| Author | Message | ||
     TM |
Just for curiosity, how many people who you know, have had success with the scalp exercises, and what is the type of success they've seen? It is an interesting theory, I'm just curious about the anecdotal evidence in total. Thanks. | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
TM: Anecdotal evidence is all I have except for six people who I know personally. Of the six people who I have examined close up after they have done the exercises for at least six months, two have had substantial growth of terminal hair, three have had some growth of terminal hair, and one had no new growth of hair. The upper faces of all these people look better, though, because of the toning up of the facial muscles. There was a seventh person - a woman - who just could not learn to control the occipitalis muscles at the back of the head. The anecdotal evidence is e-mails from people who have done the exercises. I've have many (perhaps fifty) people who are happy with the results. I've had no negative e-mails yet. Of course that does not mean there were no failures. Probably some people just lost interest in the program and quit. These people would not send me an e-mail. As you can see, and as I have noted in My Approach, the evidence in not "scientific." The statistics would not convince anyone as to the efficacy of the program. I'm a true believer in the program, though, because of what the scalp exercises did for me. But I am also sophisticated about statistics and know that the success of one or a few people is almost meaningless. You wanted a straight answer. This is it. | ||
| TM |
Thanks. I appreciate your honesty. Is there any common thread among the successes or the failures? Diet breakdowns, sleep, exercise history and fitness level, extent of hair loss at start, type of hairloss, Caffiene, fluid intake, bodyfat/muscle ratios, or other environmental factors of which you're aware? | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
TM: Of the six people I examined close up for progress or lack thereof, only one had a large bald spot. This man did not make any progress. The others had varying degrees of frontal hairline thinning. As I said, two of these made good progress (new growth of terminal hair) and three made moderate progress. All of this group was in general good health as far as I know. Only one smoked - the man with the bald spot. I did not catalogue the important variables you mentioned - fitness level, sleep patterns, body fat/muscle ratios. Of the e-mail group, many wrote good testimonials, some of which sounded plausible. It was all general stuff though. I got no "bad" testimonials. One man wrote that he saw hair growth after two weeks. Of course this was nonsense - only Chinese herbs can grow hair that fast. (What's the name of that shrine in France? Rapid hair growth is possible there too, from what I've heard.) Oh yes, there was one common thread. All of the people who stayed with the program were men. Women were interested in the program and they sent me many e-mails. Evidently they were not interested enough to stay with the program. You asked me some sharp, thoughtful questions. This means that you've probably been thinking about MPB for some time. Do you have any preferred approach to the problem? | ||
| TM |
Actually, I'm just beginning to thin in the temples, at 27. I actually think it might be due to my stopping an intense exercise program for two months due to an injury. Needless to say I'm pleased to hear I am in the group which seems to respond best. At this point when my head is shaved down, it is not noticable, so I may get off scot free if the exercises work for me. I have a naturally high level of control of the muscles, and I am motivated, so maybe, especially now that I'm geting back to training. I just noticed some thinning two weeks back or so as my hair grew out (I normally keep it pretty short), and it got me wondering why hair in one place would thin and die back, while hair right next to it wouldn't, so I have done some research. I guess the Galea is involved somehow, as I lean away from the theory it involves something during embryogenisis. Limiting blood flow is perfectly plausible. Your approach actually makes sense. I'm sure the exercise of the muscles in that area increases oxygen demand, which increase VEGF release, at least locally in the muscles to stimulate angiogenisis. It is not to hard to imagine some VEGF drifting into blood and then into surrounding tissue, and increasing vascularity there as well. Also, I don't know how the blood flows, but if it passes through the Frontalis and the occipitus first, then travels on to the scalp, if those muscles are being exercised, then they will upregulate the number of testosterone receptors on their surface, maybe binding out the test from the blood before it hits the scalp. I am a biochemist dealing with endocrinology of fish, so all my questions are part of a natural urge to limit variables in an experiment. Plus, I generally grasp the concepts behind MPB due to my schooling. You should prep a questionaire with as many lifestyle variables as you can think of, and mail it back to