What Are Cheap, Side Effects-free Treatments Evereyone Can Use?

[Dimitri001]

I'm just starting to research all the possible treatments and some of them carry some non trivial side effects and some are expensive and I thought it would be great to draft up a list of cheap, side-effects free treatments that everyone could use without having to worry and weigh the side effects and so forth, so that you could hopefully start a cheap regimen that, all combined, might possibly help.

I figure we could include here even stuff for which evidence is flimsy or the effect is very small (though make that clear) so long as it's cheap, because the idea is to just try anything.

Here's what I've learned of so far:

1) Saw palmetto

Limited evidence, you can read about it here: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326927.php#how-to-use

2) Pumpkin seed oil

Again, limited evidence, from the same source:

Like saw palmetto, pumpkin seed oil is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. A 2014 studyTrusted Source found that males who took 400 mg of pumpkin seed oil daily for 24 weeks had an average hair count increase of 40%. However, more research is necessary before researchers can determine the effectiveness of this supplement.

3) Microneedling?

Still looking into this,,,

 

[Michael1986]

If you are going to go down the route of systemically inhibiting your DHT to treat your hair loss, I don't see what the point is in using anything other than finasteride. You need to achieve finasteride-like levels of DHT inhibition anyway in order to be treating your hair loss effectively, and even if you were to achieve a large enough level of inhibition in order to treat your hair loss from these natural alternatives, you would presumably get side-effects similar to those from finasteride. So why not just use finasteride in the first place, which has been proven to work very effectively. Just my two cents.

 

[tomJ]

If you are going to go down the route of systemically inhibiting your DHT to treat your hair loss, I don't see what the point is in using anything other than finasteride. You need to achieve finasteride-like levels of DHT inhibition anyway in order to be treating your hair loss effectively, and even if you were to achieve a large enough level of inhibition in order to treat your hair loss from these natural alternatives, you would presumably get side-effects similar to those from finasteride. So why not just use finasteride in the first place, which has been proven to work very effectively. Just my two cents.

Because if you get sides from finasteride then you risk getting lasting effects where as I dont hear many saying taking supplements lasted in impotence or depression etc.

 

[Michael1986]

Because if you get sides from finasteride then you risk getting lasting effects where as I dont hear many saying taking supplements lasted in impotence or depression etc.

That would be because these supplements are inhibiting much less DHT that finasteride inhibits. Less DHT inhibition means less side-effects, but this also means less hair gains.

 

[Dimitri001]

If you are going to go down the route of systemically inhibiting your DHT to treat your hair loss, I don't see what the point is in using anything other than finasteride. You need to achieve finasteride-like levels of DHT inhibition anyway in order to be treating your hair loss effectively, and even if you were to achieve a large enough level of inhibition in order to treat your hair loss from these natural alternatives, you would presumably get side-effects similar to those from finasteride. So why not just use finasteride in the first place, which has been proven to work very effectively. Just my two cents.

But aren't there alternatives that work through some mechanism other than DHT inhibition? I realize the ones I listed work through DHT inhibition, so your point may be valid there, but perhaps folks know some that work in some other way.

Is it known that finasteride's side effects are due to DHT inhibition rather than some other reason, tho?

 

[Michael1986]

But aren't there alternatives that work through some mechanism other than DHT inhibition? I realize the ones I listed work through DHT inhibition, so your point may be valid there, but perhaps folks know some that work in some other way.

Is it known that finasteride's side effects are due to DHT inhibition rather than some other reason, tho?

It is possible that some natural supplements that work through lowering DHT might also work in other ways too to fight against hair loss. I haven't researched enough on this to be able to point to any specific examples. But the bottom line is that there doesn't appear to be very much evidence that any known natural substance or product is going to have a high chance of effectively halting your hair loss. So if your body can tolerate finasteride, it is best to use finasteride to be on the safe side, because natural alternatives are of unproven effectiveness.

Finasteride side-effects are definitely a result of the DHT inhibition. The only known mode of action of finasteride is inhibiting 5ar, and as such preventing your body from producing DHT. There is no evidence it is involved in any other chemical reactions.

 

[JWM2]

It is possible that some natural supplements that work through lowering DHT might also work in other ways too to fight against hair loss. I haven't researched enough on this to be able to point to any specific examples. But the bottom line is that there doesn't appear to be very much evidence that any known natural substance or product is going to have a high chance of effectively halting your hair loss. So if your body can tolerate finasteride, it is best to use finasteride to be on the safe side, because natural alternatives are of unproven effectiveness.

Finasteride side-effects are definitely a result of the DHT inhibition. The only known mode of action of finasteride is inhibiting 5ar, and as such preventing your body from producing DHT. There is no evidence it is involved in any other chemical reactions.

THIS. Any substance, natural or otherwise, that lowers DHT in the body carries the risk of side effects. Natural treatments are unproven. If you want to go this route, you might as well just use finasteride.

If you want to try tackling hair loss without lowering systemic DHT, there are some things you can try (Zix, minoxidil), but none have the proven track record of Finasteride.

 

[Scoobysnack]

Research Rosemary Oil. Couple studies have been done that showed its as effective as topical minoxidil. There's also lots of anecdotal testimonial stuff on youtube and amazon... people claiming they regrew some hair using only rosemary oil. Its super cheap and easy to use.

That said it could be a load of crap but since it costs me about $2/month to use the stuff I sure as hell am giving it a shot.

 

[Dimitri001]

Research Rosemary Oil. Couple studies have been done that showed its as effective as topical minoxidil. There's also lots of anecdotal testimonial stuff on youtube and amazon... people claiming they regrew some hair using only rosemary oil. Its super cheap and easy to use.

That said it could be a load of crap but since it costs me about $2/month to use the stuff I sure as hell am giving it a shot.

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to gather. Stuff that, even if the evidence is flimsy and anecdotal, it's cheap so you may as well give it a shot. You combine lots of stuff like that and maybe you get some effect and it doesn't hurt.

 

[Scoobysnack]

Anytime. As a little background, I majored in molecular biology and am in general extremely skeptical by nature. I'm not the type to get lured into BS "natural remedies". But the data on this one was too compelling to ignore... especially considering its cheap as dirt.

Check it out: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25842469

 

[Scoobysnack]

Another quick note, I've only been on this site for about a month because I had a life changing experience (roughly a month ago) that kicked me in the *** and persuaded me to start thinking about myself again... anyways... based on my brief time on this forum I feel confident in making the following claims:

1) Microneedling/dermarolling helps for most people
2) scalp massages help for most people

The unanswered question seems to be why the above helps. Seems to be two schools of thought. One group says microneedling and massaging helps because of blood flow. They increase blood flow... and somehow it helps with hair. The cellular mechanics are mysterious.

The other group says microneedling and scalp massages do something that somehow inhibits DHT naturally, which explains why people see positive results after 6-12 months. Again, the details are mysterious.

 

[Dimitri001]

With regards to the question of mechanism with microneedling, I was reading this study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746236/

and they give the following mechanisms:

1. Release of platelet derived growth factor, epidermal growth factors are increased through platelet activation and skin wound regeneration mechanism
   
   
2. Activation of stem cells in the hair bulge area under wound healing conditions which is caused by a dermaroller
   
   
3. Overexpression of hair growth related genes vascular endothelial growth factor, B catenin, Wnt3a, and Wnt10 b.

They cite references to back that up, I don't know whether the references lead to stuff that proves these mecahnisms or just speculate on what the mechanisms might be.