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Does Hair Max Work as a Hair Loss Treatment? - Sunday, December 30, 2007

Hair Max MD as a Hair Restoration Treatment  

There are a number of herbal hair loss medications on the market that claim to work as a treatment for baldness.  Whereas there is no question that marketing is over-reaching at best in order to sell a product, the real question that any balding individual asks is: will this product help stop my hair loss or will it help 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 loss drug.

HairMax MD is an advertised hair loss product that was recently brought to my attention. With slogans like “Baldness is now an option”, no wonder it has grabbed the attention of those suffering from hair loss. Hair restoration pictures on their website are also impressive presenting bald crown before and hairy after pictures.

HairMaxMD is applied topically to the scalp once every 12 hours (twice a day) by massaging a few drops into the scalp. The cost of this product is approximately $75 per month.

But does this hair loss product live up to the hype? How does a consumer know whether to believe the commercialized claims and impressive online testimonies?

In my opinion, the best way to evaluate a hair loss product is to take a look at the ingredients within. Remember, the sum of a product is only as good as its parts. The name given to a hair loss product is irrelevant. Therefore, let’s take a look at the active ingredients that are listed on HairMax MD’s website and evaluate whether or not these ingredients are effective hair loss remedies.

The active ingredients and descriptions from my research in HairMax MD are listed below:

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 (DHT) 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 may 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.

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil is known to be a scalp cleanser that can help alleviate encrusted buildup (called sebum) on the scalp. This sebum may block hair follicles from growing and impede normal hair growth. Its unique anti-oxidant properties may protect the scalp and hair from damage, ultimately, keeping them more healthy.

Though keeping the scalp clean is extremely important, in my opinion, unless a hair loss sufferer is losing hair for non-genetic related reasons such as scalp dermatitis, bad dandruff, or excessive sebum build up, this ingredient will do nothing to fight against Androgenetic Alopecia (genetic hair loss), which causes approximately 95% of all hair loss.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera, native to Northern Africa, is a short stemmed plant approximately 90 cm tall. Its leaves are thick and fleshy, grayish green in color. Aloe produces a yellowish flower on a spike toward the top.

Aloe Vera is typically used to treat various skin conditions including cuts and scrapes, and very commonly used for burns such as excessive sunburn. The sap from the Aloe Vera plant allegedly eases pain and reduces inflammation though the evidence that it facilitates wound healing is seemingly contradictory.

In particular about Aloe Vera and hair loss, I have found a number of websites that promote and sell herbal products claiming that Aloe Vera may be a benefit to balding individuals, yet I have not found any scientific evidence of it being studied as a hair loss treatment . A few additional websites seemed to reference that such studies exist, but the studies themselves are seemingly impossible to find. According to those promoting these herbal hair loss products (found on HairMax MD’s website and many others), Native Americans and Caribbeans have used Aloe Vera to promote healthy hair and supposedly prevent hair loss long ago. It allegedly works to promote scalp health by balancing pH levels and cleansing the pores.

Despite the claims however, in my research, I have not come across any clinical studies for Aloe Vera as an effective hair loss treatment.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil is a natural agent that may be effective against infectious organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Common use of this agent includes use as a germicide, antibacterial, antiseptic, fungicide, or anti-inflammatory agent. Additionally, it has been used for head lice, seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff, athletes foot, mouth ulcers, herpes, after shave, toe nail infections, yeast infections, body odor, acne, mosquito bites, cold sores, mouth ulcers, herpes, among other uses.

Though certain promotional websites that sell Tea Tree oil have indicated this product as a treatment for hair loss, no clinical evidence of this claim has been provided. It is my opinion that the reason those who promote this as a hair loss treatment can say this is because tea tree oil can be used to treat seborrheic dermatitis. Seborrheic dermatitis is sometimes the cause of a more rare type of non-genetic hair loss called telogen effluvium (a common type of diffuse alopecia). This however, has nothing to do with male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness – the most common type of hair loss.