people who send you testimonials. I'm sure you will find common threads somewhere. Maybe create a form for your site for submitting testimonials, which will process the info and send it to your E-mail. Others besides those in the post above to consider : Preference towards hot food (Capsacin in pepper dilates blood vessels) Natural Vascularity Breathing during reps (There are conflicting studies on the effects of hypoxia during training on VEGF synthesis and release) Not sure what effect holding your breath would have. Other exercises for jaw muscles, like chewing gum regularly. I also went back to chewing gum. Two sticks at a time, for reps. I figure that way I'm getting all the muscle groups. I can watch muscles that reach to my temples flex during this. Oily foods and oily skin. McDonalds is known for increasing oily skin. Does this oil enhance the actions of 5 alpha reductase, or does it flush out DHT from the sebacious gland? I do notice the scalp exercises seem to pump all the oil out of the pores in my scalp and forehead. I noticed it first while doing them right after showering, now I do them before, which is another variable to consider. Hair washing Frequency/relation to exercise timing. Types of fruits, especially Pinapple. I began eating two cans of chunk pinapple per day two months ago. Maybe related, maybe not. Job stress. Other dietary supplements taken, MSM, Saw Palmetto, whey protein, creatine, glucosamine/chondroitan etc. Daily water intake. When not exercising, I began skimping on what had been a large water intake. Salt intake. There are a lot of variables, but if you flesh them all out, I'm sure you would see common threads among the successes. Finally, what is up with the small muscle in the follicle? I guess it is a goosebump muscle, designed to raise the hair. I wonder if you found out a way to contract those small muscles (frequent exposure to the type of cold which causes goosebumps? Fear?) whether they would have any effect on drawing blood to the follicle, and stimulating angiogenisis. I would imagine they would. It would be a clever evolutionary mechanism as well. You get cold, the muscle cotracts to fluff out the hair to warm you, and simultaneously draws blood to the follicle, stimulating angiogenisis, which both nourishes it and strengthens it so it can fluff out stronger next time, and thickens the hair for later cold exposure. Maybe you should add scary movies to the regimen? Just kidding. I would wonder about electrical stimulation, though, or for the really die hard and gifted, simulating the tingly sensation of raising your hair up on end. I've got to go. Best to you. TM | ||
| TM |
I forgot an important one. Alcohol intake. Some studies have linked Alcohol intake and VEGF. It seems alcohol intake may enhance VEGF production, but it is not known if it is temporary, if it eventually rebounds and limits it's effect, or other things (effect of being fit, effect of diet in conjuction with it, etc.). In light of the benefit of alcohol on angiogenisis in cardiovascular disease of the heart, it might have some benefit for cardiovascular disease of the hair follicle, so to speak. For the record Alcohol does fight heart disease itself - it is not just the flavenoids in wine. They found people who had a deficient enzyme in the liver for breaking down alcohol, thus these people were exposed to more alcohol per serving as they didn't eliminate it quickly like other people - it hung around in the blood. There was a definite benefit in terms of heart disease. Clever study, too. Quick and cheap. Now I've got to go. Best, TM | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
TM: You have a background in biochemistry; I'm a student of molecular biology. One concept that perhaps you're familiar with and that I'd like to understand better is "Potassium channel openers (agonists)." Upjohn, when they try to explain how Rogaine works, gives opening K channels as one of the reasons. Can you give me any help or clarification on this? I talked to a doctor at Upjohn about the subject. I got a vague response. There are many things in your post that I'm thinking about. It'll take a while to digest all of it. You mentioned the arrector pili muscles. These are smooth involuntary muscles connecting the hair follicles to the skin. I wonder if the scalp exercise could passively tone these muscles up too and perhaps increase blood flow to them. Just having some alcohol in your system and seeing The Exorcist III might be the way to go here. You are in a favored category for success with the scalp exercises - you understand why they might work, you have control of the occipitalis muscles, you're young, you do not have any large bald areas, and you're male. If you sprout new hair, tell me about it. | ||
| Username |
Hello, I been doing the exercise since end of October of 2001, about 4 months, I do it 2-3 times a day for about 7-10 mins. I have not seen any new hair yet. My scalp and the hair that I have in the sides and back feels very much alive, not like before (feeling greasy and dead like). The scalp feels more loose, and the forehead youthfull. I lost a lot vellous hairs, Im alsmot bald in the top of my head. When can I see results ? Have you seen a full recuperation in the top of head (with other patients ? Yours Cordially, Rafael Delmar | ||
