Bald Ambition: Searching for a Hair-Loss Remedy
Bald and Beautiful?
For a few years now, my wife has had to put up with me lamenting about how much I’ve lost my hair since we met. I find myself occasionally stepping out of the shower and counting the number of hairs that have fallen from my head to make their final journey down the drain and into the sewer system. I eye my son with just the slightest tinge of jealousy because of his long and curly locks, and wish there were a painless way for me to get some of those hairs off his head and onto mine. I even recall, several years ago, my primary care physician staring at my head during an exam, only at the end to ask, “Have you thought about doing something about your hair?” My only response was a flabbergasted, “No, not yet.”
I was originally going to write on another topic this week, but I stumbled on a forgotten bookmark I had saved a few weeks ago: a San Diego Union Tribune article about a small biotech company that has started trials with a new drug that could return some of that thick hair to a rapidly thinning forehead like mine. How could I let an opportunity pass on a subject that was so near and dear to my…well…head?
Before I continue, let me take a step back. Though I am painfully aware that my hairline is rapidly retreating on my forehead, there are a few things I’m unwilling to do at this point in my life. First, I won’t wear a wig. My hair loss is bad, but it’s not that bad yet, and I’m still comfortable enough with my appearance that I don’t feel like I need a hairpiece. I also haven’t yet considered Finasteride, known to hair-challenged men everywhere as Propecia, simply because that means I would have to remember to take a pill every day. Not to mention, there are warnings about female contact with the drug during pregnancy, and I just figured it would be safest if I waited until we were done having kids before I started taking the pill, if that’s what I decided to do (I know, I’m a little neurotic). I’ve tried some other remedies, such as Osmotics Cosmeceutical’s follicle nutrient system (FNS), but I found that it was too much effort to use all of the components in order to realize the little bit of volume increase I was seeing on my scalp.
I was therefore encouraged to see that the new biotech company, Histogen, has taken on the task of developing a new method for dealing with a receding hairline. In a 12-week, double-blind Phase 1 trial, their new product, ReGenica, showed increased thickess of existing hair and even new hair growth in some men. The trial was intended only to show the safety of the product as its primary purpose, but the initial results are showing promise that the drug is effective too.
According to the company’s website, the product works by naturally culturing newborn fibroblasts in a controlled environment, then harvesting the proteins and byproducts that are produced. The formula can be applied topically or through an injection and does not require any kind of purification process before application. Though the Union Tribune focused on arresting and perhaps even reversing hair loss, the company is also exploring ReGenica’s use as an anti-aging skin care product, as an active compound for shampoos and conditioners to give hair volume, and even surgical uses for the product.
Finding out that there might be something on the horizon was encouraging, but according to the site clinical trials for the product will likely continue for a few years, with a launch planned in 2015. Ugh. I would rather wear a wig than become a professional lab rat for hair loss remedies. That prompted me to search the web for more resources on hair loss when I stumbled upon “The Bald Truth,” a blog by Specer David Korben, Founder and President of the American Hair Loss Association (did you know there was an American Hair Loss Association? I certainly didn’t!). Korben’s site is a library of great information on hair loss, and I took the opportunity to page through some of the articles there.
The one that caught my eye, mainly because it relates to the pharmaceutical industry and somewhat encouraged me to reconsider Propecia as a viable future option was the February 28th post entitled, “Hair Loss Pill Fights Cancer.” According to the post, Propecia, which I was long convinced would be shown to cause cancer in men (a hypothesis far from scientficially founded, of course), was actually demonstrated to help prevent prostate disease. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association went so far as to recommend talking to your doctor about using it if you are considering your options for reversing hair loss.
So where did this all leave me?
Overall, still balding. I’m encouraged by the developments over at Histogen, but it will be years before the product is released and even more years before I’m comfortable trying it. Propecia is still an option, but I’m not yet ready to commit to a pill a day for the rest of my life for vanity’s sake, and I’d still like to see more studies before I start taking a pill that was originally designed to treat liver disease. And a hair transplant? Sorry, the college fund for the kids takes precedence right now over a procedure that might not even end up being a permanent solution. I’m left with either trying Osmotics’ FNS again, sharpening a razor and cutting off all the hair, or doing nothing.
Oh well. Maybe when I explore this again in a couple of years, they’ll have invented a slightly less green chia hair that I can apply to my scalp.
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[...] daily… watching our hair swirl down the drain as the rug on top grows ever thinner. In fact, Mariano over at the Avelient BioPharm Blog has highlighted some ways we could see big changes to the way we treat male pattern baldness and [...]