In a recent article published in the European Journal of Dermatology, a group in Kang et has been working with a native plant known as Schisandra Nigra. This plant is native to the Jeju Island in South Korea and is being evaluated for its rumored effects on hair by natives. The study is being conducted on rat hair and is showing some promise.

Tests were conducted on rat vibrissa follicles by treating them with 85% ethanol extract of S. Nigra (Schisandra Nigra) where the most evident effect was the vibrissa follicle’s hair fiber length increased significantly. In addition to the effects of the EtOH (ethanol) extract, anagen (growth phase) progression of the hair shaft was induced. Even more so the S. Nigra extract also increased both the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the bulb matrix region and the proliferation of immortalized vibrissa dermal papilla cells with more activity on hair follicle cells.

To help researches determine what mechanism in the S. Nigra plant helps induce hair growth, they examined its relationship with the TGF-beta2 complex. This is a signal pathway known to regulate catagen induction. Catagen induction is the phase that comes after the hair cycle’s growth phase.

The documented results of S. Nigra application for 7 days was the lowering of TGF-beta2 expression in the bulb matrix region in comparison to that of the control follicles expected to be in the anagen-catagen transition phase. This suggests that S. Nigra potentially promotes hair growth by deregulating TGF-beta2 as well as the proliferation of dermal papilla.

Put simply, this plant’s extracts stop hair follicles from going into their resting phase. This means hair will continue to grow and the number of growing hairs at one time will be higher. Still, these findings cannot be proven to truly work on humans. We still need more conclusive studies to be made to prove the true effects of this plant on human hair growth.

We at our Orange County California hair transplant offices will keep you updated with the most recent finings on hair restoration methods and techniques. Because of the lack of sufficient or adequate evidence, we do not recommend the use of this or other herbal hair loss products for treatment of male or female patterned hair loss at this point. Will continue to monitor any additional findings or new updates in the world of hair restoration and keep our readers posted.

It is not uncommon for us to receive emails asking about celebrity hair loss and hair transplants. Many within the media or regular fans will usually ask a hair transplant surgeon about their favorite actor or actress and whether or not they have had a hair transplant procedure with us or elsewhere.

This is all relatively normal considering we operate our business in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Of course, we cannot disclose any information of any artist that has had a hair transplant unless they consent to releasing that information but gossip and the paparazzi are ever vigilant in the world of Hollywood.

It is astonishing how many hits a single celebrity can get just by typing their name in and even more so of those rumored to have had hair restoration done. It is also unfortunate when their hair systems can be recognized fairly easily. Wigs and hair systems have come a long way in the sense of realism but with today’s high definition and high resolution technology and cameras, they can easily reveal what is meant to be concealed. There are many celebrities whom may have had old technique hair transplants which are easy to detect and are now bound to a certain hair style just to cover their unnatural hairline.

Fortunately many of these old technique procedures can be corrected using new technology follicular unit transplant as long as their donor hair was not violated or completely depleted by their old technique surgeries.

California and its star-struck cities like Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Hollywood are notorious for its high standards for good looks and good health. It is also very concentrated in terms of the number of hair transplant surgeons and cosmetic surgeons. This is why many artists caught up in the world of fashion; art and entertainment consider all methods of cosmetic surgery and hair transplant surgery and hair restoration.

Many hair restoration clinics can easily boast about their successful hair transplants but what about the ones that did not have optimal result? I received an email from a patient whom had a hair transplant at a different clinic. His hair never grew in the transplanted area even after having followed all the post op directions carefully. He also asks, Is there any other solutions to bring back my hair?

One of the biggest concerns for any patient who has hair restoration is the survival of transplanted hair. In some cases transplanted hair might never grow or experience suboptimal growth. These factors can be categorized into two major groups: 1) Technical Problems and 2) Patient Factor.

Hair Transplant Technical Problems

• Hair graft preparation and handling problems: Inexperienced technicians may actually manipulate hair grafts more than what the hair grafts can tolerate. This may lead to damage to the proliferated follicle cells during graft slivering, harvesting or implanting. In turn, the transplanted hair will not grow.
• Graft maintenance problems: From the moment the hair is removed from the body, hair follicles should be kept in a suitable physiological solution until the time they are placed in their new location. The solution must be kept between 4 degrees centigrade to slow the cell metabolism and prolong the longevity of the follicular cells.
• Complications during implantation phase: If sites are made too tight, technicians might manipulate the hair grafts physical attributes too much and affect the final potential of the hair cells growth.

Patient Factors

• In some rare occasions certain skin conditions can either restrict or stop transplanted hair from growing. The most common forms of skin conditions are alopecia areata (AA) and alopecia cicatricial (AC) as well as other medical conditions that may have already been present on or before the hair transplant procedure. This is why it is crucial to evaluate the hair and scalp by means of preoperative microscopic and macroscopic evaluation to rule out any condition that can affect transplanted hair growth. All hair transplant surgeons should raise these questions during their consultation especially if the patient has atypical hair loss or does not have any family history of similar hair loss conditions. If there is any doubt, it can easily be confirmed through scalp biopsy.

• After hair transplant care plays a very important role in the final results of any hair transplant procedure. Physical trauma to the newly transplanted hair may cause you to lose your newly transplanted hair. Other forms of hair trauma include pulling out or scratching newly transplanted hair or in psychological conditions like Trichotillomania in which they pull out their own hair.

It is best to review your results after one post surgery is completed by a good hair transplant surgeon. After reevaluation your hair transplant surgeon can tell you what may have caused your condition and maybe even treat the disorder that caused your less than desirable growth results.

We at our California hair restoration clinics perform several repair hair transplant surgery every month.  Some of them are the result of old and some from recent but not perfect procedures.