Dear Dr Parsa Mohebi,
I have been experiencing male pattern baldness for some years now. Initially used Rogaine, it worked at first but now no longer respond to it. Next used Propecia, but had to stop due to side effects. Lasercomb failed too. I am currently saving up and considering getting a hair transplant maybe in 4 years time. I’ll have enough money by then.
There’s one thing I’m really curious about. Would you happen to know anything about Revivogen from www.revivogen.com. It’s a topical lotion combined with shampoo/conditioner that was invented by Doctor Alex Khadavi, MD, a US Board-certified dermatologist. I have a question below which I hope you can answer and shed light on.
All I just want to know before trying the product and applying the lotion to my scalp is for my “safety” concerns. If this product was developed by a dermatologist is it okay to allow myself to test it out even if it may not grow/and or stop hair loss but at least I can be rest assured it won’t cause allergic reactions on the localized surface of my scalp. Although I don’t have sensitive scalp skin, some of the things I’m scared of are like more hair loss(worse than pre-treatment) or cause unknown severe harm like scalp dermatitis/acne/burn/swolleness, stain my scalp permanently orange etc.(I’ve probably just exaggerated every side effect.May or may not true!). This is what I mean by safety. What’s the worse a topical solution like Revivogen could do to my scalp anyway? Any potential risks? Are the ingredients mentioned on the website even safe on humans?
Finally, do you believe it is safe enough and whether its worth a try for me to test out what appears to be a very safe and sound consumer product and hopefully not a scam? There’s nothing else on the market and I’m really desperate too to give it a go.
Please do feel free to take your time and answer me whenever you can. Your comments and recommendations would be very appreciated. Thanks.
Kind regards,
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A:
It seems like you tried everything for your hair loss, but stopped them all due to either side effects or inefficiency. You are now exploring other options before you can get a hair transplant surgery. You are not alone and there are many other young men who are going through the same path.
First of all, I really like to know what kinds of side effects you experienced with finasteride (Propecia), because finasteride is an effective hair loss medication, although it has been blamed unfairly for many side effects. I put most my patients at our Los Angeles and Orange County Hair Restoration Clinics who have significant miniaturization on finasteride. Finasteride can help prevent further hair loss. Some of your hair loss might be irreversible by medication and you may need hair restoration surgery, but at least you can stop further hair loss by the time that you can restore your hair surgically. Revivogen® is a hair loss product with some natural compounds that mainly inhibit 5-Alpha-Reductase. 5-Alpha-Reductase is the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydroxytestostrone (DHT). Prevention of DHT production can slow down hair loss in male pattern baldness.
One of the components of Revivogen is Saw Palmetto Extract, which is a DHT blocker and is used systemically for prevention of both hair loss and prostate enlargement. The efficacy of its topical product is not studied as extensively in large human experiments. Other components include a variety of fatty acids like: Gamma Linolenic acid (GLA), Alpha Linolenic acid (ALA), Linoleic Acid and Oleic Acid without strong human research on their absorption from skin level as well as their efficacy on human hair growth. Other components such as Azaleic acid, Vitamin B, Zinc, Beta-Sitosterol and Procyanidin Oligomers have shown some effects on the DHT production in labs, but the extensive studies to compare their effect with more researched medical treatments for hair loss is lacking.
The absorption level of the ingredients of Revivogen® from human scalp skin is not studied as extensively as well. I personally have not heard anything about any serious side effects of Revivogen, but I would rather have more information about long term studies, which are published in peer reviewed medical journals, before I can recommend the product to my patients. There are many hair loss products out there, which are safe, but you do not have a life time to go around and try them all to find out whether they have any effect on your hair or not.
You need to establish a good relationship with a good hair specialist that you can trust. He or she should be able to document the level of your current hair loss and miniaturization of hair and can come up with a master plan, which includes medication treatment, surgery and even cosmetic alterations that can make your hair look better. Side effects of the medications that you tried before need to be re-evaluated closely by your doctor.
You don’t want to deprive yourself from effective, FDA approved hair loss medications that their safety and efficacy are confirmed in scientific studies and instead start looking around to see what else is in the market. If you have no alternatives, your doctor may have some suggestions for your individual condition to preserve whatever hair you have with a product with minimal side effects.