There are countless myths as to how to prevent hair loss and make your hair grow.
Many swear by keeping regular hair appointments for a trim while others steer clear of scissors and simply leave hair to grow by itself. Whatever our own quirks and tips on how to grow our hair, there are two things that are not in dispute that are relevant as to what triggers hair growth: the hair growth cycle and the way in which dihydrotestosterone (known as “DHT”) can interfere with that cycle.
Understanding the way in which your hair grows, and how DHT impacts it, puts you in a better position to prevent hair loss and achieve fuller, thicker and healthier hair.
Hormones are the most common cause of hair loss for both women and men. In both sexes, the specific hormone responsible for hair loss is the same: DHT, a hormone that your body produces as a byproduct of testosterone.
Both men and women need testosterone.
In men, the body has a large amount of testosterone and a fairly small amount of estrogenic hormones. In women, this ratio is reversed, with a small amount of testosterone and larger quantities of estrogen and progesterone hormones.
Testosterone is responsible for several functions in your body, from regulating your sex drive to keeping your bones and muscle tissue healthy and strong.
Your body uses testosterone as a precursor for several other hormones. One of these hormones is DHT. DHT affects your hairline by miniaturizing hair follicles, causing the hairs to stop growing as they normally would and eventually fall out.
This hair loss is called androgenic alopecia, or male and female-pattern hair loss. Overall, it’s the most common form of hair loss. Because androgenic alopecia can miniaturize your hair follicles, the hair that you lose is often gone permanently.
In women, hormonal hair loss produces different results from men. Instead of the horseshoe-like hair pattern or receding hairline common in men, women with hormonal hair loss usually notice a diffuse thinning pattern across the entire scalp. In simple terms, you probably won’t get a receding hairline if you’re prone to female-pattern hair loss, but your hair might become noticeably thinner.
Luckily, androgenic alopecia is treatable in both men and women.
The Hair Structure
Let’s begin with hair structure. Hair is made up of 2 parts: the hair follicle and the hair shaft.
The hair follicle anchors the hair into the scalp and is made up of the papilla and bulb, which are located beneath the scalp. The bulb can be found at the bottom of each strand containing the active cells which grow the hair around the papilla. The papilla provides the blood supply to the hair follicle to encourage healthy hair growth.
The hair shaft is the visible hair that grows out from the follicle which is made up of a hard protein called Keratin and a protective layer called the cuticle. There are around 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp, which is why it is normal to lose up to 100 hairs a day (because there is plenty more where they came from!).
There are 3 stages of hair growth in the cycle, from actively beginning growth from the root to hair shedding. These are known as the Anagen phase, Catagen phase and Telogen phase.
The Anagen phase
The Anagen phase is the period of growth. The cells in the hair bulb divide rapidly creating new hair growth. Hair actively grows from the roots for an average of 2-7 years before hair follicles becomes dormant. In this time, hair can grow anywhere between 18-30 inches. The length of this phase is dependent on your maximum hair length, which varies between people due to genetics, age, health and many more factors.
The Catagen phase
The second phase of your hair growth cycle is Catagen. This period is short, lasting only 2-3 weeks on average. In this transitional phase, hair stops growing and detaches itself from the blood supply and is then named a club hair.
The Telogen phase
Finally, hair enters it’s third and final stage called the Talogen phase. This phase begins with a resting period, where club hairs rest in the root while new hair begins to grow beneath it. This phase lasts for around 3 months.
After this time, the resting club hairs will fall out to allow the new hair to come through the hair follicle. This is nothing to be alarmed about and is a natural process that should go completely unnoticed. Each follicle is independent and goes through the growth cycle at different times so you don’t lose patches of hair all at once and only shed 50-100 hairs each day. Meanwhile, the other 80-90% of your hair will be in the Anagen phase, growing long and strong!
Thinning hair and hair loss can be caused by a variety of internal and external factors. However, the most common cause of male and female pattern baldness is genetics. And while the cause of genetic hair loss has been the subject of debate for many centuries, today, the medical community agrees that it is caused by DHT.
What Is DHT?
DHT is derived from testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone that’s present in both men and women. In men, DHT contributes to male sex characteristics when you go through puberty. These traits include:
- a deep voice
- increased body hair and muscle mass
- growth of the penis, scrotum, and testicles as sperm production begins
- changes in how fat is stored around your body
As you get older, testosterone and DHT have many other benefits to your body, such as maintaining your overall muscle mass and promoting sexual health and fertility.
Men typically have more testosterone present in their bodies than women. About 10% of testosterone in all adults is converted to DHT with the help of an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase (5-AR).
Once it’s freely flowing through your bloodstream, DHT can then link to receptors on hair follicles in your scalp, causing them to shrink and become less capable of supporting a healthy head of hair.
