Hair Loss
Going bald is a fact of life for millions of men. Adults lose about 10,000 scalp hairs each and every day. With male pattern baldness, your body’s ability to replace these lost hairs diminish and gradually bald areas appear as the hair line retreats. Women also experience hair loss and have wonderful response with compounded shampoo. There are any number of reasons why men start to lose their hair, but if you are a man between the ages of 20 to 45 and you start to lose scalp hair, then the chances are 95 percent certain that you are experiencing male pattern baldness. Fortunately, there are treatments available through compounding that can slow down the loss of hair and in some cases grow it back. We can work with your doctor to compound both topical and internal forms of medication that can help you fight against male pattern baldness and female hair loss.
We can compound at The Compounding Lab any combination of the following into a shampoo or scalp cleanser. Minoxildil 2-10% Finasteride (0.1%) Azelaic acid (1-5%) Retinol Compounds (Vit A 0.01-0.05%) Caffeine (0.001%) Vitamins & Nutrients .Our products can be Glycerin base (Free of Proplene Glycol) Less Irritant or Included with PG for penetration enhancement.
Minoxidil: Minoxidil is the only TGA approved and most widely used ingredient for hair regrowth as of today. It was first used as an oral drug to lower blood pressure. It was soon found to stimulate hair growth in those who took it to lower blood pressure. Rigorous clinical studies have confirmed this “side effect” and its FAD approvals for hair regrowth as topical solutions were granted, which are summarized in the table below. The effectiveness of minoxidil solution on hair growth is dosage dependent, which is evident by the history of minoxidil products approved by FDA. Although minoxidil is the first and only topical solution approved by FDA as of today, the mechanism by which minoxidil promotes hair growth is not fully understood. Several mechanisms have been proposed. None of them involves blocking 5-alpha-reductase activity (DHT blocker) as azelaic acid does. The percent use is 4-15% for effectiveness.
Azelaic Acid: Azelaic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in whole grains that studies have shown to inhibit 5-alpha-reductase in human skin. 5-alpha-reductase converts testosterone into dihydrotestostrone (DHT), accumulation of which in scalp is believed to be responsible for the male pattern hair loss. Inhibition of this enzyme by azelaic acid can reduce the concentration of DHT in scalp and therefore facilitate hair regrowth. Azelaic acid can be found in many prescription acne medications. Azelaic acid is added to minoxidil solutions because it has different mechanism of action in preventing hair loss. The combination of them results in a more efficient and effective method to decrease the levels of DHT and speed up the process of hair regrowth significantly. Possible side effects of azelaic acid include: a) increased sensitivity or irritation on the scalp; 2) burning, stinging, or tingling of the skin; 3) erythema, dryness, rash, peeling happens in less than 1% of patients. The side effects usually subside after discontinuing use of azelaic acid Retinol: Retinoic Acid studies showed that combining minoxidil and other retinol compounds works better than minoxidil alone due to the enhanced penetration of minoxidil and improved scalp condition [ Yoo HG et al, “the additive effects of minoxidil and retinol on human hair growth in vitro.” Bio Pharm Bull. 2007, 20(1): 21-6].
Caffeine: Studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals have shown that not only caffeine reverses the suppressive effects of Testosterone on the growth of follicle but also is a very strong stimulator of the hair follicle growth [Fisher TW et al, “Effect of Caffeine and Testosterone on the proliferation of human hair follicles in vitro” International Journal of Dematology, 6(1): 27-35].
Saw Palmetto Extract: liposerolic extract of the fruit of saw palmetto. Saw palmetto has shown to effectively block DHT that also is proven to help male pattern baldness GLA, ALA, Linoleic Acid and Oleic Acid: Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA), Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA), linoleic and oleic acid are essential fatty acids found in plant oils, which have been individually proven to inhibit 5-Alpha Reductase. In fact these are the most powerful inhibitors of 5-Alpha Reductase known today and not only they inhibit the Type II form of the 5-alpha reductase which other products like Propecia® inhibit, but also the Type I form of the enzyme which is present in high concentrations in the scalp, sebaceous glands, and the skin.
Vitamins: Adenosine, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and Zinc: Each of these ingredients is required for cell growth, proliferation, and division. Insufficiency of any of them would disturb many enzymatic reactions that are taking place in our body in every second, and can lead to hair loss. So replace them to maintain hair loss.
