Merry Christmas!

A very merry Christmas to all!

Hope you have a great time over the festive period.

Drive carefully, stay safe and see you after Boxing Day...

What is Dutasteride? (part two)

Dutasteride is a dual DHT inhibitor, meaning that it acts on both type I and type II of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Results have shown that its use can lead to a 93% reduction in the conversion of testosterone into DHT in the body, much higher than the inhibiting ability of Finasteride. It is possible that executives at GlaxoSmithKline were uneasy about the fact that because their DHT inhibitor was more powerful than Finasteride, despite the fact that this led to increased benefits as far as hair loss were concerned, the drug might be too strong for a nervous market in which Finasteride was already underperforming.

Although not confirmed, the final phase of Dutasteride testing may once again be underway. In the meantime it has begun to be prescribed off-label for some men hoping that its powers to inhibit DHT will help them retain or grow back more of their hair than Finasteride is capable of achieving for them. Because its side effects may be more severe and neither the dosage nor the long term impact of the drug for the purposes of hair loss have been approved by the FDA however, there are many reasons to be wary about the use of Dutasteride in this way.

Still, this could be the next systemic drug to be approved by the FDA to treat hair loss. If you are impatient and willing to take the risk, a 0.5 mg soft gel will currently cost you $2-3 per dose with a prescription. Beware however that it is not possible to easily divide a soft gel capsule into smaller quantities the way Finasteride users have been able to cut up larger doses of Proscar originally intended to treat BPH. Also, considering the fact that studies have shown that Dutasteride remains in the body for up to 240 hours (as opposed to 6-8 for Finasteride) after being taken, and that in some cases DHT was at only 25% of its normal levels up to a year after ceasing to take the drug, you might want to think seriously about those uncharted side effects. As with Finasteride, Dutasteride should never be handled by women who are pregnant or may become pregnant.

What is Dutasteride? (part one)

Dutasteride is a so-called second generation dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitor produced by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Like Finasteride (Propecia), it was developed to treat the enlargement of the prostate gland in men known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). As was the case during Merck's Finasteride testing back in the 1990s, Dutasteride's beneficial effects on hair loss became apparent during GlaxoSmithKline's clinical trials of the drug as a treatment for BPH. Dutasteride was granted FDA approval as a drug to treat BPH and appeared on the market in 2003 branded as Avodart. For the purposes of treating BPH, the recommended dose is a 0.5 mg soft gel capsule once daily. It is important to note that at this stage, Dutasteride has not been approved by the FDA for the purposes of treating hair loss. If this ever occurs, like Finasteride it will only be approved for use by men.

In a repeat of the history of Finasteride's development as a hair loss drug, GlaxoSmithKline set about conducting trials into the use of Dutasteride, their own DHT inhibitor, for the same purposes. However, the company shelved their plans for a drug to rival Finasteride in the market for hair loss treatments after phase 2 trials of Dutasteride had been completed. It is not clear why they didn't go through with a final phase of testing the drug in preparation for its approval as a hair loss treatment but it has been speculated that market forces were responsible. The company had been going through a number of mergers which may have had an impact on continuity in decision making among their various divisions. In addition to this, Finasteride, while already established on the market as an effective hair loss treatment, had not been meeting Wall Street's profit expectations. This may have been due to negative publicity surrounding the potential side effects of the drug as far as sex drive and sexual performance were concerned...

More tomorrow.

Hair loss forums

I've been spending a little while surfing around looking at other hair loss web sites and I've found two really busy forums which everyone should check out:

Hair Loss Talk and Hair Loss Help

I've registered at both and am looking forward to meeting the regulars, I hope they're friendly!

PS I'll add a link to these site here on the blog but also over in the links section of my main site, if anyone has any other recommendations for great hair loss sites to link to please let me know!

The big bald question: Which hat to wear while jogging?

It's that time of year again, the time when summer is long gone, the long winter nights are threatening to creep in and the urge to stay snuggled up at home until next spring is strong. Nothing wrong with that, of course, except staying at home tends to mean not going to the gym and I can already feel my waistline making room for this year's Christmas dinner.

