Scalp Med TV infomercials, like many hair loss products, claim to sell FDA approved hair loss products. Pictures, videos, and testimonies on television show hair loss sufferers regrowing hair even when men and women were completely bald. Is this really what balding people can expect from Scalp Med? Below we examine Scalp Med and unlock the mystery ingredients and whether or not any clinical proof exists that this hair loss solution can treat baldness.

Scalp Med includes 3 distinct products including topical Vitadil-5A for men or Vitadil-2A for women, topical NutriSol-RM, and Cortex Enlarger hair thickening spray.

Vitadil-5A for men or Vitadil-2A for women is a topical solution that contains the proven hair regrowth solution minoxidil, also found in Rogaine and Xandrox. It's also said to include a unique delivery agent formulated to increase the absorption of 5% minoxidil for men, 2% for women.

Scalp Med is a bit more vague as to the ingredients found in the NutriSol-RM topical and the Cortex Enlarger thickening spray. While NutriSol-RM topical is designed to add essential nutrients to the scalp for healthier hair, the Cortex Enlarger hair thickening spray's primary purpose is to temporarily fatten the hair follicles making hair appear thicker.

Scalp Med is upfront that the ingredients found in the NutriSol-RM shampoo and Cortex Enlarger hair thickener will not stop hair loss or cause hair regrowth.

Scalp Med also offers a detoxifying cleanser kit which includes a detoxifying shampoo called Panthenol-DX Scalp Detoxifier. This shampoo is designed to deeply cleanse the scalp without stripping the hair of its natural oils and nutrients. Unless your thinning hair is due to pollutants or toxins affecting natural hair growth, Panthenol-DX Scalp Detoxifier won't stimulate new hair growth. Scalp Med's Panthenol-DX does nothing to stop the natural progression of genetic female hair loss and male pattern baldness.

To supplement Scalp Med's hair loss treatment program, Scalp Med offers a Mega-Multi Vitamin to increase overall body health.

Scalp Med can legally claim that it's product contains an FDA approved ingredient since Scalp Med does contain minoxidil, which is a FDA approved topical treatment for hair loss. However, Scalp Med its self has not been granted FDA approval. Though Scalp Med's other products may work to promote healthy hair, it's the minoxidil that gives balding men and women any hope of restoring their hair.

Unfortunately, Scalp Med's marketing infomercials makes it appear that completely bald men and women have hope of regrowing a full head of thick and healthy hair. However, the words “Results seen are not typical” can be seen in small fine print at the bottom of your television.  Additionally, Scalp Med's website FAQ makes it clear that no non-surgical hair loss solution is proven to grow hair in completely bald areas.

There are several proven success stories that minoxidil can stimulate hair regrowth in areas of thinning hair. Therefore, Scalp Med's Vitadil-5A should be as effective as 5% minoxidil just as Vitadil-2A should be as effective as the 2% solution.

Scalp Med is about 3 times the cost of minoxidil. A two month supply of Scalp Med is approximately $160.00. Discounts are available if you buy in bulk. However, even in bulk, the net cost ends up around $64 per month as opposed to the $20 per month cost of Rogaine. Generic minoxidil costs even less.

One product you used to see quite often in advertising is Avacor. According to Response magazine, Avacor was the third best selling product on the Internet in April, 2002. Avacor was originally manufactured by Global Vision Products. After being taken over by new management, it is now being manufactured by Avacor Products LLC.

Like most products that advertise 'Stop Hair Loss and Regrow Hair!', Avacor contains the only FDA approved topical drug minoxidil. Avacor, like other products with similar claims, mixes FDA approved drugs in their generic form with other ingredients in a multiple regimen of products like shampoo, lotion and vitamins.

Avacor historically cost approximately $239 for a two to three month supply and over $1000 for a year’s worth.  New prices are much more reasonable which range from $180 for a 3 month supply to $400 for a year’s supply of the men’s and women’s formula. Note that the ingredients in Avacor can be bought over the counter at your local store at a fraction of the cost for which they are sold in Avacor. However, they do offer 24/7 customer service and a 90 day money back guarantee.

Marketing Practices

Avacor, like other products with similar claims, has taken a lot of slack over the years for their controversial marketing tactics. Avacor has a checkered past and has previously been the focus of lawsuits and investigative reporting by major media like ABC news. Recently however, new management has taken over and claims they are very serious about selling quality products at more reasonable prices, without the hype and controversial marketing strategies. In looking at their website, while Avacor still uses slick marketing language to promote their products, the vast majority of their claims are much more realistic.