And DHT’s potential to cause harm goes beyond your hair. Research has linked DHT, especially abnormally high levels of it, to:
- slow healing of skin after an injury
- enlarged prostate
- prostate cancer
- coronary heart disease
Having Too Little DHT
High levels of DHT can increase your risk for certain conditions, but having too little DHT can also cause problems in your sexual development as you go through puberty.
Low DHT may cause delays in the onset of puberty for all sexes. Otherwise, low DHT doesn’t appear to have much effect on women, but in men, low DHT may cause:
- late or incomplete development of sex organs
- changes in body fat distribution, causing conditions such as gynecomastia
- increase in risk of developing prostate tumors
Why DHT Affects People Differently
Your proclivity to hair loss is genetic, meaning that it’s passed down in your family.
For example, if you’re male and your father experiences male pattern balding, it’s likely that you’ll show a similar balding pattern as you age. If you’re already inclined to male pattern baldness, the follicle-shrinking effect of DHT tends to be more pronounced.
The size and shape of your head may also contribute to how quickly DHT shrinks your follicles.
DHT’s Connection To Hair Loss
If you’ve noticed your hair starting to thin or recede, it’s easy to stress over what’s causing it to happen. Is it stress? A bad diet? Unlucky genetics? Or is it a lifestyle factor you can fix through a change in behavior?
The reality is that hair loss in men and women is primarily caused by DHT. It binds to receptors in your scalp and -- in genetically susceptible men and women -- is responsible for hair loss.
DHT can seem complicated, but its role in hair loss and thinning is fairly easy to understand once you have a basic knowledge of how your body produces DHT and the effect DHT has on hair follicles.
While DHT is necessary during the early stages of life, as we age, it is of no known benefit to adults. Unfortunately, once formed, DHT causes havoc on the hair follicles. It connects to the androgen receptors at the base of the hair follicles. This then leads to the miniaturization process that causes thinner hair to grow during the anagen phase. These hairs become so weakened that once they fall out, they do not regrow.
In order for men and women to prevent and reverse hair loss, DHT in the hair follicle must be blocked. While there is one FDA-approved medication that can help reduce the amount of DHT in your body (finasteride, also known as Propecia), it is only approved for men and can result in serious side effects.
There are hundreds of topical products that claim to block DHT and help reverse hair loss. However, almost none of them contain ingredients that are clinically proven to help block DHT, which is necessary in order to reverse hair loss. Thus, they are of little to no value. Should you choose to treat hair loss or thinning with a topical product, you need to ensure that it contains ingredients clinically proven to help block DHT. By blocking DHT, the miniaturization process can be prevented, halted and/or reversed, allowing thicker, fuller and healthier hair to regrow.
Once you have ruled out any other non-genetic causes for your hair loss, you can start with treating the biggest culprit—DHT. As mentioned previously, DHT has a direct effect on the hair follicle, causing miniaturization, thinning hair and eventually hair loss.
When we block the effects of DHT on the hair follicle and hair growth cycle, we will start seeing results such as improved hair growth and hair thickness. The best way to block DHT (if you are unable or unwilling to use finasteride) is to use a topical hair care product with ingredients clinically proven to block DHT.
What Ingredients Can Block DHT?
If you decide not to use oral drug treatment for your hair loss, you will most likely find yourself turning to alternative treatments.
At Hair Restoration Laboratories, our product formulas use the most effective ingredients that have been clinically-proven to block the harmful effects of DHT. Our formulations contain a combination of these ingredients and others that are clinically-proven to help prevent hair loss and promote the growth of stronger, thicker and healthier hair. The table below is a summary of certain of the key ingredients in our proprietary DHT Halting Technology®, used in all of the Hair Restore products that we offer:
|
Ingredient |
Effect on hair and hair loss |
|
Caffeine |
Promotes hair shaft elongation, prolongs anagen duration and stimulates hair matrix keratinocyte proliferation. Acts as a phosphodiesterase inhibitor |
|
Saw Palmetto |
Non-selective inhibitor of both forms of 5-alpha reductase, inhibits DHT |
|
Astragalus (Fo-ti) |
Promotes hair growth by blocking DHT |
|
Stinging nettle |
Anti-androgen properties. Promotes regrowth by restoring hair follicles |
|
Sea Buckthorn |
Anti-androgen properties. Oil form helps unclogging hair follicles to promote growth |
|
Peppermint oil |
Promotes hair growth through anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties |
|
Ketoconazole |
Anti-fungal properties, disrupts DHT pathway |
|
Lycopene |
Inhibits DHT |
|
Pea Extract |
Extremely nutrient rich, loads of antioxidants that promotes hair growth, contains isoflavones |
|
Niacin |
Promotes hair fullness |
|
Ginger |
Anti-inflammatory, promotes hair growth |
|
Argan oil |
Rich in vitamin E and antioxidants, moisturizes and promotes hair growth and hair thickness |
|
Hops Extract |
Vitamin and nutrient rich, contains oils and antioxidants that promotes hair growth |
|
Rosemary Extract |
Has 5-alpha reductase inhibitory properties, blocks DHT |
|
Pygeum bark Extract |
Anti-androgenic properties, DHT blocking properties |
|
Pumpkin seed oil |
Has 5-alpha reductase inhibitory properties, blocks DHT |
|
Green tea Extract |
Rich in polyphenols, strengthen hair follicles and promotes hair growth |
|
Cayenne fruit |
Vitamin and nutrient rich, stimulates hair growth and improve blood supply to the hair follicles |
|
Black cumin oil |
Contains unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, improves hair regrowth and hair thickness |
|
Biotin |
B vitamin promoting hair restoration by strengthening the hair follicle and hair shaft |
|
Reishi mushroom |
Inhibits DHT in the scalp and hair follicles |
The Answer To DHT? Hair Restore Products
All Hair Restoration Laboratories' products are cruelty-free (not tested on animals), color safe and free of parabens, sulphates, phthalates, and other harsh chemicals that can be damaging to the hair. Our products aim to promote the growth of healthier and thicker hair by using out potent DHT Halting Technology® to block the effects of DHT on the hair loss process.
