saw palmetto

[beaker]

probably one of the most talk abt herbs for hairloss but does this actually work ???, when i took it it seemed to increase my hairloss give me acne even over my body and make my skin extremely oily surely these symptoms show a increase in testosterone and DHT which would make things worse but everywhere i look i see this as a potential cure for hairloss....

has anyone had any experiences and good and bad???

 

[47thin]

Took it for awhile- it did nothing, including, well, nothing for my prostate, which is a little swollen. Now, I have BPH, and it did nothing for that, as you can imagine, it's not going to grow hair, either.

 

[tommyblah]

i stopped minoxidil a while back and got back on...the effects this time have been much better as i have begun taking saw palmetto (450mg tablets) & biotin and drinking white tea every day. can't really say which has helped so much, but i'm sticking with my regimen as is.

anyways, i've noticed most places also sell saw palmetto extract which is much more expensive. i assume that means a more potent effect....anyone know?? alot of people say SP does nothing & i wonder if these are people taking the same supplement as me or the extract.

 

[Boru]

Don't drink Saw Palmetto, it is unregulated and you can't be sure whether the potency is toxic. However, I used tincture topically for several months, which produced some vellus.

 

[Nick4441]

I took Saw Palmetto for 2 months then P-R-O-C-E-R-I-N which is basically Saw Palmetto also and it did nothing for me other than aggravate my hairloss so much so that I am now on the Big 3 to try and stop my loss and recover if possible.

Personally I would recommend against it due to this and go for the big 3 or 2 of the big 3 depending on your hairloss.

 

[almo181]

just curious about how much saw palmetto should one take if they wanted to try it? mg? g?

 

[tchehov]

just curious about how much saw palmetto should one take if they wanted to try it? mg? g?

Be careful about which you buy - there's the plant extract and the berry extract, I'm not sure but I think the plant extract is supposed to be better. It usually comes 450mg, once a day, although I have seen 1000mg capsules.

 

[psych721027]

From all the studies that I've seen. The amount of Saw Palmetto you take is pretty important and a lot of people don't take enough or can't really understand what's written on the bottles. Saw Palmetto ususally comes in two forms, crushed up berries and extract. Usually when you buy the extract it's pretty straightforward and will say the exact mg's on the bottle very clearly, but the berries form is a bit difficult to understand unless you know what you're looking for. In the berries or extract it will usually state 160mg of extract from 600mg of Saw Palmetto in a 4:1 ratio or some such thing. Be sure to read the ingredients for the exact amount.

Basically, you need to be sure that you are getting 320mg a day of Saw Palmetto to be effective. Also, Beta-Sitosterol is one of the active ingredients in Saw Palmetto, and from the studies it seems to indicate it is the most useful part, so if you can get Saw Palmetto with a high content of Beta-Sitosterol, all the better.

 

[LabMan]

Request for a regimen

psych721027,

I have been reading your posts with interest. It seems you have investigated the use of Saw Palmetto, Green Tea and other alternatives, and keep this in your regimen.

This will be my first effort to stem the tide of retreating hair. I am not yet fully concerned about my hair loss, but more the increasing amount of shedding the last year. My goal is not regrowth, but more a brake on this disconcerting shedding.

After having gathered some information myself, I am ready to see what effect a regimen consisting of Saw Palmetto and Green tea might have on me.

I need advice on what Saw Palmetto and Green Tea products to order and where one might pull off a bargain in an online shop. Am I supposed to see labels with the amount of Beta-Sitosterol on the Saw Palmetto containers?

I would be most grateful if you could help me with this. In the future, I will keep the forum posted on my progress.

 

[psych721027]

Speaking earnestly, Saw Palmetto and Green Tea taken orally may or may not be effective. I have however kept them in my regimin because of their other benefits.

If you have seen my other posts that site specific scientific studies, they show a great deal of evidence to support both green tea and saw palmetto effectiveness as a topical. This is the reason I'm currently experimenting with the Nutrifolica in my regimin. It contains a lot of these two compounds that is applied topically. I like it cause it totally absorbs and leaves no residue. NISIM is another that has Saw Palmetto in it and absorbs very well with no residue. As far as effectivenes of either one, I can't say yet. I'll let you know how my regimin goes after 6 months and 1 years time.

Another topical formula that is reputed to be effective is Revivogen. It has some differing ingredients, mainly essential oil compounds, but one of it's main ingredients is Saw Palmetto as well. Reviogen is reputed to leave a greasy residue however.

 

[LabMan]

Your approach sounds interesting to me and I would like to look deeper into this before I go for my own battle plan. Topical methods is not something I have considered yet, but if you can say it has effect, that has to be looked into as well.

It would still be of great interest to me to have a look at some good place(s) where you can get the ingredients for a fight against hair loss. Feel free to send me a private message with information if it is considered inappropriate to list these places in the forum.

 

[TheHairGrower]

From all the studies that I've seen. The amount of Saw Palmetto you take is pretty important and a lot of people don't take enough or can't really understand what's written on the bottles. Saw Palmetto ususally comes in two forms, crushed up berries and extract. Usually when you buy the extract it's pretty straightforward and will say the exact mg's on the bottle very clearly, but the berries form is a bit difficult to understand unless you know what you're looking for. In the berries or extract it will usually state 160mg of extract from 600mg of Saw Palmetto in a 4:1 ratio or some such thing. Be sure to read the ingredients for the exact amount.

