Hair Replacement : Treatments, Thick and Thin of Hair Cosmetics

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 3)

Mythical Treatments

The mythology of hair loss is a book unto itself. Wearing hats won't cause it, doctors say. Nor will standing on your head to increase blood flow cure it. Massaging your scalp and brushing your hair won't save you. Toweling off your head lightly rather than vigorously will only postpone the inevitable for a few days.

Perhaps the biggest myth is that cleaning your scalp of sebum (the semifluid secretion of glands attached to the follicle) will unclog those follicles and allow hair to grow. Surgeons will tell you that when they're performing transplants, there's no trapped hair to be found.

In 1989, FDA banned all nonprescription hair creams, lotions, or other external products claiming to grow hair or prevent baldness. And it has taken action against companies that continue to sell such products. In 1996, the agency sent a warning letter to Daniel Rogers Laboratories Inc., of Paramus, N.J., the manufacturer of "Natural Hairs," for claiming its product could promote hair growth and prevent hair loss. Two years earlier, after an FDA investigation, a U.S. district court judge enjoined the marketing of "Solution 109 Herbal Shampoo" because of claims that the product warded off hair loss.

Advertisements for "hair farming" products and others that hint they can regrow hair are still plentiful. But if you're desperate, keep one thing in mind:

"There will be never be a secret [ingredient] that works for hair loss," NYU's Washenik says. And, if they were to find it, he says: "It will be on the cover of the New York Times. It will be on the nightly news. ... When this happens, it's going to be wildness. You're not going to need an expert to tell you the name of the drug."

The Thick and Thin of Hair Cosmetics

While Rogaine and other minoxidil-based products are giving consumers hopes of regrowing hair, another part of the hair-care industry has been jumping into the fray.

Drugstore chains, beauty shops, and salons are offering a number of products claiming to make hair appear thicker or fuller. While they won't solve baldness, such products can help women in particular by giving the appearance of more hair — if, and only if, the products are used regularly.

"The reality is," says Anthony Santangelo, president of the American Hair Loss Council, "[the products] just build hair for the day."

A quick walk down the store aisle shows a multitude of shampoos, conditioners, gels, mousses, and volumizers competing for your dollars. Many labeling claims target people with thinning hair, while others hint they can regrow hair, creating controversy about whether such a claim constitutes going too far. Any product claiming to regrow hair would have to file a new drug application. The Food and Drug Administration has approved only one product, the drug minoxidil, for regrowing hair.

"It's marketing; it's puffery," Santangelo says. "They'll take it as close as they possibly can without crossing the line, and they'll run with it."

Many of these products seem to thicken hair by coating it with chemicals called polymers. Hair has a negative charge, and the polymers' positive charge causes the polymers to adhere to the hair shaft, says Charles Fox, a Fair Lawn, N.J., consultant to the cosmetics industry. That results in better hair manageability and shine, he says. The hair also retains moisture, causing the shaft to swell and its diameter to expand slightly.

Also, says Stanley Milstein, Ph.D., special assistant to the director of FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, some products coat the hair with various oils, waxes and silicone, claiming to restore moisture balance as they thicken hair.

Clarence Robbins, vice president of advanced technology for Colgate-Palmolive Co. and author of Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair, says that if the products work, it's because they keep hair shafts from sliding past each other (think of the fly-away hair you get after blow-drying on a winter day.) In that way, hair volume appears greater.

If you're one to use bleach (peroxide) occasionally, he says, the bleach can achieve that sliding effect. Perms also make your hair wavier and fuller looking.

Many promoters of these products say their pro-vitamin B5 (panthenol) formulas can lead to fuller hair. Experts say don't bet on it, and according to the agency, the claim has never been proved.

By the way, there are products that simply color your scalp to create the appearance of hair. "But get any closer than 20 feet from an individual, they're gonna see your head's been spray-painted or covered with powder," Santangelo says.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.