| Username |
Tom, I smoke, and you have said that only the bald man did not grow hair. Could that be the case for me ? | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Rafael Delmar: The people who I have seen personally had moderate to dense growth of real hair (not vellus hair) in thinning areas after at least eight months. I've had e-mails from people who say they have had hair growth on top but I have not seen any of these people personally. I did not have any bald spots on my own scalp - only a moderate but worrisome thinning of the frontal hairline. It would be nice to give you more optimistic encouragement, but the truth is that it is easier to halt hair loss than to regrow new hair on bald spots. You have the right schedule for the exercise. Are you sure that you are getting the full extension and contraction of the muscles on both the front and back of you head? Smoking constricts the small capillaries that nourish the hair follicles. It would be better for your follicle health and for your general health if you could give up that habit. I hope that you will post a message here in another four months and tell me if you made any gains or if you did not make any gains. | ||
| TM |
Tom, I deal more in terms of endocrinology of fish now, though obviously I've been through the meatgrinder learning as much as possible about everything, before embarking on a specialty, so I can figure part of this out with just a search on the internet, combined with my basic knowledge, though I have no idea why K channels would affect hair growth. I am not sure what your AOE was, so I will assume you don't understand anything, and start from there. If you already know it, no harm done. K channels are basically little machines which are mounted in a membrane, and allow Potassium ions (K+) from one side to another, when stimulated. Basically "K pumps" move all the potassium to one side of the membrane using ATP for energy, and then a channel, when properly stimulated, opens, and allows the ions to flood back to the other side, which they want to do since they want to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Mostly used in nerves and muscles, to allow a signal to be conducted by the channels which are stimulated to open by channels next to them opening. Thus the body opens a channel at one end, and the ions flooding through stimulates the channels next to it to open, and so on, producing a wave of opening channels which travels down the nerve, transmitting the signal. Ion channels also affect the constriction of capillaries, though I am not sure to what degree potassium channels have this effect. Not sure how it would be involved in regrowth of hair, and I saw a site which said other Potassium channel agonist have been shown not to grow hair, so maybe the water is still a bit murky there, and the guy just didn't want to admit he didn't know? I did see some info on K channels being involved in cell death in heart attacks, and K Channel agonists preventing the cell death somewhat, but I am not sure that applies here, as they just staved off death for a little longer. From http://www.minoxidil.com/faq.htm "Q. What was the first FDA approved medication for MPB? A. Topical minoxidil. A 2% solution with the proprietary name of Rogaine or Regaine was manufactured by Upjohn Pharmaceutical and approved by the U.S. FDA in 1988. Ironically, we still do not know exactly how or why minoxidil promotes hair growth. Although we know that it is a potassium channel opener, other medications that also function as potassium channel openers do not promote hair growth. Minoxidil promotes enhanced follicular size, resulting in larger hair shaft diameters. It also stimulates and prolongs the anagen (growing) phase of the hair growth cycle." I did see a study on medline which indicated Minoxidil may upregulate VEGF production, which would explain the thicker hairs, whcih is a hallmark of VEGF. I will try to attach the abstract at the end of this. Knowing what I know of endocrinology, I can say it is unlikely VEGF levels can be raised without affecting something else, so it might just be a bystander calling whatever is really involved into play, though I have no idea, myself. With growth hormone, if you alter just that one hormone, you change a whole range of other's, including IGF, SRIF, GHRH, LH, Insulin, and some steroids, not to mention the changes in receptor densities on cell surfaces for all the various hormones, which change with the concentrations of the hormones. Tough to say what exactly is at work, if raising one hormone, steroid, growth factor etc produces an effect. I'll stop by if I see new hair, and let you know. In the meantime, other variables I thought of were type of hair (straight/curly), hair color, type of baldness, age at onset, and speed of onset. Here's the abstract. Sorry I can't help more with the K channels, but perhaps the reason I can't is no one knows. Either that, or Rogaine does increase VEGF, and Upjohn is afraid a VEGF mix will come out, and blow them away, since applying VEGF directly would nix the need for Rogaine, and maybe be more effective, with less desensitization. So they are now trying to claim they use some other mechanism, in the hopes they will continue to sell Rogaine to "augment" the VEGF cream the way Propecia is used with Rogaine. This is all business afterall, and I'm sure their marketing guys are looking ahead. I would not be surprised in the near future they fund a study which "proves" how Rogaine grows hair through the K channel method. Who will know for sure? Best, TM 1: Br J Dermatol 1998 Mar;138(3):407-1 Minoxidil upregulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in human hair dermal papilla cells. Lachgar S, Charveron M, Gall Y, Bonafe JL. Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire Cutanee, Institut de Recherche Pierre Fabre, Faculte de Medecine Rangueil, Toulouse, France. The hair follicle dermal papilla which controls hair growth, is characterized in the anagen phase by a highly developed vascular network. We have demonstrated in a previous study that the expression of an angiogenic growth factor called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA varied during the hair cycle. VEGF mRNA is strongly expressed in dermal papilla cells (DPC) in the anagen phase, but during the catagen and telogen phases. VEGF mRNA is less strongly expressed. This involvement of VEGF during the hair cycle allowed us to determine whether VEGF mRNA expression by DPC was regulated by minoxidil. In addition, the effect of minoxidil on VEGF protein synthesis in both cell extracts and DPC-conditioned medium, was investigated immunoenzymatically. Both VEGF mRNA and protein were significantly elevated in treated DPC compared with controls. DPC incubated with increasing minoxidil concentrations (0.2, 2, 6, 12 and 24 mumol/L) induced a dose-dependent expression of VEGF mRNA. Quantification of transcripts showed that DPC stimulated with 24 mumol/L minoxidil express six times more VEGF mRNA than controls. Similarly, VEGF protein production increases in cell extracts and conditioned media following minoxidil stimulation. These studies strongly support the likely involvement of minoxidil in the development of dermal papilla vascularization via a stimulation of VEGF expression, and support the hypothesis that minoxidil has a physiological role in maintaining a good vascularization of hair follicles in androgenetic alopecia. PMID: 9580790 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
TM: Thanks for all the material. I'm studying it closely. By the way, what does AOE mean? I assume it means "adult-onset egomania." This is a sentence that got my attention: "These studies strongly support the likely involvement of minoxidil in the development of dermal papilla vascularization via stimulation of VEGF expression, and support the hypothesis that minoxidil has a physiological role in maintaining a good vascularization of hair follicles in androgenetic alopecia." Saturday morning I made a new video of the scalp exercises. I hope we can get it onto a CD-R disc. In other words, it has to be less than 700 MB. I'll know probably Tuesday if the master CD is OK. If it is, I'd like to send you a copy. I'd like your evaluation. The sound is good except for a little whirr in the background. My technician friend said that he may be able to clean this up with a Dolby something-or-other. If not, we'll shoot it again, this time with an external mic. | ||
| TM |
Tom : AOE was Area Of Expertise. And in my case, it would be Adolescent Onset Egomania, since my sense of humor and overall mentality was arrested at around age 14. One other idea. You said, " You mentioned the arrector pili muscles. These are smooth involuntary muscles connecting the hair follicles to the skin. I wonder if the scalp exercise could passively tone these muscles up too and perhaps increase blood flow to them. " I was thinking about this. Before I shaved my hair back down, it was about an inch or so long, maybe a little longer. Twice, at the beginning, I got up in the morning, with my hair all pressed around from sleeping on it. I did the exercises, and noticed after fifteen minutes, the hair was standing up, the way it had been the night before. I had assumed heat from the exercises causing blood flow were the cause. Now I wonder if it could have been the arrector pili pulling the hair back to vertical. Follow me here. A muscle connects two points. In the middle is the muscle. On each side the muscle becomes tendon, which then inserts into the bone it will pull on. Inside the tendon is the "Golgi tendon organ". Basically it is a nerve which senses rapid stretching of the tendon and triggers a reflexive muscle contraction. When the doctor whacks your knee with the little hammer, he is stimulating the golgi organ, which then causes you to kick. It's supposed to prevent injury by causing the muscle to flex, and stabilize the joint in a rapid movement, preventing, say, hyperextension. Now this whole idea would depend on whether the arrector pili has a golgi tendon organ. They might not, as there would be no evolutionary need for them, but then again, they might, just