Lemon Oil

Lemon has been used not only to disinfect room air and act as a natural deodorant, but it has been noted to support liver function. It has also been commonly used to assist in cellulite reduction and weight loss. Lemon oil is commonly used as both a fragrance and flavoring agent. It may even possibly offer qualities to tighten and tone your skin and even fight off dandruff.

A recent study on test-taking showed the diffusion of lemon oil into a room helped improve test scores of college students more than other oils.

Despite the possibility of mind enhancement , I found no evidence in my research that lemon oil assists in halting hair loss or regrowing hair.

Vitamin E (Tocopherol)

Vitamin E consists of 8 molecules, four of which are known as tocopherols (one of the ingredients in HairMax MD), the other four known as tocotrienols. Both tocopherols and tocoltrienols consist structurally of a chromanol head and a phytyl side chain. The difference between these 2 types of molecules has to do with the phytyl side chain where tocopherols are fully saturated and tocotrienols are not. Tocotrienols contain three double bonds at the 3, 7, and 11 positions. Ultimately, these two types of molecules are distinct entities and not derivatives of one another. (Theriault et al, Clinical Biochemistry (1990) 32(5):309).

So why take the time to explain all this? From my research it seems that there may be clinical evidence to suggest that tocotrienols may be moderately beneficial for hair loss sufferers – but there is no evidence to suggest that tocopherols are, at least not in themselves.

Another interesting fact is that tocopherols, though mentioned in some patents of so called hair growing agents, are not the major active ingredient but only act as an aid to the formula itself, also discussed in the patents.

A clinical study was performed on 19 balding individuals (14 men and 5 women) ranging from the ages of 23 to 59 suffering from genetic hair loss who have not received any other type of hair loss mediation including minoxodil, finasteride, or ketoconazole. 11 volunteers received a capsule orally containing tocotrienols and alpha-tocopherol while 8 volunteers received a placebo capsule. The results of the study transmitted that all hair loss sufferer volunteers who took the tocotrienol / alpha-tocopherol capsules had at least some increase in visible hairs over the 15 month study which indicates that a mixture of tocotrienol and alpha-tocopherol appears to increase the number of visible hairs in balding individuals. Additionally, out of the 8 volunteers in the placebo group, 2 also experienced hair regrowth. 2 experienced hair loss while the other 4 experienced no change.

To read more about this study, visit: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7211274-description.html

In my opinion, one problem with the study is that the study group was small and one could argue that the hair count increase was either coincidence or that hairs were growing back as part of the natural hair growth cycle.

Keep in mind also that this study shows the effect of a tocotrienol / alpha-tocopherol mixture taken orally, not topically (as it is applied using HairMax MD). Additionally, what part the tocopherol molecule played in the increase of visible hairs cannot be determined.

Biotin

Biotin is a nutritional supplement that has been around for years and is taken orally.  The concept of biotin was discovered in the fur industry. Minks and chinchilla’s were raised for their pelts in making mink coats. Apparently when these animals were fed raw eggs, a protein called avidin inhibited biotin in the vitamin pathway and the animals started to shed creating sparse pelts. When raw eggs were omitted from their diet, the animals recovered.  In other words, this ingredient may be beneficial for those people who have an extreme bioton deficiency from eating a heavy supply of raw eggs - but there have not been any clinical studies on human beings for biotin as a hair loss treatment.

Zinc (Chloride and Oxide)

Some studies suggest that Zinc when combined with Vitamin B6 may be able to inhibit the conversion of Testosterone to DHT in the skin.  

I have not seen any studies of its effectiveness in combating hair loss or regrowing hair either for those suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia (genetic hair loss) or Alopecia Areata.  

Conclusions:

Though some nominal evidence exists for the potential benefit of Vitamin E taken orally for hair loss, at this time there is no real clinical evidence performed on any of the above ingredients in HairMax MD that reveals any level of efficacy as a topical hair loss treatment.   Additionally, because there have been no formal clinical studies, dosage and application (topical or oral) is also, at best, conjecture. 

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 containing ketoconazole may also be helpful.