The solution, naturally, is to go jogging, and that's exactly what I'm going to do (as often as possible between now and when the leaves start to grow back on the trees). The problem caused by this solution is that I'm even more self aware of being bald when I'm running than when I'm just walking around trying to mind my own business. No doubt Richard Dawkins would say that's because people have developed to pay attention to moving objects, I'd say it's because they like to point and laugh at shiny things. Anyway, the way round this is obviously to wear a hat, but which one? Having a had a quick look in the cupboard my choices are as follows:

- A fluffy thing with ear flaps which tie together under your chin, the kind of thing Sherlock Holmes would wear if he worked on a Russian trawler.

- A round thing which belongs to my girlfriend and appears to be made of leather. I don't really know how to describe it better but the important point is it's too small for me so I'd have to run with one hand held to my head to stop it blowing away.

- A motorcycle helmet.

Now, perhaps I'm being picky but none of the above really strikes me as suitable for use while huffing and puffing round the block. I may just have to wait until it gets dark and go out then.

Then again, I've always fancied being a famous detective...

What is Crinagen? (part two)

Unlike other topical scalp solutions Crinagen is not sold with associated shampoos and conditioners. Typical of his medically sound methodology, Dr. Razack explains this simply by stating that they are unnecessary as there are already effective options on the market. For use with Crinagen he recommends an anti-inflammatory shampoo such as Nizoral or T-Gel.

In addition to Crinagen, Raztec Enterprises later developed Natrecia, a herbal supplement specifically blended to combat hair loss. Natrecia can be used by men and women with minimal side effects, and is intended to be taken as a pill once daily.

A 30 day supply (1 bottle) of Crinagen costs $19.95, though it's worth buying more because the price per bottle reduces if you buy 2 or 4 bottles at a time. A 30 day supply of Natrecia is also $19.95 and there are similar advantages to buying more bottles in one go. Shipping in the US is free.

Neither Crinagen nor Natrecia is FDA approved, because like Revivogen, their exclusively natural lists of ingredients mean that they do not require such regulation. Crinagen was developed before the comparable product Revivogen appeared on the market and while it has many loyal customers, it now exists in the shadow of the latter product in terms of market share. It is possible that this has more to do with marketing than anything else though, as Dr. Razack's product web site is heavy on the science and relatively light on marketing. In fact, with it's triple action approach to inhibiting DHT production, stimulating blood flow in the scalp and suppressing immune system reactions within the follicles themselves, Crinagen combats hair loss on more levels than its newer but more slickly marketed rival. All this may be about to change however, as the Raztec Enterprises web site is currently being revamped for a relaunch in the near future.

What is Crinagen? (part one)

Crinagen was developed by Dr. Nasser Razack after he began to experience hair loss as a college student in his mid 20s. His realization that there were few credible treatment options available at the time led to exhaustive medical research into its causes and possible treatments on his part. In 1997 he published "Conquering Hair Loss, A Complete Medical Guide To Hair Loss Assessment, Prevention and Restoration", a comprehensive book setting out the results of his research in great detail. At the same time, his company Raztec Enterprises released Crinagen onto the market as an all natural topical spray designed to be applied to the scalp to prevent hair loss and aid regrowth.

Currently an interventional neuroradiologist at the Bayfront Medical Center in Florida, Dr. Nasser Razack's approach to the problem of hair loss has always been meticulously scientific. Crinagen only contains ingredients and compounds that have been medically proven to be effective in treating hair loss, and Dr. Razack's review of the medical literature is as thorough as it gets. The basic ingredients of Crinagen have remained the same since it was first produced, though a number of new versions have been released over time. Each new version introduced minor changes to the product, but Dr. Razack is slow to make changes to the formula for Crinagen because he prefers to wait for conclusive medical evidence before deciding to include a new ingredient. The current version was released in October 2001 and is the 4th to be released.

Because it is a topical and completely natural product like Revivogen, Crinagen can be used by men and women alike and has no systemic or hormonal side effects. In addition to being a DHT inhibitor, Crinagen works to increase the flow of blood to the follicles of the scalp. It also suppresses immune system reactions that can cause inflammations of the scalp which in turn compound the damage caused to follicles by DHT. Crinagen has been proven to reduce DHT production in the scalp by up to 98%. Its ingredients not only combat hair loss, but also combine in ways that enable Crinagen to work simultaneously on a number of fronts at once. Some of its most powerful ingredients are Azelaic acid, Vitamin B6, Zinc acetate, Niacin, Saw Palmetto, Ginkgo Biloba and Proanthocyanidins from grape seed extract.

