lisa@cs.utexas.edu (Lisa Laguna) (02/17/89)
I hope someone out there can set my sister-in-law straight. She insists that adding crushed birth control pills to one's shampoo will stimulate hair growth. I know that hormones can stimulate hair growth (i.e. in pregnant women, but don't they have to come from the inside?? Incidentally, if anyone knows of any REAL methods (i.e. vitamins) to affect hair growth, I would appreciate the information. I've been trying to grow my hair long for 10 years, but at the rate of 2 inches per year, I get fed up with the never ending 'growing out stage and invariably cut it. I would appreciate any e-mail responses... Lisa Laguna
hnewstrom@x102a.uucp (Newstrom Harvey S 96783) (02/19/89)
In article <222@truffles.cs.utexas.edu> lisa@cs.utexas.edu (Lisa Laguna) writes: >I hope someone out there can set my sister-in-law straight. She insists >that adding crushed birth control pills to one's shampoo will stimulate >hair growth. I know that hormones can stimulate hair growth (i.e. in >pregnant women, but don't they have to come from the inside?? > >Incidentally, if anyone knows of any REAL methods (i.e. vitamins) to affect >hair growth, I would appreciate the information. I've been trying to grow >my hair long for 10 years, but at the rate of 2 inches per year, I get fed >up with the never ending 'growing out stage and invariably cut it. > >I would appreciate any e-mail responses... > >Lisa Laguna I am not sure what hormones are in birth control pills, but female hormones (estrogen) applied topically to _males_ with male pattern baldness can help grow hair. The topical application does not get absorbed into the body, which is good news for the males, but does act locally in the scalp. I do not know what the effect on a female would be. Another effective treatment is to use polysorbate-80 or polysorbate-60, rubbed topically on the scalp. It releases histamines and removes cholesterol, sebum and dihydrotestosterone from the scalp follicles which inhibit hair growth by keeping them in their non-hairgrowing phase. As with any topical preperation, you may see a slight increase in hair loss for the first week or two due to the increased agitation of application pulling out pre-loosened follicles. The nutrients required in the diet for proper hair growth are Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), cysteine (not cystine), biotin and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Some claims have been made for zinc or vitamin E, but I have not seen any studies indicating this. Disclamer: I am a researcher and not a doctor. If hair loss is a new occurance a qualifier professional should be consulted. ______ Harvey Newstrom (hnewstrom@x102a.harris-atd.com) (uunet!x102a!hnewstrom)
bfreeman@ms.uky.edu (Beth Freeman) (02/19/89)
In article <222@truffles.cs.utexas.edu>, lisa@cs.utexas.edu (Lisa Laguna) writes: > Incidentally, if anyone knows of any REAL methods (i.e. vitamins) to affect > hair growth, I would appreciate the information. I've been trying to grow > my hair long for 10 years, but at the rate of 2 inches per year, I get fed > up with the never ending 'growing out stage and invariably cut it. > > I would appreciate any e-mail responses... > > Lisa Laguna When I took birth control pills orally (as opposed to putting them in my shampoo) I found that my hair tended to fall out! I stopped taking them last November and my hair is definately staying IN my head better. The pills did not affect how much my hair grew though. Has anyone had a similar experience or know why this might have happened? Beth -- bfreeman@ms.uky.edu beth@dftnic.nasa.gsfc.gov
mkwin@phred.UUCP (Mary Kay Winter) (02/24/89)
In article <1489@trantor.harris-atd.com> hnewstrom@x102a.UUCP (Newstrom Harvey S 96783) writes: >Another effective treatment is to use polysorbate-80 or polysorbate-60, >rubbed topically on the scalp. >The nutrients required in the diet for proper hair growth are >Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), cysteine (not cystine), biotin and >ascorbic acid (vitamin C).... >Harvey Newstrom (hnewstrom@x102a.harris-atd.com) (uunet!x102a!hnewstrom) Does anyone know the effectivity of any of the above agents (or any others) for hair growth/retention for someone who is undergoing chemotherapy? Mary Kay Winter ******************************************************** Reply to: uw-beaver!tikal!phred!mkwin (Mary Kay Winter) Phone: 206-867-4787 Addr: ACCS Division, Physio-Control Corp. P.O. Box 97006 Redmond, WA 98073-9706
hnewstrom@x102a (Newstrom Harvey S 96783) (02/24/89)
In article <2494@phred.UUCP> mkwin@phred.UUCP (Mary Kay Winter) writes: >In article <1489@trantor.harris-atd.com> hnewstrom@x102a.UUCP (Newstrom Harvey S 96783) writes: > >>Another effective treatment is to use polysorbate-80 or polysorbate-60, >>rubbed topically on the scalp. > >>The nutrients required in the diet for proper hair growth are >>Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), cysteine (not cystine), biotin and >>ascorbic acid (vitamin C).... > >>Harvey Newstrom (hnewstrom@x102a.harris-atd.com) (uunet!x102a!hnewstrom) > >Does anyone know the effectivity of any of the above agents (or any >others) for hair growth/retention for someone who is undergoing >chemotherapy? > >Mary Kay Winter > The nutrients I mentioned above are for the proper nutrition of hair and the polysorbate-80 is used specifically to combat cholesterol, sebum and dihidrotestosterone in the hair follicles. Chemotherapy treatments cause hair loss for an entirely different reason. Depending on the specific methods of treatment, I would think that antioxidents could be used to help protect against the oxidation caused by the treatment. This of course would depend on the exact chemicals used in treatment. I know of a case where radiation treatments were given to a women taking a couple of grams of BHT a day. She was told that she would lose all of her hair, but she did not lose any. Of course BHT at these doses is highly experimental and is definitely not approved by the FDA. Ask your therapist who is giving you the treatments to discuss the exact methodology for hair loss on the program. Then, look for ways to counteract that specific methodology without counteracting the treatment. Remember, I am a researcher and not a doctor. I am rambling on about some related topics. Because I don't know the kind of chemotherapy being used, nothing I have said above can be said to apply in this case. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _H_a_r_v_e_y_ _N_e_w_s_t_r_o_m_ _(_h_n_e_w_s_t_r_o_m_@_x_1_0_2_a_._h_a_r_r_i_s_-_a_t_d_._c_o_m_)_ _(_u_u_n_e_t_!_x_1_0_2_a_!_h_n_e_w_s_t_r_o_m_)