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.

Q:

I am 30 now and I have been losing my hair since I was 18. I started taking finasteride last year and seen great result after taking it for only a few months. I think I may have been experiencing some side effects.  The thing is I noticed that it might have affected my erection and it takes me longer to get an erection. I know when you know you are taking a medication that has to do with your male hormone it may automatically affect your sex function negatively. So I do not know whether it is mental or real. I don’t want to stop Propecia if it is safe to continue it.

A:

You have been experiencing erectile dysfunction recently while taking Propecia (finasteride) for a year. Erectile dysfunction has been evaluated in patients who have been taking Propecia.  The incidence of erectile dysfunction is reported to be 1.3% of men who were on Propecia for one year.

The rate of erectile dysfunction was reported 0.7% among the patients who only took placebo. You can test this side effect of Propecia by stopping it for at least two weeks and see if you still have erectile dysfunction. If the erectile dysfunction goes away by discontinuing Propecia after two weeks, your problem might be a real side effect of finasteride. If you still want to continue taking Propecia despite experiencing erectile dysfunction, you may try a lower dose that can still help your hair growth without giving you any negative effects to your sexual function.

What is the best hair loss product?  We are hearing many things about new hair loss products every day.  Many contain active ingredients that may help hair, some don’t have anything for hair loss treatment and some may be harmful for your hair.  Here is what one of my patients asked me and I answered in the blog about one of the hair loss product.

The patient has been experiencing male pattern baldness for some years now.  He used Rogaine, it worked at first but now no longer respond to it.  Propecia is tried too, but had to stop it for the side effects.  Patient is saving money to be able to get a good quality hair transplant and meanwhile is wondering whether or not hair loss products can help him keep his own hair.  In this case he is using Revivogen.

I generally research about all incoming questions by reviewing the websites for the hair product.  For similar patients, I really like to know what kinds of side effects you experienced with finasteride (Propecia), because finasteride is an effective hair loss medication, although it has been blamed unfairly for many side effects. I put most my Los Angeles and Orange County Hair Restoration Clinics patients on finasteride when they have significant miniaturization. Finasteride can help prevent further hair loss. Some of your hair loss might be irreversible by medication and you may need hair restoration surgery, but at least you can stop further hair loss by the time that you can restore your hair surgically. Revivogen is a hair loss product with some natural compounds that mainly inhibit 5-Alpha-Reductase. 5-Alpha-Reductase is the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydroxytestostrone (DHT). Prevention of DHT production can slow down hair loss in male pattern baldness.

Saw Palmetto Extract is a good component of this hair loss product, which is a DHT blocker and is used systemically for prevention of both hair loss and prostate enlargement. The efficacy of its topical product is not studied as extensively in large human experiments. Other components include a variety of fatty acids like: Gamma Linolenic acid (GLA), Alpha Linolenic acid (ALA), Linoleic Acid and Oleic Acid without strong human research on their absorption from skin level as well as their efficacy on human hair growth. Other components such as Azaleic acid, Vitamin B, Zinc, Beta-Sitosterol and Procyanidin Oligomers have shown some effects on the DHT production in labs, but the extensive studies to compare their effect with more researched medical treatments for hair loss is lacking.

One problem is the absorption of the active ingredients, which is not studied extensively. I personally have not heard anything about any serious side effects of Revivogen, but I would rather have more information about long term studies, which are published in peer reviewed medical journals, before I can recommend the product to my patients. There are many hair loss products out there, which are safe, but you do not have a life time to go around and try them all to find out whether they have any effect on your hair or not.

A good hair specialist that you can trust can help you tremendously. Patient believe that since they are not spending much money on hair loss product and hair loss products are more affordable than hair transplant, but they don’t realize that most time they may not get any result from some hair loss products. Your hair loss doctor should be able to document the level of your current hair loss and miniaturization of hair and can come up with a master plan, which includes medication treatment, surgery and even cosmetic alterations that can make your hair look better. Side effects of the medications that you tried before need to be re-evaluated closely by your doctor.

You want to make sure that the side effects of finasteride are for real and don’t take away this powerful, FDA approved hair loss treatment. If you have no alternatives, your doctor may have some suggestions for your individual condition to preserve whatever hair you have with a hair loss product with minimal side effects.