More tomorrow...

Creating a hair loss community - can you help?

Apart from providing accurate, impartial information the other main goal of the Hair Loss Heaven website is to provide a welcoming, supportive community by offering discussion forums and an email discussion list. To date, the forums and email list have been very quiet. If you have any suggestions about how I can encourage new members to join and share their experiences I'd be very happy to hear your thoughts (along with any other comments about the site). Please feel free to use the contact form to get in touch, I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks, Mac

What is Revivogen? (part two)

By inhibiting both types of 5-alpha-reductase with naturally available ingredients and localizing the effects of the treatment to the scalp, its advocates believe that Revivogen is more effective than Finasteride (which only targets type I 5-alpha-reductase) and safer than both Finasteride and Dutasteride. Because it is not a systemic treatment working against DHT throughout the entire body, it is safe for use by men and women alike and the only side effects reported are occasional irritations of the scalp.

Beyond its virtues as a cocktail of natural DHT inhibitors, Revivogen has another advantage over pharmaceutical treatments. It doesn't stop at impeding the conversion of testosterone into DHT, it also works to prevent the process by which DHT binds to androgen receptors within the hair follicles themselves. In other words, like other treatments it reduces the amount of DHT being produced in the first place, but goes further to protect follicles from damage caused to them by contact with any DHT still present in the scalp.

The natural ingredients that Revivogen contains are Gamma Linolenic acid (GLA), Alpha Linolenic acid (ALA), Linoleic Acid, Oleic Acid, Azelaic acid, Vitamin B6, Zinc, Saw Palmetto Extract, Beta-Sitosterol and Procyanidin Oligomers. Many consumers apply it once daily, often at bedtime. The product range also includes a shampoo and a conditioner which can be used to help the hair appear fuller and thicker.

A 3 month supply of the topical solution (known as Revivogen Scalp Therapy) currently costs $89, but if you want the shampoo and conditioner to go with it, your 3 month supply will cost $119. Although the shampoo and conditioner may help your hair look thicker and healthier, the DHT inhibiting effects of Revivogen come exclusively from the topical solution, so if you want to cut costs and focus on the action at the level of your follicles you can probably dispense with the rest. You might need to use Revivogen for up to 6 months before noticing any benefits.

Revivogen can be used in combination with pharmaceutical DHT inhibitors or regrowth agents such as Finasteride (Propecia) and Minoxidil (Rogaine), and some like to use all 3 treatments as part of a hair treatment maintenance regime. If you use both Revivogen and Minoxidil it is important to use them at different times of the day so that each can work its magic without interference from the other.

The catch with Revivogen is that because it is not FDA approved or regulated there is currently no clinical data available concerning its efficacy as a treatment for hair loss.

What is Revivogen? (part one)

Revivogen is a range of products produced by the Los Angeles based company Advanced Skin and Hair Inc. The company's founder and CEO is Dr. Alex Khadavi, a certified dermatologist with a private practice in Los Angeles who is also an instructor in dermatology at the University of Southern California. Originally motivated by his own experience of beginning to lose hair as a young man, Dr. Khadavi developed Revivogen as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical DHT inhibitors after years of research into the causes of and available treatments for hair loss.

Revivogen has been on the market since 1999 and is not FDA approved. It must be remembered however that it does not require FDA approval because its active ingredients are all natural.

For many consumers, the company's branding of Revivogen as a treatment that only contains naturally occurring DHT inhibitors is one of the most attractive things about it. Moreover, it is a topical solution applied directly to the scalp, so unlike the drugs Finasteride and Dutasteride its inhibition of DHT is specific to the tissue of the scalp and does not result in systemic side effects. Like Dutasteride, Revivogen combats types I and II of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme which is responsible for metabolising testosterone into DHT, the process that eventually contributes to hair loss in those who are genetically susceptible.

More tomorrow, but comments always welcome!

Baldness and self esteem

Self esteem is something most of us struggle with at some stage or another, regardless of whether or not we're affected by hair loss (or the fear of hair loss). Looking back at my own experience of losing my hair, though, I'm often surprised at how calmly I accepted the loss of my mighty mane.

