Do herbal hair loss remedies actually work?

I want to finally start treating my hair loss after being in denial over it for the past year since I first noticed it. But I’m not very keen on taking a pill that will cause sexual side effects. I have been looking around the internet and I keep coming across websites that advertise herbal hair loss lotions and tonics that make some pretty compelling claims. Is there any science to these herbal hair loss treatments or are they all scams?

Due to the social stigmas that surround the male-pattern baldness affliction, the practice of selling snake oils and scams to hair loss sufferers is alive and well. It was the abundance of magic lotion peddlers along with unscrupulous, unskilled, and unethical hair transplant doctors that spurred the inception of the Hair Transplant Network in the first place. It’s always sad to see just how prevalant these scams remain to be.

But I am not saying that all herbal hair loss treatments are scams. Some of these treatments do actually have scientific data to back their claims, but manufacturers will never bother to seek FDA-approval for their treatment of male pattern baldness because of the substantial monetary investment to do so. Legitimate double-blind studies cost millions to perform as well, leaving small manufacturers of treatments that lack the financial resources to cover them with little recourse but to conduct their own studies or to simply market their product without any studies whatsoever. Of course, if the treatment was legitimate to begin with one would imagine that at least one of the large pharmaceutical companies would jump at the chance to back the treatment as long as they could patent and distribute it.

So there is a lot to think about when researching these herbal treatments. Personally, I have always asked myself in the past that if a herbal hair loss remedy REALLY worked, wouldn’t I have heard of it before? Wouldn’t millions of hair loss sufferers already be throwing their money at the manufacturers already? I would think that if the product really did work efficiently that I would have come across it in a major publication or news site first. But I usually find these treatments advertised on small sites that reside in out-of-the-way corners of the web. I am forced to scroll through a dozen testimonials and cheesy web copy before I can even find out the price of the magical treatment. But that has been just my experience.

I can’t make a sweeping generalization that all herbal hair loss treatments are scams. However, I have personally never come across any herbal hair loss remedy that has shown substantial promise for regrowing hair lost to male-pattern baldness. Not enough that is backed by legitimate scientific studies, anyway.

Propecia and Rogaine (minoxidil) are currently the only two hair loss treatments available that are FDA-approved for the treatment of male-pattern baldness. While side effects can occur, less than 2% of men experience sexual side effects from Propecia and minoxidil doesn’t pose this kind of concern at all. I would suggest researching Propecia further to assess whether its right for you along with your doctor. You may be pleasantly surprised that the side effects are not as prevalent as you thought. Additionally, Propecia remains in the body for a relatively short period of time so if any side effects do occur, they would dissipate shortly after discontinuing the drug.

Research Propecia and another popular DHT-inhibitor, Avodart and their role in combatting male-pattern baldness effectively.

Check out the no-nonsense article “5 Ways to Regrow Your Hair: The Real How-To Guide for the Hair Loss Sufferer”

Read more about questionable hair loss treatments at the Hair Transplant Network.

Robert – Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog

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