hair loss is genetic (thinning hair runs in your family) than there is nothing that can be done. If your hair loss is due to some factors such as lack of vitamins or some health condition or even medications which you may be taking for an unrelated health condition, then until that is dealt with, you will not see any improvement. So, save your money and don't fall for gimmicks and advertising promises. None of them deliver.

[This message has been edited by rita (edited 04-23-2003).]

Rita -

It is NOT true that nothing can be done to help slow hairloss or even regrow it and you should just live with it. It is also NOT true that there is nothing you can put on your scalp to help it.

This is from the University of California-Berkeley, who does not sell these products. They study all sorts of herbal/natural remedies and often discourage products that they do not feel are safe.

"Two drugs have been approved by the FDA for hair growth:

Minoxidil (brand name Rogaine, now OTC) dilates blood vessels and was originally developed as an oral medication to treat high blood pressure. This lotion promotes hair growth in about 25% of men and women, though it may take several months to work. New hair is usually thinner and lighter, like baby hair, and grows mostly on the top of the head, not at the hairline. Its effects may fade with time. Skin irritation is the most commonly reported side effect. Dizziness and increased heart rate have also been reported, but rarely.

Finasteride (brand name Propecia) is the same oral prescription drug used in higher doses (and called Proscar) to treat an enlarged prostate. It inhibits the conversion of testosterone to DHT. Propecia is not effective in men who are completely bald, but it does promote hair growth and slow hair loss in men who are just beginning to lose hair. In one study 60% of men had new hair growth and more than 80% slowed their hair loss after 6 to 12 months of treatment.

Propecia does have some drawbacks. It costs about $50 a month and takes at least six months to work. If you stop taking it, new hair will fall out. It may lower PSA levels, making it harder to detect prostate cancer. So if you are using Propecia and are having a PSA test, be sure to tell your physician. (Saw palmetto may have the same effect.) Women should not take it: it causes severe birth defects in male fetuses, so pregnant or potentially pregnant women should not even touch the tablets. And when tested in postmenopausal women, it did not make hair grow. "

I hope this information is helpful.

Yes, these medicines will work (in many, but not all people). However, they only work while they are used, they do not cure the condition so it is a temporary solution ( with many side effects and very MINOR hair growth in SOME people). They do not address the cause of the problem. So far, as far as I know, nothing has been found that actually does cure boldness or hair loss. If, in fact, there was such a grand discovery there would not be all the hundreds of so called "cures" out on the market. Since there are so many, it is obvious that none really work. Also, I was under the impression that the poster was asking about conditioners or oils that work against hair loss, and such products will be of no help.

[This message has been edited by rita (edited 04-23-2003).]

Rita -

Of course these products are not a "cure". But the original poster asked about "if anyone has tried any products, conditioners or oils in the store that have helped with that?" - not a cure, but any PRODUCTS that would help with hair loss. And of course they only work when you use them... just like most things, I can't take my allergy medicine and expect to be cured and never take it again - surprisingly it only works when I take it!

These products do not cause "many side effects and very MINOR hair growth in SOME people". If you read the information I posted 60% of men had new hair growth and more than 80% slowed their hair loss after 6 to 12 months of treatment, and that side effects were rare. Sure, it's not 100% of people, but many things don't work for everyone, that doesn't make them worthless.

I agree that there are many products that are worthless and are advertised to change your life overnight - but these products DO WORK to help men with hairloss and offer more than a "temporary" fix.

Yes, I agree that Rogaine does help men to slow down hair loss and even offers some regrowth (baby-fine hair), even if it is fairly skimpy. I suppose it's better than nothing. I also read that many men do not respond to the treatment at all so it is definitely not a solution for some. As I mentioned in my previous post, I understood (mistakenly, I suppose) that the original poster was interested in oils and conditioners hence my reply that no such things will help in treating baldness.