I wish I could say that was because I'm a strong person with a well developed sense of self esteem and losing my hair was something I could just brush off (along with the hair on my shoulders). That wouldn't be true, however. I think it's closer to the truth to say that I just didn't have much self confidence to begin with and as a result didn't have a lot to lose. I'm still trying to work out whether or not that's a good thing.

Until tomorrow then. I'm a baldy, hear me roar!

How Dangerous is a Hair Transplant?

Interesting post from Dr. William Rassman, Medical Director and Founder of the New Hair Institute, in relation to the sad passing of Kayne West’s mom:

To my knowledge, there has been only one death from a hair transplant anywhere in North America, as previously reported. This death reflects what appears to be completely incompetent medical care. The clinic where this death occurred, known for bargain basement prices, is still performing surgery and it appears that the patients that go there do not focus on risks of death or complications from a hair transplant. One might ask those who continue to even consider this place for surgery, "Why try to save a few dollars and place your life on the line?"

Until now I'd never really considered the risks associated with hair transplantation, I guess because I hadn't really thought of it as "surgery" per se. There is a history of heart disease in my family though, so Dr. Rassman's post makes interesting reading. Is a cosmetic procedure ever worth risking your life for?

What is Finasteride/Propecia (part two)?

Clinical studies indicate that anywhere from 2 out of 3 to 80% of men orally administered a 1 mg dose of Finasteride on a daily basis report some improvement from the treatment. Results vary from successfully slowing down the balding process to stopping the loss of hair or stimulating new growth around the crown and top of the head. Less success has been reported around the temples however, and ceasing the treatment will cause the process of hair loss to gradually resume until within 12 months any benefits afforded by Finasteride have been lost. It is also unlikely to confer benefits on advanced cases of hair loss. Younger men who have hair they would like to retain and are willing to make a long term commitment are likely to benefit the most from this treatment.

On the downside, possible side effects reported by a small proportion of men using Finasteride during trials have included abdominal pain, back pain, decreased libido and volume of ejaculate, impotence, dizziness, rash, swelling of the lips and face, breast tenderness and testicular pain. Problems such as these cleared up after ceasing the treatment. For many participating men who remained on Finasteride, side effects reduced or resolved during the course of their treatment. Women who are or may become pregnant should not handle Finasteride (especially crushed tablets) due to a risk that the drug may cause birth defects in a male fetus. Men using Finasteride should inform their doctor prior to taking a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test for prostate cancer as the drug may interfere with results. The use of Finasteride is banned in many sports as its presence in the blood can mask traces of steroid abuse.

In addition to its approved FDA status, Finasteride's popularity can be attributed to the fact that it is one of the most convenient measures against hair loss on the market. Consumers will also be pleased that with the expiration of Merck's patents on Proscar and Propecia in June 2006, a range of generic Finasteride alternatives has begun to bring prices for the treatment down considerably. A three month (90 tablet) run of 5 mg doses able to be cut into quarters with a pill cutter now costs anything from $116 (generic) to $409 (branded), making the cost of a daily dose of the drug a dollar a day or lower if consumers are prepared to shop around.

What is Finasteride/Propecia (part one)?

Finasteride was originally developed to relieve symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlargement of the prostate gland common in men over 50. While testing a 5 mg dose of the drug for those purposes in the early 1990s, unforeseen benefits for the retention and stimulation of hair growth on the head were observed. The 5 mg dose went on to be approved for prostate treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and marketed by pharmaceuticals giant Merck as Proscar. Further trials led to a 1 mg dose for hair loss entering the market branded as Propecia, when on 22 December 1997 Finasteride was approved by the FDA as the first clinically proven systemic treatment for male pattern baldness. Finally men hoping to slow, stop or even reverse the process of balding had a successful pharmaceutical treatment at their disposal.

Available only with a doctor's prescription, Finasteride counters hair loss by chemically preventing the metabolism of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) within the body. It achieves this by targeting and inhibiting type II 5-alpha-reductase, one of two types of an enzyme able to facilitate such a conversion. By interfering with this process Finasteride greatly reduces the amount of DHT present in, among other tissue in the body, the scalp. The detrimental effect that DHT has on the vitality of the individual follicles and hairs of susceptible individuals can thus be negated, or more accurately, deferred.

