Hair Loss Awareness

Spironolactone is a diuretic (makes you urinate more) and an antiandrogen .. ie. it inhibits the effect of the male sex hormones. A derivative of testosterone is what shuts down genetically prone male hair follicles to create male pattern baldness, and there’s some evidence that the same effect happens in women in some instances of female hair loss although female hair loss is more complex.

Some sell Spironolactone as a hair loss treatment, but we feel its efficacy is not proven and there are better treatments that have been shown to work. The key one Propecia is, however, not approved for women (but Minoxidil is).

A new trial at Melbourne’s St Vincent hospital aims to discover the efficacy of Spironolactone as a female hair loss treatment. Around 80 women suffering hair loss are being sought, half of which will take a placebo.

We don’t hold out a lot of hope for a good outcome, not least because there appear to be significant potential side effects, but we’ll keep watch for the results.

I just found a great bit of information on the internet. It’s straight from the FDA website and although it was written a good few years ago, the information is still very relevant. The main body of the article talks about the treatments and options available but it’s the following section that caught my interest…

‘The mythology of hair loss is a book unto itself. Wearing hats won’t cause it, doctors say. Nor will standing on your head to increase blood flow cure it. Massaging your scalp and brushing your hair won’t save you. Toweling off your head lightly rather than vigorously will only postpone the inevitable for a few days.

Perhaps the biggest myth is that cleaning your scalp of sebum (the semifluid secretion of glands attached to the follicle) will unclog those follicles and allow hair to grow. Surgeons will tell you that when they’re performing transplants, there’s no trapped hair to be found.

In 1989, FDA banned all nonprescription hair creams, lotions, or other external products claiming to grow hair or prevent baldness. And it has taken action against companies that continue to sell such products. In 1996, the agency sent a warning letter to Daniel Rogers Laboratories Inc., of Paramus, N.J., the manufacturer of “Natural Hairs,” for claiming its product could promote hair growth and prevent hair loss. Two years earlier, after an FDA investigation, a U.S. district court judge enjoined the marketing of “Solution 109 Herbal Shampoo” because of claims that the product warded off hair loss.

Advertisements for “hair farming” products and others that hint they can regrow hair are still plentiful. But if you’re desperate, keep one thing in mind: “There will be never be a secret [ingredient] that works for hair loss,” NYU’s Washenik says. And, if they were to find it, he says: “It will be on the cover of the New York Times. It will be on the nightly news. … When this happens, it’s going to be wildness. You’re not going to need an expert to tell you the name of the drug.” ‘

… today we still have the same situation. There are so many products advertised that claim to stop and reverse hair loss, making it difficult for anybody losing their hair to know what actually works and what doesn’t. Our PRODUCT REVIEW page will help you with this – we’ve listed a number of products that you may have come across whilst researching hair loss solutions. Only two of them are proven to work, and are endorsed by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration – USA). The others are unproven and there’s no evidence to support their effectiveness for hair loss prevention or hair regrowth.

You can find the full FDA article here – http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1997/397_hair.html.

Most people nowadays search the Internet for solutions to health problems and there’s a lot of information out there. But frankly, finding the right path to treat male pattern baldness is quite simple because there are really only two effective treatments available.

Propecia is a proven hair loss treatment for men, approved as safe for use to treat male pattern baldness by the FDA (the United States Food and Drug Administration). The active ingredient in propecia is Finasteride.

Taken as a 1mg daily pill, tests show over 83% of men experiencing male hair loss might expect to maintain or increase their hair count and their appearance.

We think we can improve on that.

Minoxidil is the only other FDA approved drug for hair loss treatment. Because it works in a different way, we can combine the two and take advantage of both effects. We also add anti-androgens ‘Medroxyprogesterone’ (MPG) or ‘Azelaic Acid’ (AA) to our Minoxidil as we have found that improves the effects of Minoxidil.

In fact, it turns out that choosing the dosage of Minoxidil has a big effect on the outcome. And it’s not just the dosage that needs to be chosen wisely. Propecia and Minoxidil can be combined with other compounds and treatments, for instance a lasercomb or Hair Vitalics (free with most courses of treatment from the Belgravia Centre), that improve effectiveness even further. And proper independent monitoring (not just an occasional look in the mirror) using scalp photographs with consistent lighting can show progress and help inform changes to the treatment, along with discussion of any adverse effects.

