Hi Mopa.
What's your stats? Age? Got already some Norwood xx?? or just losing some isolated strands?
I do know a few details.
I took part in their trials back in 2011 on this product and I got to experience various formulations they pushed down my throat. No side-effects for me personally but I heard from one of the doctors involved in the screening of the rest of the guys that some heavy duty athlete complained about tiredness or so. Anyway the guy was a sport freak or so. One extra bonus for me haaha (unexpected though) after about half a year of popping pills I got some hair growing back on a previously a totally bald spot... on my leg! It was sweet to see that and it keeps going ok but it's not as hairy as the regions next to the spot. However the company went beyond any reasonable efforts to educate me that the product is strictly for the maintenance of the existing hair density and not for hair growth. So for the record, just to be clear, I do not say KAR is meant for hair growth. After the trial I saw the clinical presentation at a scientific meeting and the clinical tests show interesting results to say the least (and this is an understatement, just to be discreet and not advertise the product). From the papers I got for my trial the text sounds like this "Kératene alphactive Retard (I call it KAR) is not a direct enzyme inhibitor, but rather an indirect DHT depressor (lowering). The product does not interfere with 5ard (it just leaves the molecule intact) and it does not affect testosterone or other hormonal factors. It reduces DHT levels by preventing the chemical reduction of Testosterone into DHT. With Keratene alphactive retard you can "see" the direct effects by measuring your DHT levels in blood, prior to administration and after at least 7 days during administration. ".
My personal results were like this: before KAR - DHT 1734pg/ml, after 8 days it dropped to 762, then after 2 weeks it dropped to 574 and during 8 months it stayed at around 560 - 580, which is very good.
Up to this moment I feel good, I am happy with my own experience.
From my point of view the problem with testing your own dht level is finding a proper lab that has the gear to run the test correctly. Dht is no longer a hot topic and it can be quite challenging to find a good lab. Best bet would be a university hospital or possibly at the endocrinology faculties they may still do dht. Contact the customer care from keratene if you want to ask something specific or so, they answer pretty quickly and you get (in my opinion) educated answers.
But anyway, don't just jump buying the stuff like that. Be smart, they still run some trials and if you're from the Belgium region you can jump in for free. The nasty part is that they require you to get your veins needled several times (actually lots of times, my veins are still blue and patchy) and if you're not a fan of long sharp pointy needles.... you're screwed. Go consult a professional doctor or so. Where are you from? Did you visit a doctor? If you're from Europe I can recommend you a few.
Anyway, based on my own experience, the product does not help much when you're in telogen effluvium, that crazy hair shedding when you're losing hairs in rapid tempo so if you're in "that" period of the year, just be patient, take care of yourself, lower the stress and take some vitamins. If you're already in a visible / advanced state of alopecia, save some cash and do either micropigmentation or a transplant (if you can afford it or depending on what you feel comfortable with). KAR will probably help you keep the normal hairs you have now but the biggest change will be made by hair transplant.
Let me know if this helps!