More tomorrow...

What are Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) Inhibitors?

If you're serious about preventing hair loss and encouraging new growth, you need to take action to prevent the damaging effect that the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) has on the follicles of your scalp. There are several main ways to go about this.

Depending on your gender, stage of hair loss and other factors, your available options may include taking a daily Finasteride or Dutasteride tablet or capsule to reduce the levels of DHT circulating throughout your entire body. Or, if you don't like the idea of such "system wide" approaches, or cannot use them for other reasons, you might benefit from natural and topical solutions, lotions and creams applied directly to the scalp to combat various phases of the production of DHT and its attempts to combine with your follicles' androgen receptors.

In addition, some of these products are frequently used in combination with each other. Tomorrow I'll take a look at some of the market leading and most popular DHT inhibitors.

Why Hair Loss Heaven?

A friend of mine asked me the other day why I'd bothered to set up the Hair Loss Heaven web site. It's a good question but I'm not sure I gave her a good answer at the time - I muttered something vague about it being "good to talk" and we moved on. Having given it some more thought, though, what I *really* want to build is this:

1. A welcoming, supportive community where people can talk about their experience of hair loss without fear of ridicule.

AND

2. A resource people can use to find impartial, accurate information about hair loss and all the various hair preservation and restoration options.

From my own experiences of searching the Internet for helpful hair loss resources I know there are a lot of places which certainly don't fulfill those criteria and I guess that was the driving factor behind my initial motivation. I hope that if you're reading this you'll want to join me and help build our community - why not register at the site and say hello in the forums? You'll be made very welcome!

The 5 best things about being bald

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - in reverse order - the 5 best things about being bald:

5. Losing a comb is no big deal. If you still have a little at the back and on the sides, a toothbrush will suffice.

4. Having hair on your back actually becomes a source of pride: "Whoah, look at them thick roots!"

3. If you injure your head and need stitches, you look about as hard as it's possible for any human being to look.

2. People will automatically credit you with wisdom and maturity beyond your years. This is great until you encounter a situation which actually calls for wisdom and maturity.

And, at number one:

1. You never have to worry about losing your hair.

The Women’s Hair Loss Project

The Women’s Hair Loss Project is a really great blog for women looking for information and support about their hair loss experience. It deals with some tough emotional issues but hopes to alleviate some of the pain of hair loss by sharing those emotions. From what we can see, it's doing a good job of achieving that goal. Recommended.

Bloody hell, it's chilly!

Oh great, it's that time of year again. You know, the time when it's actually even more uncomfortable than normal to be bald because the temperature's dropping and going outside feels like stepping into a cold shower. Brrrrrrrrrrrr...

Of course, on the bright side, we now have a good excuse to wear a hat! What a great device hats are, they keep us warm and (personally speaking, at least) improve our looks at the same time...

Maybe this time of year's not so bad after all.

In the footsteps of phantoms

I haven't seen Nicoholas Cage in a movie for a while now, so it came as somewhat of a surprise to me to see him looking all sleek and sexy in the trailers for his new action movie - the screen-adaptation of the Marvel comic book classic: Ghostrider. At the time I remember thinking to myself: “This guy looks different somehow,” but I couldn't quite put my finger on what had changed so drastically since last I'd seen him. Was it botox? Did he have a facelift? And then it hit me - the man has a brand-new bloody hairline. Go rent a copy of Leaving Las Vegas or Face/Off and you’ll see what I mean. Now allow me to be the first to say that he looks great, he really does; he looks ten years younger at the very least.

My only question is: Will this be a sustainable solution, or will he go down the Michael Jackson top-up procedure every other day route that leads to freakdom? Has this ghostrider embarked on a journey of folly that will provide the rest of us with unfounded hope, or is this a real breakthrough? Ok fine, it's two questions - but you get the picture: he's blazing a trail. But where that leads is just about anybody's guess.

Fateful Interventions

I have this good friend who went through an insanely stressful year. He had personal issues and lost his job and was generally in a stage of his life when he'd lost control and couldn't get things together for himself. Besides for the obvious stresses that his circumstances put him under, he also (not quite suddenly) but certainly quite quickly began to notice a definite thinning of hair on his pate. He sat down with me one day and told me that he'd had such a rough year he'd asked himself what else could possibly go wrong. At this point it should be pointed out to all those in a similar position to NEVER tempt fate by wondering what else could possibly go wrong - I think you'll find that the Fates have sense of humour that not everybody would appreciate.

