Flower Pollen Extract: A Treatment for Hair Loss?
Flower Pollen Extract as a Hair Loss Treatment
Hair loss sufferers seeking non surgical treatments often are attracted to the many herbal supplements out there that claim to work as a treatment for hair loss. Whereas there is no question that marketing is over-reaching at best in order to sell a product, the real question that any hair loss sufferer asks is: will this product help combat baldness or is there any chance that it will regrow hair? To date however, it is important to understand that there is no hair loss cure, therefore realistic expectations must be kept when considering any hair restoration product.
Below I decided to take a look at an herbal supplement that has been said to combat hair loss. This product is an “active” ingredient in a few hair loss remedies such as HairMax MD, a topical hair loss treatment. Flower Pollen extract can also be bought as a stand alone product in local nutritional stores.
Hypoallergenic Swedish > Flower Pollen Extract
Flower pollens may help reduce the negative effects of naturally occurring androgens that weaken the hair follicles. It may be possible that pollen extracts inhibit the formation of dihydrotestosterone or DHT (the hormone responsible for genetic hair loss) either by blocking the contributing enzyme 5-alpha-reductase or block the binding of DHT to the receptor. Though it is not definite, the tentative conclusion is that it inhibits the binding of DHT to the receptor.
If this is indeed true, it may be possible that flower pollen extract MIGHT be a benefit to hair loss sufferers however, until clinical testing on flower pollen extract for hair loss is performed, its efficacy, dosage required, and application (topical or oral) is strictly conjecture. This is much like many other herbal supplements that are said to inhibit DHT but have not been clinically tested for hair loss.
Conclusion:
There are a number of supposed herbal DHT inhibitors that have been conjectured to combat hair loss. Unfortunately, the majority of these products lack the clinical evidence required to recommend it for baldness with confidence. Flower pollen extract appears to be another one of these herbal products.
In my opinion, it would be better to stick to the hair loss drugs that have been proven: Propecia (finasteride), and Rogaine 5% (minoxodil). As an adjunct hair restoration treatment, Nizoral shampoo or Revita shampoo both containing active ingredient ketoconazole may also be helpful.
Bill
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog
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