Doc, which hair growth serum should I use?
I’ve been asked this question so many times in so many different ways. Everyone wants the next great hair potion. Most persons are bombarded by a myriad of hair growth serums on the market. However, what should the discerning customer use to gauge what product she should purchase?
All are not created equally and all do not address ALL types of hair loss. Most non-medicated hair growth serums contain carrier oils such as coconut, olive or jojoba oil. Additional reported active ingredients include essential oils such as rosemary, nettle, and cinnamon oils. The essential oils help stimulate the scalp through various undetermined mechanisms resulting in hair growth. Other ingredients that have been included in non-medicated hair growth serums are: Saw Palmetto, (to help those with Androgenetic Alopecia), Caffeine, Capsicum, and Castor oil. The latter has received so much attention in recent years that virtually everyone has a bottle of it. Please see my blog post on it: http://askthehairdoc.com/athd-investigates-castor-oil/.
So how does one choose the right product? First of all, remember that the only topical product proven to grow hair for Androgenetic Alopecia is Minoxidil. All others, except caffeine, have not been extensively proven to grow hair. Other hair loss disorders such as Traction Alopecia and Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia may not necessarily respond to topical products and may need oral medication to halt hair loss. Unfortunately, I cannot specifically say which is the best product to use. Even Minoxidil (Rogaine), has been shown to not work in everybody. So my advice is to try one product at a time, and if after 4 months there is no improvement, then move on. If after two products, there is no improvement, consider getting a consultation. Don’t try to purchase every product out there, because the efficacy of some of the products have not been extensively studied and so most consumers have to rely on anecdotal reviews. Hopefully, as hair research increases, more effective products will be available on the market.
Alot of the hair bloggers have been promoting a LOC method. Where L is for Liquid (water/ water based moisturizer) O is for Oil and C is for Cream and they are placed on the hair in that order.
One thing is for certain, people of african descent the tennets for longer hair are imparting/maintaining moisture (LOC depending on moisture needs,deep conditioning/steaming weekly, alternating condition with protein treatments) and low manipulation. I’ve been employing the LOC hair method for a little over 2 years, and while I don’t always do it faithfully, I have seen improvement in my hair length in that time…definitely more than i did in the many years before it.
Yes, that and generally increasing the condition of the hair increases length retention for persons with kinky/coily hair. A lot of persons don’t necessarily have a hair growth issue which this article addresses, but a problem with length retention. Thanks for that reminder.