So, let’s be clear:

1) There are only two proven treatments for hair loss, Propecia and Minoxidil. Nothing else is backed up by proper scientific tests to prove they work or are safe.
2) If you want the best chance of success, it’s not as simple as just taking the pills and applying the creams. Your best chance of keeping your hair is to use the skills and long experience of a professional hair loss clinic where a custom treatment program can be designed to suit your exact circumstances and preferences in order to maximise results to their optimum potential.

So the only question is where to go for treatment. Well, we’ve done the legwork for you. We sent out secret shoppers to the London hair loss centres and… well you know we wouldn’t have done that if we didn’t think we offer the best treatment and value, so big surprise, The Belgravia Centre came out the best by quite a long way.

For a no-obligation diagnosis and treatment plan, contact us for a free consultation at our London hair los clinic or complete our online hair loss diagnosis form.

* A word of warning. Propecia is the only form of finasteride that is available legally for hair loss, any other form of finasteride (for example Proscar) is unsafe and unlicensed to treat hair loss. If you come across any organisation prescribing Proscar or any form of finasteride other than Propecia for the treatment of hair loss, it should be reported to the MHRA immediately. Alternatively inform us directly and we will pursue the matter.

(Finasteride pic courtesy derek7272 on Flickr, some rights reserved)

The great thing about the Internet is everyone’s a publisher. But that’s the bad thing, too… in an Internet that’s full of everyone’s thoughts on everything, how do you know what’s informed opinion and what’s junk?

Actually, there’s an even bigger problem. There is a growing army of Internet marketers, people who are out to sell stuff online. We’ve nothing against Internet marketing in principle. When done well, it’s is a beautiful thing and results in you finding a helpful website that solves your problem, the product arrives, it’s what you expected, and it works. Fantastic.

The problem is that underneath those who do it well are hoards of people who do it badly. They create websites that look like they contain informative content, but actually the information has often been written to order by writers who very probably don’t know the subject. The Internet marketer driving it all is probably running several other similar on-line businesses, selling completely different products.

It seems there’s nothing guiding what these people sell, except profit. So whether a supposed hair loss treatment works or not doesn’t enter the calculations, it’s just what’s the most profitable. What seems to be a perfect example of this is the recent appearance of numerous ‘hair loss treatment ranking’ sites. It seems the majority of these are created by Internet marketers to lead you to other websites that sell the thing they’ve recommended. The website that sent you to the website selling the hair loss product gets a percentage of the sale for every product sold.

If you type ‘hair loss treatment‘ in Google you will find four or five of these sites in the ‘sponsored’ (paid) listings, each with different results for their ‘top rated’ hair treatments – and always supplemental (non-prescription) treatments. The sponsored listings (often the first two, but certainly the right hand column of your Google results) are sites that have paid to be at the top of Google, they haven’t been naturally selected by Google to appear at the top because of quality content that is relevant to the key phrase written (in this case ‘hair loss treatment’).  Anyone can advertise in the sponsored listings; the more money they pay, the higher their website will appear.

Back to the point about the top rated hair loss products always being supplements.  The regulations for online selling become a lot more complicated when it comes to prescription medications – it’s easy to market a supplement because you can sell it straight from the internet, no questions asked. The fact is the prescription medications work better than the supplements… something comparison sites don’t want you to know.

So how do you spot these ‘junk’ sites?

The first point in this particular case is the point that ‘Propecia‘ and ‘Minoxidil‘ should always be number one and two on an accurate hair loss product rating site.  They are the only products that have been proven beyond doubt to prevent hair loss and re-grow hair.  The only argument would be that there is a very small chance of side effects for each product – side effects that are usually mild and always wear off with continued use or quickly when the person stops taking the product. Many sites exaggerate these side effects to justify their own products. Supplements for thinning hair will not usually have any side effects, the downside to this is that they will also be minimally effective, or completely ineffective.

You can also try to work out who the site belongs to, and see if you can get a sensible dialogue going with them. Look for ‘about us‘ and ‘contact us‘. If they don’t provide a real address and a phone number… why not? A trustworthy organisation will certainly provide those.

Look for sensible menu links too. A site that shows a string of menu links for things like “hair loss”, “hair loss in women”, “hair loss in pregnancy”, “hair loss in men”, “black hair loss”, “child hair loss” and so on just doesn’t feel right, it’s confusing. It’s a difficult one this because legitimate sites do it too, but it’s all about the quality of those links, and the quality of the pages they lead to. Some websites are produced automatically, and you’ll get a ‘nonsense’ feel from the menu links they have published. In a legitimate site, the website manager will have chosen those links so the site will feel more natural to you, a human visitor.

