One of the more popular hair loss products on the market today for those with thinning hair is Provillus. Available for both men and women, making promises to “re-grow beautiful healthy hair”, this product consists of a topical and oral solution with an FDA approved hair regrowth ingredient and a number of conjectured “all-natural” dihydrotestosterone (DHT) blockers.

Other ingredients that promote a healthy scalp and head of hair are also contained in this product. The theory behind Provillus is to revive the hair follicles with growth stimulators and attack hair loss at its source by blocking DHT.

In order to fully evaluate the efficacy of this product, we must further explore each ingredient to determine whether or not this hair loss treatment delivers what it promises. Below you will find a list of ingredients and information that will help you determine whether or not Provillus is right for you.

Topical Ingredients:

Minoxidil (found in Rogaine, Xandrox and other solutions) is an FDA approved hair growth treatment and many balding men and women use it with great success. This particular ingredient is what allows Provillus to advertise their product as FDA approved.

Azelaic acid has been found to clean the skin and potentially inhibit DHT, the hormone responsible for androgenic alopecia.

Combining these two “forces” therefore in theory, may be a more powerful treatment than minoxidil alone. However, no clinical studies have been performed on azelaic acid as a standalone product therefore, whether or not it can stop hair loss is purely conjecture.

Oral Ingredients:

The Provillus oral solution contains a number of supposed DHT blockers including saw palmetto for hair loss, Vitamin B6 and Zinc, pumpkin or cucurbita maxima, and nettle root. Because evidence exists that these ingredients may be an effective treatment for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), theories have been produced that they might also effectively treat baldness. Though we can appreciate the aspiration for balding men and women to use herbal products as an “all-natural” replacement for Propecia (finasteride), the problem we have is that most of them only contain anecdotal if any evidence at all that they can successfully treat baldness.

Provillus oral solution also contains a number of components that are said to promote healthy hair growth and cleanse the scalp. These include eleuthero, uva-ursi, muria puama, horsetail, para-aminobenzoid acid (PABA), and magnesium. Understand however, that promoting a healthy scalp and hair is not the same as stimulating newhair growth and hair regrowth, nor does it signify an effective hair loss treatment.

Possible Side Effects

The only side effect that we could find listed on the Provillus website is an upset stomach. It is reported that taking it with food often stops this. Be sure to follow the links to the ingredients listed above as many of them also have potentially reported side effects. Consulting with a physician before taking any herbal hair loss medication is advised.

Dosage

Currently there are no standards on dosages of herbal medications in the United States. In addition, no formal clinical studies have been performed on them for treating baldness. Therefore, the suggested daily value listed on the ingredient package is based on something other than government regulation and scientific study.

Costs

A one month supply of Provillus topical and oral supplement for men or for women costs about $50 per month. Discounted prices are available when bought in bulk.

For the cost of Provillus, one can purchase generic finasteride and generic minoxidil which are FDA approved hair loss treatments for safety and efficacy.

Conclusions and Our Opinion

Given that Provillus topical treatment contains FDA approved hair regrowth ingredient minoxidil; we can at least agree that it may have some marginal benefit for men and women suffering from androgenic alopecia. However, due to the lack of compelling evidence in these other conjectured hair loss solutions, it may be more beneficial and cost effective to spend your money on Propecia (finasteride)for men only and Rogaine (minoxidil) that has helped balding men and women worldwide.

Balding Has Been Cured

Try telling that to 80 million men and women who are suffering from hair loss in the United States. They will laugh at you. Yet on a daily basis we are bombarded with ads for hair loss treatments like Avacor, Hair Genesis, Fabao and Procerin that use misleading advertising to sell their products. Thanks to their persuasive messages promising to regrow hair, consumers will spend nearly one billion dollars trying to find an effective hair loss remedy and fall victim to misleading advertising like this.

Thinning hair is a source of distress for millions of men and women so it is not unusual for them to seek help from anything that sounds like it will work. Most questionable hair loss products use similar, misleading marketing techniques ranging from claims to testimonials and photos.

Hair Loss Product Claims

Many hair loss products claim to be able to restore hair through the use of drugs, herbal lotions or other exotic applications like lights, lasers or electrical fields. While many of these products have been around for years, there is little evidence that they can restore hair.

How are they allowed to make such claims? These products often use small amounts of generic drugs found in Propecia and Rogaine (finasteride and minoxidil) which allows them to make the claim to stop hair loss or they imply hair growth with 'cosmetic' claims.