because the genes which produce muscles and tendons throw one in everywhere muscle and tendon form, rather than have a separate set of instruction for pili muscle formation. If it doesn't have a golgi, this would not work. But if it does, then perhaps as the galea slides over the skull, and is snapped taught by the Occipitus and Frontalis, some of the arrector pili, which I assume insert into the galea, get pulled, and yanked, causing a reflexive contraction, which then uses blood, and causes some increased capillary formation to feed the newly "exercised" muscle. Don't know where you'd find out if the arrector pili have golgi tendon organs in their tendons, or even if anyone would have bothered to look. But if that were the case, it might mean it would be better to perform the exercises quickly and with explosiveness, to jar the galea as aggressively as possible. Thin theory, but maybe. Plus, guys who can't move their galea because of a tight scalp would never jar the pili, and cause this stimulation. On this : " I'll know probably Tuesday if the master CD is OK. If it is, I'd like to send you a copy. I'd like your evaluation. " I appreciate your respecting my opinion that much, but I have been spending all my excess cash on growth factors, hormones, and steroids, for some work I'm doing at home, and have put off buying the new computer for quite a few years now. I can't do video on this computer, and can't even view some web pages (Keratin.com locks me up, so I have yet to see it). Plus, sometimes when I turn the hand crank in the back to boot it up, the handle breaks, and I've got to get a new one. Well, maybe I made that last one up. But even if I could view video I'm not sure I'd have much to add, as you surely know more about the exercises than I do. Thanks though, I appreciate the offer. After my first Nobel Prize (Har har) I'll get a new computer and we'll talk. It might take a while, though. Best, TM | ||
| Freddie |
Arrector pili if I'm not mistaken are involuntary muscles. They are usually activated involuntarily in response to a certain event - fear, chill..etc. When these muscles contract on your arms, they make your hair stand on end better known as goose bumps. Much like the muscles controlling the heart, I don't think a person can gain control over them and use them at will. Muscles that these scalp exercises are using are not arrector pili. Arrector pili muscles are attached to the hair follicle in the scalp. These muscles on the other hand are attached beneath the skin layer of the scalp. | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
TM: Here's what it says about the arrector pili muscles in Gray's Anatomy: "They arise from the superficial area of the corium, and are inserted into the outer surface of the hair follicle, below the entrance of the duct of the sebaceous gland." I have beautiful microphotographs in front of me. I don't think these muscles insert into the galea. By the way, right under "galea" in Taber's Medical Dictionary is "galeanthropy." I hope that neither one of us is afflicted by this malady: "A delusion that one has become transformed into a cat." I'm looking at the Golgi tendon organs in my twenty pound biology book. The example used of this proprioceptor is, of all things, a fish. You wrote, "The hair was standing up. I had assumed heat from the exercises causing blood flow was the cause." I have the same experience after I do the advanced exercise. I do not describe the advanced exercise in my Web site. My motive for this little oversight is to seduce people into buying my booklet and video. When you win the Nobel Prize and get your new computer, send me a note and you'll get the CD with all my secrets for instant luxuriant hair. But I think you can safely forget about that Nobel Prize. The committee usually does not award people from the same country the prize in biology. Since I intend to win the prize, that leaves you out in the cold. (Unless you apply pressure on the French judge) When you rejected my offer of the CD, I assumed you had a hidden agenda. Perhaps you just got out of the penitentiary (convicted of hair fraud) and want to keep your identity under wraps. Hair fraud is not nice. | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Freddie: I don't think you can gain control of these arrector pili muscles either. I keep all kinds of theories juggling around in my mind, though, just to keep the brain cells intact. If I were a true hair guru, I wouldn't need all the interesting feedback I get on this discussion forum. A true guru has all the answers; I don't. If I want "truth" about hair growth, I'll probably have to go to the people who sell Chinese herbs. | ||
| tm |
