Category: Hair Products

Hi Doctor Rassman; I am a happy patient with NHI and have a couple of questions I would like to pose to you.

1. Do you have an opinion on a new drug called ViTrichol? Dr. Randall Sword backs the product and information can be found on his website.
2. Have you heard of a new topical based solution called Scalp Med? I saw an infomercial about the product.

Thanks.

I have reviewed the websites reflecting your questions. The FDA does not allow claims that suggest an effective treatment for hair loss without substantiation with good scientific research. If such research was done for ViTrichol, where is it? Could there be some get rich quick scheme to promote an unproven treatment? Doctors are entitled to give opinions on everything and anything. For example, I have opinions on why my dog’s ticks & fleas go away when I scratch his head, rub his belly, or when I use some of my deodorant on him. However, I do not think that I could substantiate my opinions on how to influence my dog’s ticks & fleas or bottle my deodorant with what would be an honest representation of a cure for my dog’s fleas. I would ask the person who backs the product what the benefit to him/her is if you buy the product? I am suspicious until I read the supportive science behind it. ‘Let the Buyer Beware’, so the saying goes.

As for ScalpMed, I’ve posted recently about this here: Scalpmed.

I just turned 20 years old and for a year now my hairline has receeded and started to thin dramaticly. Which I am very self-conscious of. I have been taking a natural suppliment called Procerin and using a daily treatment called Curetage for a little over a month and a half, but have noticed no difference. Do external treatments work, and pills work? Or are they just a waste of time? I also heard that hair transplants can’t be done on young men, is this true? Is there anything else i can do to make my hair grow back?

I have written about Procerin before (see past blog entries: Procerin and Procerin Info). The only topical treatment that seems to work is Minoxidil. Many add compounds to Minoxidil to try to make it more effective (e.g. Retin-A, which adds irritation to the skin and some burn to it as well) or combine it with other ‘magical’ formulations to sell it at a high price to take advantage of the value of its marketing label. The best and only real treatment for you is Propecia. There are many things done for hair loss and many people making money from the panic of hair loss victims. ‘Curetage’ sounds like one of them.

Stick with what works and do not risk permanent hair loss to go outside the known effective treatments that are available. Get a good doctor to work with you.

Dr Rassman,
Can you please comment on the product Proxiphen as compared to plain Minoxidil. Thank you

Proxiphen is a cream that consists of minoxidil, phenitoine, spironolactone, varied types of SOD, NANO, arginine, allantoine, NAC and more. It contains more than 5% minoxidil (reported to be 5.5%). You asked about comparing Proxiphen to regular Minoxidil, but I can not state the value of the Proxiphen combination of medications, as there are no independent studies to document it. However, there are clearly wonderful endorsements by those that profit from the sales of it.

Is Nizoral better than other shampoos and can it promote hair growth?

Nizoral 1% (Ketoconazole 1%) is sold as an over the counter anti-dandruff shampoo. Nizoral 2% (Ketoconazole 2%) shampoo has twice the strength of the over the counter shampoo. The active ingredient, Ketoconazole is said to act as a DHT blocker. While some people who use Nizoral may believe that it does control hair loss, there is no objective evidence that it is anything more than a good shampoo.

I got the spray on hair from an infomercial. My baldness is just a small spot in the back, barely noticable. I must say, without looking at it closely, it is very hard to tell that it is not my hair. But my best friend picked it up and made fun of me. I understand that there are some scalp coloring agents that appear like hair. Are there other such things on the market?

There are a series of products that do this, with differing applications. Toppik is applied by shaking onto the scalp and surrounding hairs, binding to the existing hairs and making them thicker, and it also colors the scalp. Dermatch is more of a scalp colorant applied with a sponge, and you can find a product called ‘Tween Time (by Roux) at beauty supply stores, which is applied to the scalp with a lipstick like tube. These products come in shades to match your coloring and I have recommended them to patients before.