Misleading Marketing

Some hair loss products lead you to believe that they can stop hair loss by parsing their words. They can't come out and claim to regrow hair or stop hair loss, so they advertise vague claims like "thicker, fuller hair". This is a 'cosmetic' claim that any product can make. Be advised that cosmetic claims cannot restore hair or grow hair because they are not proven to do so.

False Testimonials

With the anonymous nature of Internet postings, people posing as users will mislead others with false testimonials. Often, positive reviews are produced by people compensated to post these messages. Since there is no real regulation of online postings, consumers are advised to take testimonials with skepticism.

Phony Photos

Most product advertising that claim that you can "Regrow Hair!" or make your hair 'thicker and fuller' and show a photo of a balding person with thin hair next to a photo of the same person with thicker hair covering the baldness. Photos don't lie, do they?

Well, yes they do.

You can prove it yourself. Take a photo of a head with thinning hair using a flash camera and then photograph the same head without the flash. The photo with the flash will look like a bald head and the photo without the flash will look like more hair.

Lighting, length of hair and how the hair is arranged on the head determine whether a photo of a head looks bald or not. Most people go through the same routine as balding advances: they push hair from here to there and hair spray it into place in the hope that no one will notice that we are going bald. To the extreme, this becomes the 'comb-over' hair style.

Review the photos of hair loss products you've seen. In most cases there will be just a few and they will all have misleading elements like lighting, hair style and length of hair in the 'before and after' photographs. If the products or services are really legitimate, there should be dozens of photos, if not hundreds or thousands.

The FDA and the FCC

Sadly, we think that the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Communications Commission (agencies who regulate such issues) can stop these scams. Unfortunately, they can't. Since the FDA approved Minoxidil and Finasteride as effective in stopping hair loss, any inclusion of these products in any form enables marketing companies to make hair restoration claims.

Even the studies done for Rogaine and Propecia are not that encouraging. When Rogaine was studied (active ingredient is minoxidil), 16% of the placebo group had measurable new hair growth. Four out of twenty-five people had real, measurable hair growth when they believed they were using something that worked. Both studies were limited in time and scope. To read the studies that were done achieve FDA approval, visit the FDA web site and scroll down to Propecia and Rogaine. (http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/nda/index97.htm )

Hair Loss and Hair Restoration

If a person is genetically prone to hair loss and balding, FDA proven hair loss treatments may help slow the process if they are used early and often. If you are like many and have already lost more hair than you're happy with, there is only one option to restoring your own natural hair: hair transplants. Hair transplants have become an art in the restoration of natural hair which is genetically resistant to the causes of balding.

Like any surgical solution, your success depends upon the quality of the doctor you choose. Doctors who are successful in restoring a natural looking head of hair are carefully reviewed by the Coalition of Hair Restoration Physicians for membership in this exclusive organization. They must allow access to past patients, confirm their training and provide photos and videos of their patients.

While hair transplants are not possible for everyone, they are now more natural and affordable than ever before.

View hundreds of real hair transplant photos done by the world's top hair loss specialists who are members of the Coalition of Hair Restoration Physicians.

Stemcelex is the newest product in a long line of hair restoration therapies claiming to “cure” hair loss via stem cell therapy. Given the recent onslaught of news regarding stem cell based hair loss treatments, injectable baldness cures, and research breakthroughs, it’s not surprising to see new therapies claiming to aggressively fight hair loss through these same mechanisms. However, is Stemcelex truly a stem cell based, regenerative hair loss cure, or is it another therapy simply riding the recent wave of interest in these types of non-invasive, revolutionary treatments?

At first glance, Stemcelex seems quite impressive. The product website is filled with scientific explanations, graphs, charts, and diagrams explaining the science behind stem cell based hair restoration. Stemcelex even states its affiliation with Dr. George Cotsarelis, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center who, along with a talented research team, recently discovered that the bald scalp does not suffer from a lack of stem cells, but rather a dysfunction in the pathway to properly activating stem cells to produce hair. The finding was significant and Dr. Cotsarelis’ involvement and the seemingly detailed science look promising, but what about Stemcelex itself? Does it utilize these scientific breakthroughs and offer an effective treatment for hair loss?