I wasn't saying you would gain control of the arrector pili, as you would a normal muscle, but rather that if they have a golgi tendon, you could cause a reflex contraction, however small, by jarring the muscle, and triggering the golgi tendon, perhaps during the exercise. Sort of like how you could trigger the quads by smacking the tendon just below the knee, without attempting to contract it physically. I know after less than a month, I can really jar the galea, which I would assume jars the pili somewhat, as does the sudden stretching of the skin. If there is a golgi organ in the pili, it could trigger a small reflexive contraction, using oxygen, stimulating blood flow, and promoting vascularity (However small), as muscles do when exercised. It might also, after two or three hundred small reflexive contractions, pull the hair vertical gradually over ten minutes or so. That effect really surprised me, especially since I was still in the beginning of gaining control over the muscles Then again, if there is no golgi, and there might well not be, that theory would not apply, and I would be totally off. As for the Nobel Tom, just hope the Russians are not in contention for the peace prize, or you will be in trouble, as I will surely rig something that will flip the French judge. (That was pretty funny by the way) Thanks for the offer of the tape. Someday when I am more solvent. Maybe I can get you to pay for my hair fraud lawyer in the mean time? best, TM | ||
| TM |
One other interesting thing. I read today an Olympic athlete was barred from his sport for two years for testing positive for the Anabolic steroid nadrolone, and thus missed the winter games. He claims he never took anything, and that it must have been in his Protein powder meal replacement. I saw a study once on medline, All races of men, with the exception of asians, when ingesting 19-Nor-Androstenediol, excreted Nandrolone in their urine. Now 19 Nor diol is perfectly legal, and available over the counter as a dietary supplement. It would be interesting if some enterprising protein power manufacturer decided to "help" his powder produce more of an effect than other powders by quietly adding this to the mix. The effect on baldness would be to increase Testosterone like hormonal activity, thus upregulating 5 alpha reductase activity, and probably increasing DHT. Just interesting to me the innocuous meal replacement powders I was taking could have increased hair loss. TM | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
TM, When I used to live in Santa Monica I worked out at Gold's gym. Most of the guys were on anabolic steroids. It was part of gym culture. I never wanted bulk - I wanted definition especially in the abs (which I still have) so I never used the steroids. Two years ago when I went back to California for a three month visit, I visited Venice and Muscle Beach. All the guys I used to work out with at Gold's were now bald although still in great shape. Stay away from "innocuous" meal replacement powders unless you want to look like Kojak. Your idea about the Golgi tendon organ makes me want to find out if the arrector pili muscles have it. Next week I'm going over to the Loyola Medical Library and see what I can find. When you settle on a schedule for the exercise, I hope you'll post a message here. I'd like to know how many reps, sets, how fast, and how long the workout takes. Of course I'd also like to know if you stabilized your hair loss or grew new hair - or if you didn't. | ||
| Rafael |
Hi Tom, Well, I been doing the excercise since Nov. 2001. No results I seen for now, except, a better looking forehead. I also noticed I lost a lot of vellous hair in top. I´m expecting to grow hair new strong hair for now. Hair in sidelines its growing strong and thick. I will post on new developments. | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Rafael: You've been doing the scalp exercise for five months now. Everyone who does these exercises for a period of time has a better-looking forehead and firmer facial muscles. But you're interested in halting hair loss and in growing hair where you lost it. Please keep doing the exercise and keep me posted on the results. Some people have written to me saying they've had no results other than better facial muscles. Less than 50% told me that they have grown new hair - possibly the result of the scalp exercises. I hope you post your results here even if the results are not what we both want. I don't know what the loss of "...a lot of vellus hair on top" means. I hope it means that it will be replaced by hair thicker in diameter. | ||
| Anonymous |
how many people do you know have at least stopped further hairloss? Growing hair is a bonus, but If I can prevent more hair from falling out then thats good enough. Im not too concerned about the hair regrowth,, im more concerned with aty least halting further hairloss. how many haver halted hairloss due to the exercises? | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Anonymous: Scroll up this page and read the answer I posted to a similar question by TM - February 15, 2002. I don't have much to add to this. If you want firm, scientifically valid statistics that would reassure about the effectiveness of the scalp exercise, I don't have them. Perhaps in the future I'll have more convincing evidence. My Web site has been up for less than a year so my ideas have not been tried by many people. And as I stressed in writing about the scalp exercise, it takes time - perhaps a year before results are seen. If I were reading this response from your perspective, I would see it as a cop-out. Preventing further hair loss is easier than growing new hair. Many people - over a hundred - have written to me claiming they have halted hair loss after following my regimen for a period of time. I want to believe these e-mails but I have not seen photos or any evidence that would stand up in hair-fraud court. If you decide to do the scalp exercises for, say, six months, this decision will have to be based on a common sense appraisal of the ideas in My Approach. In other words, my ideas lack strict scientific validity. I can afford to be honest here because I am not a marketer with a product to sell. | ||
