How folligen works:
When you are young, your scalp is thick and your hair follicles have a rich blood supply. However, as you age the processes that regenerate hair follicles slow. In males, DHT adds a further negative to hair growth. Your scalp thins, its blood supply is diminished, and it provides less support and nutrition for your hair follicles. This produces smaller follicles that produce thin hair shafts.
Folligen contains skin remodeling copper-peptides to help improve scalp health, help hair health by improving hair follicle vitality, and by and reducing the generation of DHT in your scalp.
Skin Remodeling Starts with Hair Follicles
Skin remodeling is the key to keeping hair's health.
Skin and scalp renewal starts with the hair follicles. The body's signal for skin remodeling and renewal first enlarge the hair follicles. New skin cells arise from the hair follicle and migrate into the surrounding skin area.
This effect was first noted about 50 years ago during World War II. It was observed, in patients with severe burns and burn scars, that if hair follicles were growing at the edge of the burned skin, then the was an excellent prognosis for healing of the burn. If the follicles were enlarging, the healing was poor and the burn scars remained.
Later, in 1985, we found that copper peptides not only stimulated healing of wounds but also increased the size of the hair follicles near the wounds. The copper peptides were not hair growth stimulators, per se, but did increase the hair follicle size and vitality.
In recent years, it has been established that genetic modifications in mice that stimulate skin remodeling also increase hair follicle size (Fuchs 1998). Genes such as sonic hedgehog (Sato et al 2001, Nanba et al 2003, Oro et al 2003. Mill eta al 2003), catinin (Huelsken 2001, Van Mater et al 2003), Wnt (Stenn 2001) and Noggin (Botchkarev 2001) all enhance hair follicles then produce remodeling.
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Top Figure. Hair follicle before remodeling signal.
Middle Figure. The remodeling signal increases the size of the hair follicles.
Bottom Figure. The enlarged hair follicle grows thicker hair and begins to produce new skin cells that migrate into the surrounding skin and rebuild the scalp.
Prof. Hideo Uno (who wrote UpJohn's textbook for physicians when Rogaine first was marketed) have found that skin remodeling copper-peptides convert thin, vellus hairs into thick, terminal hairs. (Uno and Kurata 1993, Uno, Packard, Patt 1996). Numerous studies have found such copper peptides to increase hair follicle size. Also, even modest increases in copper in the skin produces over 90% reductions in the production of DHT, the hair growth inhibiting hormone. Increased tissue copper levels also decrease damaging types of oxidations and protein crosslinking (protein glycation) and raises DHEA levels. See Copper: Your Body's Protective & Anti-Aging Metal
The Folligen products are the newest invented by Dr. Loren Pickart, whose earlier hair stimulating inventions have led to Tricomin which has been shown in clinical trials to stimulate hair growth and GraftCyte which has be shown in clinical tests to stimulate the success of hair transplants. For more information visit Copper Peptide Regeneration.
Pickart's first generation of copper products have produced products for improving the success of hair transplants: GraftCyte® Advanced Hair Restoration Technology: GraftCyte® Moist Dressings, GraftCyte® Hydrating Mist, GraftCyte® Post-Surgical Shampoo and Conditioner, and GraftCyte® Head Start Single Patient Pack and products for the stimulation of hair growth such as American Crew Revitalize Daily Shampoo®, American Crew Revitalize Spray Solution®, American Crew Revitalize Daily Conditioner®, American Crew Revitalizing Serum®, American Crew Revitalize Daily Moisture Shampoo®; Tricomin® Solution Follicle Therapy Spray, Tricomin® Revitalizing Shampoo, Tricomin® Restructuring Conditioner and Tricomin® Conditioning Shampoo.
