Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2011 about a report by the Spanish consumer group OCU on hair loss products. The report is not linked or dated, and the market and medical evidence may have changed since.
Spain’s consumer association, the OCU, has denounced most hair loss treatments as a con. Neither shampoos, nor pills, nor ozone therapy or laser treatments will stop hair loss, let alone make new hair grow. Of all the “miracle products” against baldness, only a few treatments pass the test; the rest are considered deceptive to consumers.
Lotions and shampoos
These are the kings of the market. Although they cost somewhat more than ordinary shampoos, they are still affordable, so anyone with this problem usually tries them first. And, obviously, when they see no results, they go on looking for another method.
Minoxidil and Aminexil are known to have shown very good results for hair growth, so you will find shampoos and lotions that claim to contain these compounds, which are ineffective when applied to the scalp.
Vitamin and/or mineral supplements
Their effectiveness is ruled out in 90% of cases. They only work when hair loss is caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. Sometimes hair loss is temporary and may be due to a vitamin deficiency or to stress. If hair loss is not caused by these factors, extra vitamins will not improve the situation.
Laser and ozone therapy
Ozone therapy has incredible benefits in general, but when it comes to hair growth it fails the test. Oxygenating the hair may make it look better and healthier, and may even stop hair loss from progressing, but it is useless for growing new hair. The same goes for laser treatment, a technique used to improve blood flow (vasodilation) in the scalp, which likewise neither stops hair loss nor restores hair that has been lost.
The only effective treatments, the ones the OCU gives its approval to, would be:
Minoxidil: Although the OCU vouches for this compound as one of the solutions for baldness, we consulted several specialists who say that both minoxidil and Aminexil can help slow hair loss thanks to their vasodilating effect, which activates the hair follicles, but they will not make hair that has already been lost grow back.
Finasteride: Approved by the OCU, this drug has been shown to prevent hair loss and regrow the hair we have lost. It has become the new magic product, but what many people don’t know is that it encourages hair to grow without control, so you will not only end up with more hair on your head; hair will grow anywhere on your body. It has also been shown that once you stop taking it, its effect disappears within a few months, so the baldness would undoubtedly come back. And if the treatment is prolonged, the harmful effects it may have on health, being a drug, have not been tested. It is the ideal product for an anti-baldness brand: if you stop taking it, the effects disappear.
The only product that works
Setting aside the products the OCU denounces, and even the ones it approves, the only method with proven effectiveness and no side effects is a hair transplant, the only side effect being a thinner wallet. All the other products are simply a way of making money from people who suffer from this problem and worry about it.
Featured image: Keministi, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