Avacor includes 3 distinct products that claim to provide “total hair care”. This includes a 'Scalp Detoxifying Shampoo', a 'Physicians Topical Formulation' and finally a 'Nutricap'. Avacor's Nutricap ingredients consist mainly of common herbs like saw palmetto, gingko biloba, keratin, resveratrol, and bilberry. While conjectured to inhibit the production of DHT, none of these ingredients are FDA approved or proven to stop hair loss. Avacor’s Physician’s Topical Formulation however, does contain 5% of the FDA approved hair regrowth agent minoxidil.

Other than minoxidil, no other ingredient is proven to regrow hair. A number of studies have been done that suggest saw palmetto inhibits the production of DHT, like Propecia. But, unlike Propecia, it has never been proven to stop or reverse hair loss.

Avacor Products

Avacor admits on their website that the only product proven to regrow hair is the Avacor Physician’s formulation which includes the FDA approved ingredient minoxidil (5% for men and 2% for women). The other products claim to provide hair with the essential nutrients for healthy hair growth but are careful not to claim to prevent the progression of male or female pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia). Perhaps this is why the Avacor Physician’s formulation can now be purchased separately. Costs of the Physician’s Formulation are still, but only a little more expensive than Rogaine topical hair loss treatment, one of the first and most popular topical minoxidil products.

The Avacor Study

At this time, Avacor’s proof comes in the form of the FDA approved study showing that minoxidil can stop and reverse hair loss.  No other study is provided with their product.  Their website also is much more realistic as to what their product line can accomplish for hair loss suffering consumers.

Confidence in Products and Services

Before you consider spending hundreds of dollars for any product or service, do a review. Legitimate products will have legitimate studies and have been reviewed on many quality websites. Doctors with real talent and satisfied patients will be able to show you dozens of photos and allow you to talk with past patients. Proven physicians will make available their resumes along with their formal education and associations they belong to.

It is always best to review a product or doctor for information on their background before you make a decision for something as important as hair loss and hair restoration.

Conclusion

At the very least, the Avacor Physician’s formulation will be as effective as the Rogaine liquid formula or generic minoxidil. However, to date, both Rogaine and generic minoxidil are more cost effective than Avacor.  The nutricap, shampoo, conditioner and other products may promote healthy hair and provide it with volume, but make no claims of stopping hair loss or regrowing hair.

Hair loss is a universal condition, affecting all ages, races, genders and nationalities. It’s estimated that “androgenetic alopecia,” or male and female pattern baldness affects 35 million men and 21 million women in the United States alone. This section examines how race, age and gender affect hair loss.

Race and Hair Loss

In physiological terms, human beings are all composed of the same bones, muscles, and everything else down to the cellular level. But there are specific differences.

Hair, in all of its variations, is one area in which human beings display their differences. Hair follicles can widely vary in terms of color, length, shape, thickness, strength and various other factors.

There are many ethnic groups to consider. But we will focus on the special considerations of Asians, Blacks (of African descent) and Caucasians.

Asian Hair Loss Considerations

Asian people typically have very straight hair. Their scalps contain fewer hairs per square centimeter, they actually have a lower hair density than that of Caucasian hair follicles. But because the individual hair follicles of East Asians are thicker, this gives the look and impression of greater hair density.

For these reasons, hair restoration techniques for East Asians, much like other races, must be sensitive to a variety of anatomic and cultural differences. For instance, East Asian females often have an increased likelihood of developing “diffuse alopecia,” or hair that thins evenly over the entire head than Caucasian females.

Even though it’s not a definite requirement, it’s very helpful for Asian patients to seek out doctors with experience in Asian hair.

Another consideration for East Asians considering hair restoration surgery is the increased chance of developing keloid scars. A keloid is a thick, irregularly shaped and elevated scar with uncontrolled growth that results from excess fibrous skin tissue. East Asians typically have a greater likelihood of keloid development than Caucasians, but less than that of people of African descent. Therefore, before undergoing surgery, East Asians may want to consider being medically evaluated for keloids.

African Hair Loss Considerations

People of African descent usually possess naturally curly hair. This curly hair gives the visual impression of increased hair density for a given amount of hair, which is beneficial in hair restoration surgery.

The hair follicles beneath the skin of people of African decent also typically curve more than Caucasians. This can make harvesting the donor hairs, without severing or transecting the hair follicles beneath the scalp, more difficult. A hair restoration physician needs to be very aware of this difference and adjust to its requirements.