Basically, you need to be sure that you are getting 320mg a day of Saw Palmetto to be effective. Also, Beta-Sitosterol is one of the active ingredients in Saw Palmetto, and from the studies it seems to indicate it is the most useful part, so if you can get Saw Palmetto with a high content of Beta-Sitosterol, all the better.

where do you get the 320 mg figure?

i think its way to little, im taking 3000mg+ a day.

procerin you know the p*ocerin is 1500mg saw palmetto, thats why i dont get people saying it doesnt work, and they like SP. procerin IS SP

and basicly nothing else

 

[Guest]

320mg is for the SP extract. You're taking 3g of SP EXTRACT per day?!?!?! Wow, that make one bottle go in like a week! I'm taking 400mg of extract per day along with an extra 120mg of B-Sitosterol per day.

The fact of the matter is that there has never really been any studies done on its effect on hairloss yet though its been used for centuries by Indian tribes as treatment for ailments (probably not male pattern baldness, do American indians ever get male pattern baldness?!). It's also widely used in Europe for male pattern baldness.

I'm surprised no educational, and/or private research instituions, have never performed this study. I can see why no company has because you cannot patent an herb so it would be a loss of money.

It's cheap enough to add into the regimen. I don't know people are using naturals like Biotin and stuff like that rather than SP.

 

[Guest]

It's cheap enough to add into the regimen. I don't know people are using naturals like Biotin and stuff like that rather than SP.

maybe because biotin actually has had studies done on it where it grew hair in tests subjects. sp has nothing like that.

Check this link out from our own HairLossTalk.com site:

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/newsletter/article230.htm

 

[Guest]

I've heard all those arguments before and they meaningless to me based on the points I made in my last post. I really don't care about the "natural and safe" points.

My concern is that it has a LONG HISTORY of usage as treatments for various ailments including BPH and hair loss, and probably is the #1 anti-hairloss herb based on anecdotal evidence. Now I don't put much stock into anecdotal evidence, but people in our group do. We put a LOT of stock into the anecdotal evidence of the side effects caused by finasteride even though the studies show that total side effects occured in < 2% of those involved during clinical trials. I also see people putting stock into the anecdotal evidence of side effects from SP even though all of the documented background of this herb, for medicinal purposes, states there are no known side effects. Therefore I will put a little bit of stock into the evidence that Saw Palmetto is an androgen receptor blocker (not a 5ar inhibitor like some people think) and use it in addition to my regimen. The fact that it's natural, cheap, and is used pharmaceutically in Europe is icing on the cake.

I haven't personally read any research on Biotin or any of the other "natural" supplements that seem to be favored over SP but would like to read them. Though I am curious why exactly would there be studies done on the effects of other "natural" supplements when these things cannot be patented.

Doesn't the owner of this site have a bias AGAINST Saw Palmetto as well? I recall seeing some posts from a "hairlosstalk" in the alt.baldspot newsgroup that was pretty negative about SP dating back a while. This top-down approach, reinforced by that link you provided, can be a contributor towards the general negative feelings towars that supplement.

If snake-oilers have USED Saw Palmetto in their product that doesn't meant the SP is to blame. Just because of the fact that it's not an aggressive treatment for male pattern baldness does not mean it's "worthless" either. Why is that site even comparing it to finasteride?! It's NOT a 5ar inhibitor but an androgen receptor blocker. If anything it should be compared to oral spironolactone.

 

[TheHairGrower]

try cutting open a SP liquid gel and putting it on thinning areas

smells like crap, but i tried it once, probably will do again.

Look, natural stuff works, all drugs come from natural plants, alternative remedies, and old cures work because, people arent making money, its a global consensus that they work because people have tried it, feel it working, then they spread the word, recommend etc.

people arent that stupid, if it doesnt work it dont work, you wouldnt hear anything about it.

 

[jumpOFF]

What do you guys think about this stub from wikipedia?

"Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is an herbal DHT inhibitor which is cheaper than most commercial drugs and is claimed to have fewer side effects than finasteride and dutasteride. Unlike other 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, saw palmetto extract inhibits the conversion of testosterone to DHT without interfering with the cellular capacity to secrete PSA.[9] Saw palmetto extract has been demonstrated to inhibit both isoforms of alpha-5-reductase unlike finasteride which only inhibits the (predominant) type 2 isoenzyme of alpha-5-reductase.[10] [11] A preliminary study of saw palmetto extract for treating hair loss noted improvement in six of ten subjects. Dosages and the length of the study were not reported. [10]"

I've been taking 450mg/day of Saw for about a month now but I decided to order some Finasteride since it's a proven hairloss treatment. Quite frankly I didn't want to stay on Saw if it wasn't helping me.

Does anyone have a success story with Saw? Any comparisons to Finasteride? Anyone?

 

[Pondle]

I'm not convinced by saw palmetto. There was a report on a study last year that showed it had no benefits for prostate health. So much for the DHT-blocking properties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4906364.stm

 

[TheHairGrower]

Does anyone have a success story with Saw? Any comparisons to Finasteride? Anyone?

 

[psych721027]

Not sure if you guys are aware, but I posted some relevant studies regarding Saw Palmetto and Green Tea. Both of which indicate strong evidence for the efficacy of both compounds as topical treatments for male pattern baldness. This is the primary reason I'm using the Nutrifolica in my regimin, because it's #1 and #2 ingredients are Saw Palmetto and Green Tea. I imagine any topical with lots of these two compounds would also be effective.

See link below to go the thread.

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions ... highlight=