Don’t be easily fooled by reassuring photographs. The ones that mean most are those from the company itself of its own facilities, staff and clients, not nice shots of professional looking medical staff they’ve bought from a photo library.

Google has ways of finding out which websites can be trusted by finding out which ones are the most popular and well-rated by you. One way they do that is by watching what people store in their social bookmarking pages. Social bookmarking is a way for you to store your bookmarks (similar to ‘favourites’) online, you can share them with friends, and you can get at them even when you’re on another computer. So if you use a service like ‘Digg‘ or ‘Delicious‘ (check them out – you might like them), whenever you store a bookmark, Google sees that as a human vote of confidence for a site. There are also sites like ‘stumble upon‘ where you can rate and comment on each site you visit.  So, using a service like that is contributing to improving the Internet.

We are not saying Internet marketing is bad. Marketing is good, and Internet marketing is good because it links you, the person with a need, to a solution to your problem. What we are saying is… use good judgment to decide whether the website you are getting information from is ‘just’ marketing, or whether there’s really any substance behind it. Whether you can believe the information you are reading, or are just being sold to. Anyone can publish on the Internet. It’s up to you to decide what’s good information and what’s junk.

Related Pages
Provillus – No Clinical Evidence to Suggest Provillus Prevents Hair Loss
The Proven Hair Loss Treatments
Is Stimuhair a Scam?
Hair Loss Product Reviews – The Real Truth about Hair Loss Products
Nourkrin Hair Supplement

Name: Oliver

Question: How do I decide which is the best method of stopping my hair loss and growing new hair? Who can I trust to give me the best treatment at a reasonable cost?

Answer: The Belgravia Centre strives to offer the most comprehensive, up-to-date hair loss website so the public can make informed decisions about their situation and method of treatment. Our hair loss product guide is a good place to look to get factual information on a wide range of available treatments, both licensed and unlicensed, proven and unproven. We hope that this service will enable you to make your own decision about which products may or may not be the best method for you.

With regards to the cost factor, we would prefer to remain neutral and not comment on what some companies might charge and whether this is a good deal or not. However, again, we would encourage you to shop around and compare not only the basic product that you are getting, but also the level of service and personalised customer care that you will receive. Keep in mind too that there are only two clinically proven hair loss treatments that are licensed by the MHRA and any effective treatment programme should include one, if not both, of these products.

You may also wish to take a look at the hair loss success stories of some of Belgravia’s customers. We hope that all the above information and links are useful to you in your search for an successful and cost-effective solution to hair loss.

Name: Ian Mitchell

Question: Roughly how much does a full hair loss treatment course cost?

Answer: The cost of a Belgravia hair loss treatment programme, as well as the duration of the course, depends on a few things.

• The type of hair loss you have – this will indicate which treatments need to be used and whether the treatment needs to be ongoing to maintain hair growth or can be stopped once the hair is back to its normal growth cycle.
• The severity of the condition – this can alter the price depending on which strength and combination of treatments is required to combat the problem.
• The Belgravia Centre also has special prices for students or various special offers, including a free HairMax LaserComb or Hair Vitalics for those who pay for 12 months of medication in full (while some people will see a dramatic improvement in three months, we recommend at least 12 months of treatment if you want to see optimal results).

Please note: You are not locked into a contract with The Belgravia Centre. Whilst we recommend a 12 month course to see optimal results, you do have the option to pay-as-you-go and can stop the course at any time you wish.

The easiest way to find out what the price and duration of a Belgravia hair loss treatment course would be for you is to visit our London centre for a free consultation. Your hair loss condition will be diagnosed and the optimum treatment programme for your condition and pattern of hair loss recommended. There are no obligations and no pressure during the consultation. To arrange a consultation you can call us on 020 7730 6666 or message the centre. The Belgravia Centre is open 7 days a week with 4 late nights.

Alternatively you are able to complete our online diagnostic form. The information you provide will allow our specialists to assess your condition and then recommend a suitable treatment course for home-use. A photo will also help to confirm the area of hair loss as well as the severity. Shortly after your submission you will be contacted by a Belgravia Treatment Advisor with the results, recommendations and price. We always advise those who live within or near London to visit our centre for a consultation.

