The Food and Drug Administration has given the nod of approval to minoxidil as being a bon fide hair loss treatment option. Unfortunately, some hair loss sufferers are not content with this choice and instead of using this tried and true – and deemed safe – hair loss drug, they will venture out further. Perhaps the minoxidil does not have the results for which they hoped or maybe the speed with which the substance was accomplishing its work was too slow for the taste of the consumer. Whatever the case may be, before long such a consumer will find her- or him-self surfing the Internet in hopes of the latest and greatest breakthrough in hair growth technology; this then will inevitably lead to an exposure to some alleged surefire methods of curing hair loss.
Unfortunately many such claims are so cleverly worded that a dissection of the advertisement points to a product being little more than a dietary supplement or scalp cleanser that may have some effect on hair re-growth, but then again there are no guarantees. Much like weight loss supplements, hair loss drugs and hair loss vitamins come and go in a faddish fashion and what is the hottest buzz on the ‘Net today is yesterday’s news within a few short weeks. Alarmingly, fad hair loss treatments carry great health risks that consumers must realize will make the cure a lot worse than the actual malady of losing hair, which is by and large little more than a cosmetic nuisance.
In some cases the fads will do little more than lighten your wallet and add some odd items to your bathroom. There is the powdered seaweed scalp-treatment that is supposed increase the blood flow to the scalp or the specially formulated hair loss shampoo with conditioner that is supposed to unclog follicles which have ceased to produce and instead encourage them to let hair once again grow. Neither of these claims has been proven and while it is possible that you might have some limited success with such an approach, they are not the panacea they make out to be and you will most likely be the exception to the rule if indeed you find that your hair loss is reversed.
Consumers who will use the Internet to procure bona fide medications for off label use are entering an arena that is fraught with danger. At issue are prostate cancer pills which are known to grow hair as a side effect, but which carry a host of other side effects. When faced with cancer, these side effects are considered the lesser of two evils, yet when one is up against hair loss, most any side effect that may result in a loss of life or serious risk to the cardiovascular system is too high to incur. In some cases the use of off label medications containing spironolactone has been shown to backfire. Although it is an acne drug, it has become associated with hair loss. Yet depending on the dosage, it may actually not combat hair loss but cause it, as its use for hirsutism points out. The same is true for shampoos and rubs made from saw palmetto extract.