Back to my friend, after a while things started getting better for him - he managed to sort out his personal issues, found a new job and things were beginning to look generally better and brighter for him. And here's the thing: after about a month or so of getting his life back on track, he noticed that his hair had started thickening again. And if it hadn't seen it for myself I truly wouldn't have believed it. But there it is: incontrovertible proof (albeit of the anecdotal variety) that stress can lead to hairloss. A pointed reminder not to put dealing with things off... lest the Fates decide to start pulling things out.

Who’s afraid of the big bad baldie?

There is a word to describe the fear of becoming bald. That word is phalacrophobia. And as much as I find silly the whole concept of being genuinely (as in waking up in a cold sweat) afraid of becoming bald; given the socio-cultural connotations of baldness, I can at least understand the rationale behind this fear. There is a sense, and I’m not justifying it in any way, that you may lose out if you’re bald. So I can understand this phalacrophobia word. But there is another word. A word that I find harder to accept. That word is peladophobia, and it refers to the fear of bald people. But I fail to understand the source of this fear. How does somebody become afraid of bald people? We don’t’ run around chasing little kids vowing to eat them if we catch them. We just don’t. People don’t take one look at my bald head and run away screaming for dear life. They just don’t. So the only logical conclusion I can come to is that peladophia is no more than a lexical invention. I don’t believe in it - I just don’t.

Collective Blindness

There was a touching story on the mirror.co.uk’s website last year about a little girl, Nikkita Gibson, that lost all her hair to alopecia at about 18 months of age. In it Nikkita’s mum Louise (herself bald as a result of alopecia) often refers to the fact that people constantly mistake Nikkita for a boy or if not, ask her whether she is suffering from cancer. It’s amazing to note how many people have never even heard of alopecia, and even more so how constructed social identify can be, i.e. little girls should have long hair. The very same kind of thinking applies when people perceive bald men or women to be older than they really are because baldness is associated with age. While we can accept the fact that for as long there is baldness, there will be a social view of baldness, we needn’t accept this particular view of baldness. The trick is to help people remover their blinkers.

Mind the gap

MedicineNet.com ran an article in May this year entitled: Low Iron Could Help Spur Baldness. In it they reported on research undertaken by the Cleveland Clinic to review scientific literature, published over the past 40 years, pertaining to the link between iron deficiency and hair loss. Their conclusion? Their review of the data suggests there may be a link, and that further research is required, as the doctors don’t fully understand “the relationship between iron deficiency and hair loss”. My conclusion? My review of the article suggests there may be a story, but further reporting is required. This reporter clearly doesn’t understand the hope we sufferers of hair loss pin on new research, nor the sting of having our hopes dashed once more when nothing materialises.

The baldness of a head begins at the temples

I was trawling the net looking for different cultural perspectives on baldness, when I came across the following Zulu proverb:

Inkqayi ingena ngenlontlo

for which the literal translation is "The baldness of a head begins at the temples."

This proverb that expresses the idea that big things may result from a seemingly small matter is usually said in defense of small beginnings, and it's roughly the equivalent of the English proverb "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." It's refreshing to see a different cultural take on hair loss that links the negative onset of baldness with a greater positive change. So the next time you suggest a great idea to your boss and they say it will take too long to implement, go ahead and tell them: "The baldness of a head begins at the temples". Inkqayi ingena ngenlontlo. Baby steps...

Massaging proteins

Physorg.com reports that scientists at the University of Manchester in the UK have managed to hyperactivate a 'hair protein' in embryonic mice that resulted in "young with considerably more fur [produced] than normal." During human development, skin cells have the ability to turn into different types of cells such as hair follicles or sweat glands. The team of scientists discovered that the transformation of these cells into hair follicles is determined by only three proteins produced by our genes, which they were subsequently able to manipulate in embryonic mice. These findings, though not directly linked to male-pattern baldness, should nonetheless fill in some crucial knowledge gaps for pharmaceutical companies developing treatments for baldness.