Unfortunately, despite the impressive name recognition and detailed explanations, Stemcelex doesn’t appear to live up to its lofty hair restoration claims. Despite claiming to “activate” the dormant stem cells described by Dr. Cotsarelis, Stemcelex does not offer any sort of feasible molecular/stem cell based therapy. The website cleverly explains the science behind stem cell inactivation and the promise of reversing the dysfunctional pathway, but instead of reinforcing Dr. Cotsarelis’ view that cures for reversing the inactivation pathway are not yet understood, Stemcelex claims to actually fix the stem cell inactivation through a series of unproven homeopathic and herbal treatments for hair loss.

So, what is actually inStemcelex? The treatment involves a three day cycle of different lotions and topical treatments for baldness applied twice a day.

Day1: On the first day of the hair restoration cycle, a topical lotion made from Jaborandi Pilocarpus is applied twice after washing and thoroughly drying one’s hair. According to Stemcelex, Jaborandi Pilocarpus is a parasympathetic activator (it excites the nerves that cause the body to “rest and digest” during periods of relaxation) that rids the scalp of excess oils and dandruff that impede healthy follicular hair growth. Furthermore, Stemcelex claims that Pilocarpus naturally darkens and thickens existing, native hairs. According to the experts, Pilocarpus has no reproducible pharmacological applications and any evidence that it actually thickens and darkens hair is anecdotal.

Day 2: The second day of the cycle involves Veratrum Lobelianum, a family of herbs commonly used in Chinese medicine.  Stemcelex claims these herbs can penetrate the scalp and activate the necessary molecular signaling to “regenerate” the hair follicle stem cells. Furthermore, Veratrum allegedly down-regulates or prevents the production of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone directly responsible for male pattern baldness. According to the research, members of the Veratrum family have been used in everything from a Native American poison to a drug researched in human blood pressure.  Currently, they are used in cancer treatments. Although the science behind cancer therapies indicates that the drug could have some molecular benefit in signaling cell activation and inactivation, there has been no research or evidence suggesting that Veratrum is useful in fighting, reversing, or preventing the effects of male or female hair loss.

Day 3: During the third day of the Stemcelex cycle, a kelp based topical extract is applied twice daily to provide nutrients to the “new hair growth” and also ensure that the scalp remains clean and healthy. This step of the treatment doesn’t claim to be more than a simple dose of nutrients useful in good scalp hygiene.

After reviewing the active ingredients behind Stemcelex, there is no evidence to suggest that Stemcelex is an effective hair loss treatment at this point in time. The idea of activating the dormant stem cells is important to finding a molecular cure to hair loss, but despite understanding this importance, Stemcelex doesn’t offer any concrete stem cell reactivation agents. It’s possible that Veratrum may prove useful in cell signaling and reactivating dormant cells, but the current research and evidence simply don’t support its use at this time.  Furthermore, Stemcelex charges a hefty $99.85 for a month supply of the treatment which may keep even the most curious and enthusiastic hair loss suffering men and women away.

Altogether, the idea of reversing dormant hair follicle stem cells is important, but therapies for effectively stopping and rewiring this pathway do not seem to exist at this point in time. Unfortunately, this seems to nullify the claims made by Stemcelex and prevent it from becoming a stem cell hair loss cure.

Crinagen is an all natural alcohol-free topical scalp spray clinically backed to reduce the amount of DHT (dehydrotestosterone) in the scalp. It contains no alcohol, and has displayed no side effects. Crinagen is also equally safe for men and women and is most effective in men and women with thinning hair. In addition to blocking scalp DHT, they both are reported nourish the scalp’s hair follicles. Crinagen usually displays its effects on average in five months.

How It Works:

The product's main ingredients are Saw Palmetto, Zinc, and Azelaic Acid. All 3 ingredients are reported to reduce the production of scalp DHT and nourish the scalp's hair follicles.

Developing Realistic Expectations:

Crinagen has not been clinically proven nor approved by the FDA. Thus, like Revivogen and Tricomin, Crinagen should be used only after seriously considering proven treatments like Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil).

Don't expect immediate results. It's recommended to use Crinagen for at least 6 to 12 months before determining its effectiveness. Documenting your progress with bi-monthly photos can help you determine whether or not Crinagen is working for you.

Hair shedding is a common symptom the first few months and a sign that the medication may be working for you. It's crucial to push past this stage with continued use for the recommended period of time.

To date, only surgical hair restoration is proven to grow hair in completely bald areas. You are invited to have a free virtual consultation with one of our prescreened hair restoration physicians.