I have been losing my hair for about 3 months now. I am almost down to the skin. I was told by someone who had propecia that she was referred to a Tar type of shampoo that they sell at CVS. Well I bought T-Gel by Neutrogena (seemed to have the most Tar - 10% versus 5% in others). Well I am now starting to see re-growth and I have tried everything that I have seen posted here. This has helped me within about a week, I started to see the black dots which are the stubbles, haha). Finally I am starting to be less stressed now that I notice this regrowth. Not sure if this shampoo actually worked but its the only think that I have tried so far that worked. I was put on thyroid meds but this has done nothing to my hormone level as of this point and just got increased on my dosage so this is not what helped my hair grow back. But just in case anyone is interested in trying this shampoo. Its not the best smelling stuff but its tolerable. Its a brownish (mud) looking color, but I like it.

momoftwo1128 - My sister has lost quite a bit of her hair also from having to take thyroid medication which she's been on for about 25 years now. Thyroid medication is known to cause hair loss so she knew what it was from. She went from having the thickest head of dark shiny hair you can imagine to being able to see her scalp on top. She started using a certain shampoo that she was told would help (sorry, I don't remember the name but I don't think it was same as yours) and she too has new hair growth, and you can actually see it, like yours. Of course you're always skeptical of such claims but when you're suffering from thinning hair, you're pretty much willing to try anything. And when someone writes and says that absolutely nothing will help save your money, it can be heart-wrenching to say the least as this person probably doesn't know what people like you or my sister are going through. It's also not true, as you and my sister have both proven. Her hair is still thin but the regrowth is very visible, much to her doctor's astonishment.

I wish you continued happiness with your new hair http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I'm kinda confused.. I thought thyroid medicine would help to regulate your thyroid and in turn help against hairloss due to that! OR would taking thyroid mecdince actualy cause hairloss in some? and if so, is it believed that the tar shampoo has helped for this? and are you supposed to use that tar shampoo every day? I thought this would also be bad to use every day.

try "phytoaxil" from phyto. It worked wonders for me(i tried many products before finding this one)and for 90% of the people who have used it. It is $45 but worth the money. Good luck!!

Unfortunately, hair loss is a very common side effect of thyroid medication. It is also known to cause osteoporosis. As with most medications, sometimes the side effects can be almost as bad as the condition they are treating. Vioxx is wonderful for arthritis. But it can also cause kidney and liver problems. We simply have to weigh the odds and decide which is worse. In my sister's case, she had no choice - her thyroid was failing and she started medication when she was about 19 and has been taking it ever since, which is about 26 years. I'm sure she considers herself fortunate that her hair loss didn't start years ago. As for osteoporosis, she probably won't know that until she gets a little older or develops a problem.

I was told by my doctor that the thyroid being hypo/hyer could cause the hairloss but once the medicine works and evens out your hormone level that it would help the hair come back. But I have read that a side effect to the medicine is hair loss so who knows. But I have used this tar shampoo for about 2 weeks and it says every other day on the bottle. It is unbelievable for me because it looks like I have a crew cut where my head was all skin a week ago. Its stubbly now. So something worked and I cannot guarantee it was the shampoo but I would think between that and the medicine I guess. Its only about $5 or $6 so it was worth it to me. So let me know if you do try it and it works.

Is there a conditioner that goes along with the Neutrogena T-Gel? I've been using Vitatress from Nexxus for about a year for thinning hair and I can't say it's done me much good. There's also no conditioner to go with the Vitatress line of products (or at least the salon didn't have it) so my hair comes out all tangly. I also think the Vitatress really dries out my hair and makes it really frizzy (that's probably how it works -- make the hair so unkempt looking that no one notices the thin hair!

Any other suggestions of things to try?

Question for Audrey-B:

I found the Avalon Organic Botanicals product line at the store this weekend. There are several different formulas. Which do you use? How long have you been using it? I noticed that there is a Biotin formula which is listed under the Organic product line (as opposed to Organic Botanicals). That one is listed as being for thinning hair. Have you tried that one? The Nexxus Vitatress I've been using leaves my hair feeling like straw.