DHT Halting Technology® is a proprietary blend of extracts, amino acids, oils, and nutrients that help fight hair loss, reverse hair thinning and encourage healthy hair growth.
Our Hair Restore Shampoo works to dramatically improve the appearance of thinning hair with a blend of plant extracts, amino acids, essential oils, and antioxidants. These powerful nutrients deeply nourish hair follicles, leaving hair feeling stronger and more voluminous while promoting healthy hair growth. In this shampoo you will find a combination of ingredients that make up our DHT Halting Technology®, working to reduce your hair loss without any unwanted side effects. These ingredients include saw palmetto, biotin, pumpkin seed extract, caffeine, green tea extract, black cumin oil and pygeum africanum bark extract.
Like our Hair Restore Shampoo, our Hair Restore Conditioner works just as hard for you with a combination of saw palmetto, biotin, pumpkin seed extract, caffeine, green tea extract, black cumin oil, pygeum africanum bark extract, pisum sativum (pea) extract, cayenne fruit extract and oils of jojoba, sunflower and shea butter for luxurious, silky and shiny hair. When used in combination with our Hair Restore Shampoo, you are giving your hair a potent boost to recover and grow, leaving you with fuller and thicker hair. The combination is safe to use daily and one of our best sellers.
Our Professional Strength Hair Restore Shampoo has been developed for men and women who require an even stronger and more powerful shampoo to help prevent hair loss and thinning, support hair growth and promote healthier, thicker and stronger hair. This powerful formula contains Hair Restoration Laboratories’ proprietary DHT Halting Technology® in even greater concentrations compared to our Regular Strength Hair Restore Shampoo. This is to maximize nourishment of hair follicles, healthy hair growth, and improve the strength, thickness and quality of your hair. No shampoo leaves your hair appearing fuller and feeling stronger than the Hair Restoration Laboratories’ Professional Strength Hair Restore Shampoo.
Ingredients in the Professional Strength Hair Restore Shampoo includes ketoconazole, green tea extract, biotin, black cumin seed oil, saw palmetto, caffeine, pisum sativum (pea) extract, pygeum africanum bark extract, pumpkin seed oil, cayenne fruit extract.
The Ultra Strength Hair Regrowth Treatment uses a formula with FDA-approved 5% minoxidil which helps prevent and reverse the progression of hair loss and thinning. Additionally, the Ultra Strength Hair Regrowth Treatment contains a number of powerful DHT-blocking ingredients that, when combined with 5% minoxidil, significantly improve the quality of your hair and scalp. This includes ingredients like caffeine, green tea extract, biotin, black cumin seed oil, pumpkin seed oil, saw palmetto, vitamin E and vitamin C.
The Maximum Hair Thickening Serum is a powerful leave-in treatment, packed with clinically-studied ingredients to immediately provide maximum thickness to existing hair, minimize hair loss and maintain the scalp and hair follicles in optimum condition to promote the growth of thicker and stronger hair and reduce hair loss. Our Serum contains the highest levels of our proprietary DHT Halting Technology® with ingredients like green tea extract, saw palmetto extract, azelaic acid, pumpkin seed oil, black cumin seed oil, caffeine, biotin, cayenne fruit extract and ginseng that work synergistically to stop hair loss and help regrow and thicken hair.
The Serum also contains vital hair strengthening, building and anchoring ingredients, such as keratin, hydrolyzed collagen and caprylic triglyceride to dramatically maximize the thick appearance of your hair from the very first application. Ingredients, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, sunflower seed oil, argan oil and jojoba seed oil provide intense nourishment to your hair, noticeably improving the strength, natural shine and vibrancy.
Any of Hair Restoration Laboratories’ products will be an excellent choice if you are looking to start treating your hair loss with a topical product containing only the best ingredients in the field. Our products can be used alone or in combination.