| Willgetthere |
Tom, First time poster here as I happened to stumble accross your site: I'd like to start by saying that, after year of fighting MPB I think the scalp exercise makes sense and i'll explain why: From all the other buletin boards I noticed the same thing, when a new product comes on the market be it fabao, avacore, FNS and even minoxidil claims are made that re-growth is apparent. Now, these guys are obviously not lying although some are probably fooling themselve and maybe abit over optimistic but nevertheless they claim that small vellous hairs are growing. After a while the hype has died down, these same guys are now saying that the growth has stopped. Its been claimed for a long time now that massaging one's scalp has a positive effect on the condition of the scalp and hair, this is the benfit that these guys are getting from massaging their hair but thats where the benefit stops. Scalp EXERCISE is in theory doing the same as scalp massage but from within, the way to explain this is comparing regular exercise to those new gadgets that you strap on to yourself " and it does the work for you", obviously one is going to get some gains from it but it is uncomparable to actual exercise......There, I said it. Thats my theory. P.S I mastered the exercise from day 1 and am doing 10 mins am and 10 min pm . God bless Will Get-there | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Willgetthere: I hope you don't mind what I just did. I placed your message on my Testimonials page. You've said exactly what I've been trying to say: "SCALP EXERCISE is in theory doing the same thing as scalp massage but from within." And from "within" it is much more effective in pumping up the epicranial muscles and promoting angiogenesis or the growth of new capillaries at the base of the hair follicles. "I mastered the exercise from day 1." It can be done. I've seen a friend of mine do it on first attempt. It took me at least two weeks of hard and frustrating concentration to learn to control the occipitalis muscles at the back of the head. I hope you make real progress with your hair problem. Get back to this forum from time to time to tell us how you're doing. | ||
| Anonymous |
I have been doing the scalp exercise for about five months; prior to starting the exercise I was taking Proscar for about a year and a half. I started the scalp exercise because even though I was taking Proscar I started losing hair in the temple area. My hair seems to have stabilized for the time being. I was writing to ask if I should stop taking Proscar or continue to do the scalp exercise and take Proscar. | ||
| Tom Hagerty (Admin) |
Anonymous: I can't advise you on this one. You have to make your own decision here. If both seem to be working, though, I'd stay with your current regimen. I wish I had more to offer here. | ||
| ritchie |
Dear Mr. Hagerty, I am a 22yr old scientist from India. I stumbled across your website a month ago. I must admit to begin with, I thought it was phoney, however after carefully going through your answers at the discussion forum, I instinctively believe you to be an honorable and wise man. (And they say it’s better to be in a wrong deal with the right people, than in a right deal with wrong people). I must congratulate you on your find, which I as a man of science, believe to be well justified. I am experiencing thinning over the top of the head as well, along with a receding hairline. I used to shake the scalp since my childhood, and was able to begin doing the exercises the right way with very good scalp movement from day one. By now, I am getting abnormally good movement and I am happy on that front. I want to know, that is there a decent chance for the exercise to work for my case? I am willing to pay the price and do whatever it takes. Regards Ritchie | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Ritchie: I deleted your message from the other subtopic because it was a duplicate. You said, "I am willing to pay the price and do whatever it takes." The price is discipline and a long-range perspective. But even with the best attitude, success at halting hair loss and growing new hair is not guaranteed. If you do the exercise correctly for a period of time and have a good diet with sufficient vitamins (omega-3 fatty acid), minerals, and amino acids, however, the probabilities are with you. The probabilities are not with you, though, if you are over forty and have large bald patches. I'm glad you found my Web site and feel that my approach to hair loss has some scientific validity. The program is really based on personal experience and personal anecdote - I have no statistical records of success, only a lot of emails. I'm sure you know that anecdotal evidence has a very low standing in the scientific community. But I think the reasons behind the scalp exercise program make sense physiologically. Stay with the program and tell me how you're doing. | ||