Also, what do you know about the lauryl sulfate ingredient? What kinds of problems does it cause? The lady at the store said that ingredient causes the sudsing to occur.

Thanks for the info.

Janice

Hi Janice.......I'm still using the Organic Botanicals by Avalon and have been using it for approx 2 months now. I've got 2 bottles, the Rosemary and the Lavender. It's more expensive than the usual shampoos i used to use but so much better for me. My mother uses it and my husband too. They have very thick hair and they find that this shampoo leaves their hair less like straw. You mentioned the Biotin one, i've not seen that one, but i'll look out for it. I've also not used the conditioners which go with the Organic Botanicals shampoos. I've kept using my usual conditioners, which i only use on the length of my hair but not on my scalp.

As fo me, i realise it will take a while to grow back the hairs which i lost as my hair is virtually waist length, but fine and baby soft. I'm still losing less hair each time i wash compared to when i used shampoos with the Lauryl Sulfates and on non wash days i hardly lose any hair at all.

I recently, for one day only, went back to one of my old shampoos. I couldn't believe the difference from just one day. Using the old shampoo i had much more hair come out and the bathroom basin was full of lost baby hairs, but when i use the new one without sulfate i only seem to lose mostly the old hairs but not enough of the baby hairs for it to be a concern.

I'm not 100% certain what the sodium, amonium and sulfates are or what they can do to a persons scalp, but i know that it is having an affect on me. It's probably like an allergy to those artificial and chemical products. I only know that by pure chance i've come across a couple of articles and also by chance came across this shampoo and this all got me thinking. Here in Australia it cost just over $10 for a bottle, which isn't a big price to pay and see if it worked. I recently saw it selling in a health food store for close to $14 per bottle, so people must be buying the stuff. The health food store was also selling a shampoo made from hemp and it also clearly stated no sodium lauryl sulfate and i believe there was a third variety but forget what it was made from. The sulfate may cause sudsing, but this one i'm using sudses well enough without sulfate.

I realise some of the other posters have other health issues, but i don't have any and i've had thyroid tests and other tests also and i'm healthy and eat well, dont smoke and get regular sleep. I did have a slight hormonal imbalance which caused an irregular period, but i've had acupuncture for that and it's helped me get on track. Possibly my excessive moulting hair could have been hormonal, but why then would it improve with non sulfate shampoo? and a visible difference in such a short time?

I hope you find something which works for you. Let me know how you get on http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

If your hair is itching before it falls out, it might not be male pattern baldness. It might be some sort of infection. My husband's was doing that (at 25), and the dermatologist first tried antibiotics, which made it worse, and then antifungals, which stopped the hair loss (and the itching). The antifungal was Lamisil tablets, which is pretty safe, they use it to treat fungal nail infections. He also uses a tea tree oil shampoo, which helps. I am going to try buying him some Nizoral shampoo that has the anti-fungal ketoconazole in it to use instead of the tea-tree oil shampoo, mostly because it's more convenient for me to buy.

Also, I've got to warn you against taking the Propecia. The sexual side effects of the drug are real. Basically, Propecia was Proscar (a prostate cancer drug), and they discovered it made guy's hair grow back. Well, the reason it works against prostate cancer and makes your hair grow back is because it lowers the effective amount of testosterone in your body. I'm not sure if it does this by making your body produce less or if it binds with it, making the testosterone unusuable, but the end result is the same. Sexual drive is lowered, and so is the time that it stays up, at least in some men. Also, my husband's urologist told him it can have long-lasting effects on your fertility. So, needless to say, he wasn't on that drug very long!

Also, it might be a good idea if your wife is planning on getting pregnant to avoid using Rogaine during that time. A woman isn't even supposed to TOUCH it while she's pregnant, and your wife might run her fingers through your hair without thinking about it.

Susannah

abby, where you able to find out what the name of the shampoo your sister used?

Thanks.

for those of you using the organic botanicals by avalon, where can you buy it? can i buy it at a regular drugstore?