As in the case of East Asians, people of African descent possess some unique hair and skin characteristics. Some of these medical conditions are more common in black skin than in white skin. This may increase the risk for post-surgical complications.

Those of African descent have a higher chance of developing keloid scarring when injured. This in turn leads to a greater chance of noticeable donor scars. Keloids aren’t a widespread problem. But those with a history of them are carefully evaluated in regard to their existing scars. The evaluation usually involves a small "test procedure" to determine if there’s a normal healing rate.

Another issue is that of postoperative skin discoloration. With darker skin, there’s often a greater risk of both increased and decreased skin color after injury or surgery. These risks can be determined by the patient’s medical and family history.

Ingrown hairs are also a more common problem in darker skin. If a patient has a history of ingrown hairs or other minor skin infections, this may signal a higher risk for ingrown hairs post-hair restoration surgery. Again, this risk can be determined by a small test procedure.

Caucasian Hair Considerations

Caucasians (white people) may have a wide range of hair and skin types. However, if someone has dense and or coarse hair, as well as skin color similar to their hair color, they will generally achieve the best results for a given amount of restored hair.

Learn more about aging and gender hair loss

Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA) has been called the anti-gray hair vitamin and is considered one of the lesser known members of the vitamin B complex family (despite the fact that it’s not really a vitamin at all).  PABA is a non-protein amino acid and isn’t essential in the human body.  It can be found in foods such as liver, whole grain, yeast, and kidney and is listed as an active ingredient in several popular herbal hair loss treatments such as Provillusfor women and Procerin. 

The potassium salt in PABA called POTABA is available on prescription. POTABA is indicated for Peyronie’s Disease and scleroderma. The dose for Peyronie’s disease and scleroderma is very high (12 grams daily in 4 to 5 distributions) and must only be used under medical supervision. Because of the high doses needed to achieve clinical efficacy, patient compliance is typically poor.

But can PABA actually treat male pattern baldnessor genetic female hair loss?

Some tests conclude that PABA when combined with other elements such as folate, biotin, and pantothenic acid, may restore pre-maturely graying hair to its natural color.  Some anecdotal reports suggest it might also stop hair loss, however; there are at least as many reports that contradict this.  Moreover, we haven’t seen any evidence to suggest it can stimulate new hair growth or hair regrowth.

PABA comes in doses of 100mg, 250mg, and 500mg as a standalone product.  However, since no formal clinical studies have been performed on PABA for hair loss, a suitable dosage is mostly speculation.  Additionally, since no regulations have been placed on herbal medication, one should proceed with extreme caution before taking any herbal supplement.  Consulting with a doctor is advised.

Side Effects and warnings:

Some manufacturers of herbal replacements to medication would have you believe that herbal treatments come without potential side effects.  However, this is a farce. 

The following side effects have been reported from consumers of PABA: Anorexia, vomiting, nausea, hypersensitivity, fever and rash (particularly with larger doses). These symptoms went away when PABA is stopped.

Ironically, Provillusonly includes PABA in the woman’s formula.  However, women should know that pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children should avoid using PABA.

For those with renal disease, PABA should be used with caution.  PABA should be stopped if hypersensitivity develops. Those taking pharmaceutical doses of PABA must be under medical supervision.

Most hair loss sufferers can benefit from hair transplants. However, some are better candidates than others and will achieve more dramatic results.

Different Patients Achieve Different End Results

Two Hair Transplant Sessions one totaling 1860 grafts the other 2995 grafts

It is important to have realistic expectations and to find a hair transplant surgeon who can meet or exceed your expectations.

Surgical hair restoration is largely a matter of "Supply and Demand".

The look you can and will achieve with hair transplants is determined by several factors. But the most critical factor is really a question of "supply and demand".

The supply of hair is how much viable bald resistant donor hair you have. The demand is how much bald area you want to cover and to what degree of thickness.

Your “Donor Hair” determines what you can achieve.

For virtually all hair loss sufferers, even those with severe baldness, there is typically hair that grows for life on the sides and back of the head. This is because the hair in this "donor area" is genetically different from the hair on the top of the head in people who go bald.

The hair follicles in the "donor area" are genetically resistant to the effects of such baldness causing hormones as (DHT) dihydrotestosterone. That's why they continue to grow, while the hair on the top (in the male pattern baldness area) thins and goes bald over time.

How much viable donor hair you have will largely determine how much you can accomplish with hair transplants. Most people have enough viable donor hair to do at least one or two hair transplant procedures.