| Ritchie |
Dear Tom, Thanks. I am glad to hear from you so promptly. I have begun the exercises with a long term mentality and am doing great (10min X 3 times) with very good scalp movement. I will incorporate omega 3 in my diet in compliance with your advice. I also have taken photos of my scalp, so we have something to show for. I think your approach could do with a few before-after testimonials. Thanks again and God bless. Ritchie | ||
| Ritchie |
Dear Tom, A month later, I have a great looking forehead, with absolutely no sign of whatever wrinkles I had (Not that I was George Bush before). You were spot on. I am yet to see any change in the hair situation though, But I am sure I'll get there. Thanks a lot. Ritchie | ||
| Ritchie |
Dear Tom, I had read somewhere on your site, about a substance contained in Soy and soy products, that you are not particularly fond of. I am unable to find it again. I'd be really relieved if you could give me some info about it in short('coz we need your fingers to be typin' for a while badly). I am particularly inquisitive, because that was the first time I had read of anything like that, even more so because, I was on a high Soy diet, when my loss worsened. Thanks again Ritchie | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Ritchie: I wouldn't worry about eating soy products once in a while, but I would recommend against a high soy diet especially for men. There are phytoestrogens in soy that might disrupt endocrine function a bit. Phyto, by the way, means "plant." I'm sure I don't have to tell you what too many estrogens in your system can do. Soy also has phytic acid in it. Phytic acid reduces assimilation of iron, calcium, and magnesium, and some of the trace minerals like copper and zinc. All these minerals are necessary for healthy hair. But as I said, don't worry about small portions of soy products - just don't overdo it. In fact, this caveat goes for many things that I recommend like cod liver oil, flaxseed oil, and even brewer's yeast. Moderation is usually a good policy. | ||
| Ritchie |
Dear Tom Thanks for your reply - I'll watch out more. Tom, when hair fall out, they sometimes have a bulbous tissue at the end - which you said on another post, was keratin/sebum. Do hair lost in cases of pattern baldness, exhibit any particular characteristic with respect to the presence or absence of these plugs Ritchie | ||
| Ritchie |
Tom, I looked up soy on various sites and found something different, What are your thoughts on the stuff at http://www.stophairlossnow.co.uk/Soy_Extract.htm I had read similar stuff from the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) conference at Stockholm 2001. Also, do you beleive 40 gm of soy chunks everyday may be too much? Regards Ritchie | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Ritchie: I read the article you linked to about soy. If I were going to include soy in my diet to possibly help with a hair-loss problem, I'd take capsules instead of actual soy products that you get at the grocery store. One capsule that is sold by www.puritan.com is Soy Life Soy Isoflavones - 750 mg. It contains daidzein, genistein, and other soy isoflavones. It doesn't cost much either. A person with male pattern baldness usually sheds club hairs. These are hairs with a little keratinized bulb at the end. These are hairs in the resting stage (telogen stage) of the hair cycle. Everyone sheds telogen hairs, though, but with male pattern baldness, more hairs are shed than are being replaced in the next growing stage (anagen stage) of the hair cycle. | ||
| arutha |
Two points I wanted to make: Soy is considered an anti-androgen. The Aveeno line of products (put out by J&J, I think) has topical soy and are designed to reduce hirsutism. I'm using two of them (the shaving lotion and the facial moisturizer) to control the hirsutism side effects of minoxidil). What is Omega-3 supposed to do for hairloss? Is it the fatty acids? Incidentally, I recently saw a study on Saw Palmetto that suggested its action on 5ar is a result of the fatty acids rather than the beta-sitosterol (which appears in small amounts in SP). I've recently started taking fish oil myself for cholesterol management. | ||
| Ritchie |
Dear Tom, Based on what you told me, I have noticed that a larger share of my shed hair are without keratinised clubs, however, the thinning is largely in the pattern - crown, receding hairline, back of the head. Could it even be Telogen Effluvium? Also, do you do the excersize in sets, or do you do it without pause for 10 minutes. Initailly, I would do it continously for 10 minutes. Subsequently I changed to sets of 50 with a short rest in between. I am fine with either, so I was wondering as to what you would suggest. Ritchie | ||
| Ritchie |
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