Question:  I visited a hair clinic in London where they asked for £1800 for 1 year’s worth of minoxidil and a natural tablet – I can’t remember the name.  What kind of a deal is this, do you think it’s a rip off?

Answer:  It’s not really our place to say whether you are getting ripped off or not. We would, however, advise you to take a look at a hair loss product guide so you can get an idea of the kinds of products that are available. 

Minoxidil is one of two clinically proven hair loss treatments and natural hair supplements, like Belgravia’s own Hair Vitalics, can help improve the quality of your hair, although the latter won’t singularly stimulate regrowth.

Depending on an individual’s diagnosis, minoxidil is often administered in various doses and this, as well as where you purchase it from, can alter the price. And, while minoxidil can individually work to stimulate hair loss again, depending on your personal diagnosis, there may be ways to achieve superior results. We hope that the links below might also be able to assist you further:

A Guide To Choosing The Best Hair Loss Products

How Much Does a Full Hair Loss Treatment Course Cost?

How To Get The Best Results From Hair Loss Treatments

You may or may not have seen Belgravia’s Hair Loss Awareness Site.  Well I’d like to explain the reasons we feel it is important that the general public knows exactly what to expect and what to look out for when visiting any hair loss centre in the UK, and why we provide so much information on this subject.

For many years now we have been receiving stories and complaints about people’s experiences with a number of hair loss centres in the UK (I try to avoid using the word ‘clinic’ when referring to other hair loss organisations as I feel many of them do not come into this category).  Force selling, overpricing and even outright lying is unfortunately a common occurrence that we have come to be aware of within the hair loss industry.

Belgravia’s experts have a strict, open and highly ethical policy of providing people suffering from hair loss or a scalp condition with all of the information they need or request regarding our treatment courses in a completely honest manner – something that should of course be expected from any medical organisation.  We are confident, and can back-up the fact that the courses we prescribe are not only the most effective available, but are also highly affordable and will achieve optimum results in the great majority of cases.  We strive to make sure that extensive research is carried out into every product that comes available and all of the treatments we find to be medically proven, highly effective and safe are offered by the Belgravia Pharmacy as part of our hair loss treatment courses.

After carrying out some research, we are aware of the hair loss products that most of the advertised hair centres sell as part of their treatment programmes.  Much of the time these centres do not have the medical facilities, and furthermore are not willing to invest in the time or expense of offering clinically proven and effective treatments that require a prescription.  Because of this they offer natural or non-prescription treatments which are very cheap to produce and most have little or no effect.

We have proof that many of these centres exaggerate the effectiveness of their own treatments, most of the time claiming that they are the best available and claiming high success rates, but we have also found that many tend to play down the effectiveness of prescription treatments that can’t be offered by them – frequently exaggerating their side-effects and under-exaggerating their effectiveness.  Not only does discrediting the effective treatments encourage people never to try them, but the fact that most of the time they treatments that are offered are mildly effective or don’t work at all makes people lose hope and much of the time give up.

Propecia is a perfect example – it is a fact that Propecia is the most effective proven treatment to prevent genetic hair loss and thicken the hair whilst ensuring safety, with over an 80% success rate.  It has been licensed by the MHRA and FDA approved, meaning it has been deemed safe as well as effective to its cause, but it is a prescription treatment, meaning many of the centres are unable to offer it.  Not only have we heard of a number of consultants claiming the side-effects are too dangerous, but in many cases they have also claimed their natural treatments are more effective.

Just to clear this up; there is no single natural or non-natural treatment more effective than Propecia for genetic hair loss, whilst ensuring safety.  Any-side effects found in clinical trials and in our experience of tens of thousands of Belgravia patients that have used Propecia were only observed in fewer than 2% of men and were mild and either wore off after ceasing usage or shortly after treatment was stopped.  No Belgravia patients have experienced long-term side-effects and no long-term side-effects have been documented.  The effects of Propecia can be further enhanced with the combination of certain prescription treatments.

If you have had a bad experience with any hair loss organisation please let us know and we will be happy to give you help and advice.  As promised, I’ll keep you up-to-date with issues discussed in this post so make sure to check back regularly.  Volume 2 of ‘A Warning on UK Hair Loss Centres’ will be posted soon and provide more information on some of the so-called ‘solutions’ frequently offered by certain organisations, one of which was recently featured on BBC’s Watchdog.