Time to Smile

The following one-page website is chicken soup for the bald soul. But before you run off to sneak a peak, take a moment to put aside all your daily troubles – fear not, they will be there when you return. Take a deep breath, and exhale the frustration of the daily grind in one short, sharp gust. Now inhale the gentle soul that resides within you. Exhale all the deadlines. Inhale all the good times. Exhale stress mode. Inhale sweet calm. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Feel the stress take off, feel the calm come in. There. Now click and smile. Much better.

Crudoleum and hair loss

I just read-up on a leading American psychic of the 20th Century Edgar Cayce (1877 – 1945) who diagnosed people’s medical problems during a hypnotic trance. Besides for head massages, a healthy diet and vitamin supplements to stimulate hair growth, his most prominent recommendation for hair loss was to massage crude oil into one’s scalp. Not just any crude oil, mind you, it had to be Pennsylvania crude oil due it being a lighter paraffin-based variant – as opposed to darker asphalt-based crude oil variants. This is how the brand Crudoleum was born, which surprise-surprise still retails to this very day. Of one thing we can be certain: Edgar Cayce was a true seer. He could see them coming from a mile away...

Chicken Rub

The following cure for hair loss appears (verbatim) across numerous websites offering ayurvedic cures to all sort of ailments:

HAIR LOSS: Those suffering from hair loss or baldness, may apply a paste of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath and keep it for approx. 15 min. and then wash the hair. It was found to be effective even if kept on for 5 minutes.

Now we all know that olive oil, honey and even cinnamon have proven medicinal properties, but you’ll forgive me if I think this particular paste will do better spending 15 minutes on this evening’s chicken than on my head.

RoboCure for baldness

The newstatesman.co.uk in an article entitled Robot developed for baldness reports that the British government has awarded a £1.85 million grant to a UK biotechnology company that is developing a cure for baldness that enlists the aid of a robot. Hair follicles are harvested from the back of the neck and cultured for reinsertion in the affected areas. The robot significantly speeds up culturing of replacement follicles by handling up to 200 samples at a time. The reinsertion process consists of a 30-minute operation and has been relatively successful thus far, though it will take up to three years before it becomes commercially available to the general public. I confess that when I first read the title of this article I envisaged a robot that walks and talks as it grows new hair for you. But, saying that, if it can do everything else they say it can, then I’ll be more than happy to forgo the small talk.

Dodgy Head Space

I just read an amusing article about this guy who decided to rent out ad space on his head to help him keep up with his child support payments. He went ahead (no pun intended) and put it (the space on his head) up for auction on ebay for $5000 but as yet has not managed to punt his pate. For those of you who don’t mind selling your body on the web and don’t find the entire concept horribly tacky, the article also mentions a website dedicated to advertising on one’s body called bodybillboardz.com. Turns out being bald puts us ahead of our hirsute counterparts in terms of ad space. Only thing I’ve always wanted to be...a human billboard!

Steve Wilkos makes the Bald List

There is an overt obsession amongst bald people and the websites that purportedly represent them to draw up lists of sexy bald men, famous bald men, bald men in business, etc. Names that crop up regularly include: Vin Diesel, Yul Brenner, Telly Savalas of Kojak-fame and Patrick Stewart aka Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise (no comment). One website even features Steve Wilkos on their list of famous bald men. Now, if like I was, you're looking scratching your bald spot wondering who he is, allow me to clue you in.

The fact is that you've all probably seen Steve Wilkos before - on The Jerry Springer Show - keeping feuding lovers/families/family-lovers apart while the audience chants his name over and over again in primeval ecstasy: "Steve! Steve! Steve!" Now that we're all up to speed, what I want to know is: how desperate are we for role models that this particular bald-headed goon made the List? He sure is bald but that's where his eligibility to be a bald role model ends. If we're so desperate for role models, we should try being our own role models for a change. Or better yet: we should try being somebody else's.

The best a man can get

I’m so used to having my inbox bombarded with the latest miracle cures for hair loss (all with a 30-day money back guarantee) that it was a nice change to come across a website dedicated to helping one remove all your hair. Headshaver.org is a website dedicated to the esoteric art of – well you get the picture. It explains not only how to shave your head, but also gives in depth reviews of shaving products from lubricants to blades. I had never even heard of half the products out there from Aveeno shave gel - go for the soy-based gel as opposed to the oatmeal-based gel to avoid gunking out your blade, to Avid Skinglider - choose the sensitive skin version for markedly less irritation, to Billy Jealousy's Hydroplane shave gel with micro silicone beads - expensive but worth it. Gillette? No longer the best a man can get.

The Three Phases

There are three phases of a hair’s life cycle, namely: anagen, catagen and telogen. The Anagen, or active, phase refers to the stage in which the hair grows continually - this normally lasts up to five years. The catagen, or transitional, phase refers to the phase in which old hair becomes dormant (stops growing) and a new hair begins its growth. This stage lasts between two and three weeks. The telogen, or resting, phase refers to the phase in which the new hair forces the old hair out from the follicle. This takes between ten to twelve weeks. To summarise: anagen, catagen, telogen. First, second, third. Looks like I’ve stalled in second...

B*ld-faced lie

There is a little war raging between etymologists on the internet regarding whether the expression that refers to lying should read bald-faced lie or bold-faced lie. Proponents of bald-faced lie argue along the lines that this refers to a lie that makes no effort to conceal itself - hence it is bald or not covered up. Advocates of bold-faced lie suggest that the expression refers to the lack of shame with which the lie is told- hence it is bold or brazen. This often-acrimonious debate rages on as we speak without any clear sign of a victor in sight. Heated though this debate may be, I personally don’t intend to lose any hair over it.

Scale of Dread

The Norwood-Hamilton Hair Loss Scale is dreadful. It is dreadful because it takes progressive hair loss, breaks it down into categories, and then summarises it into an easy-to-read wall-mountable chart. It is also dreadful because:

- It makes no reference at all to the denial experienced in stage 2, as in: “Oh my God, this isn’t happening to me.”

- It completely ignores the anger experienced in Stage 3, as in: “What the %^%@ are you looking at?”

- It neglects to mention the desperate bargaining experienced in Stage 4 as in: “Dear God, you know I’ve never asked you for anything before…”

- It totally skips the depression that sets in by Stage 5, as in: “Stuff like this always happens to me.”

- And it cannot begin to summarise the bitter acceptance of Stages 6 & 7, as in: “I suppose it’s not the end of the world.”

Solution to overcome the Scale of Dread: print it out and colour it in using brightly coloured crayons - do not bother trying to colour within the lines. Now paste it on your wall and smile as your remind yourself that while in some cases hair loss may be inevitable, in all cases the way you deal with it is not.

Bald on the 11th of July

The website baldrus.com is lobbying for the 11th of July to become the first Annual International Bald Holiday and are encouraging all bald people everywhere to exert all possible influence to help get this Holiday recognised. They have a manifesto that includes burning hairpieces, flushing hair-growth potions down the toilet, and donating testosterone to people with hair. If you ask me, it all sounds a little bit crazy. But then I remembered that in the sixties and seventies there was this little rights movement (you may remember it) that burned bras, took birth control potions and donated free love to all in need. 11th of July? I’m pencilling it in as we speak.

43things.com

The other day, I stumbled across a great website called 43things.com that encourages people to write down their goals (up to 43 of them to be precise). It also gives users an opportunity to hook up with other people that share the same goals, and in this manner 43things.com functions pretty much like a communal blog. What's nice is that if you like what someone has had to say about their particular goal or if you just want to encourage them along, you get to give them a cheer - 43things.com's equivalent of a pat on the back.

One person's stated goal is to find other people with Alopecia Universalis and there have indeed been some awesome responses to his call for Alopecians to unite - particularly from women. The most recent blog is from a 15 year-old girl struggling particularly because of her age to deal with hair loss. Her brave blog reminded me just how acutely image-conscious kids of a school-going age can be, and how difficult it is to fit in at the best of times. Though I recognise that we may not have a cure for her Alopecia, there is however a cure for her feelings of loneliness. So go ahead, log in, and give the girl a cheer.

New guide to DHT Inhibitors published at Hair Loss Heaven

A new guide to DHT Inhibitors has been published at Hair Loss Heaven and can be found here. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitors - the best known of which is probably Propecia - are used to reduce the damaging effect which DHT has on hair follicles, often leading to baldness.

Happy New Year!

A very happy New Year to all our members and visitors!

2007 figures to be a big year for Hair Loss Heaven - we hope you'll join us.

Best wishes,

Mac