Comments on: Update (2018): My Research Is Now Published In A Scholarly Journal

By: Researcher

Researcher — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 13:12:37 +0000

I’ve been studying androgenic alopecia (AA) on the side while finishing a graduate degree in health informatics. One thing I can say regarding the variability in success with finasteride is that it is likely due to another factor that’s not often discussed in AA research. Cytochrome p-450 3A4 which is a major metabolic enzyme found in the liver, is also found in the skin. This 3A4 enzyme is responsible for metabolizing many compounds including testosterone. So, inhibition of 5a-reductase with finasteride or dutasteride is just one possible source of DHT. Perhaps, and this is just hypothesis, the inhibition of 5a-reductase works for some people because they may have a genetic variant that expresses less CYP3A4 in skin and/or liver, or are unknowingly taking other concomitant medications/natural health products that inhibit the 3A4 enzyme. Being on finasteride plus a 3A4 inhibitor could produce double-inhibition of DHT.
There are a ton of drugs and natural health products that can be used to inhibit CYP3A4 and have been known by pharmacists for years to be the biggest offenders of drug-drug interactions. So I wouldn’t encourage people to go out and seek these products as it can cause many complications if you are on these inhibitors and subsequently require immediate medical treatment.
Interestingly, some alternative AA treatments are also CYP3A4 inhibitors like ketoconazole and valproic acid.

By: Do Scalp Massages Improve Hair Loss (AGA)? Our 2019 Study Results

Do Scalp Massages Improve Hair Loss (AGA)? Our 2019 Study Results — Wed, 15 May 2019 05:11:59 +0000

[…] like my first paper, this study is open access. That means the content isn’t protected behind a journal’s […]

By: Nat

Nat — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 23:19:19 +0000

Hey Rob, could I get you on a brief Skype call? I bought your ebook and have had mixed results. I just want to chat about my experience and ask a couple of questions.

By: Hair Loss (AGA) And Blood Flow: What Everyone Gets Wrong About It

Hair Loss (AGA) And Blood Flow: What Everyone Gets Wrong About It — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 22:29:46 +0000

[…] Even more interestingly, scar tissue accumulation is chronic and progressive. Without serious intervention (i.e., removing whatever is causing the fibrosis), scar tissue continues to accumulate, leading to progressive hair follicle miniaturization — particularly the kind seen in AGA. And if enough scar tissue accumulates… hair can no longer grow. […]

By: Pedro V

Pedro V — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 17:43:11 +0000

Hi Rob,

I am incredibly enthusiastic with your studies and your commitment to reverse Hair Loss. It has completely changed my perception of hairloss and motivation to do something about it. I have been doing Tom Hagerty´s exercises for 14 months and the massages for 6 weeks now. With TH exercises, I was able to reduce hairloss significantly and even get a little regrowth visible on my temples. With the massages, it is too early to say if it is leading to any progress but I continue to see new terminal hair popping at my temples. I have a few questions that I haven´t been able to find the answer to:

1. If calcification could be partly due to pinching blood vessels, are the massages promoting calcification?

2. When I went hard with the massages, my scalp dried up (used to be very greasy), isn´t that bad for subcutaneous fat and hence bad for hair follicles?

3. In the paper, you mention a that once there is a dettachment of the APM from a hair follicle, hair loss may be permanent. Is there a rule of thumb to know how much of my hair follicles are dettached vs NW scale? It is clear that you can not have full regrowth if some follicles can not be reactivated.

4. You have mentioned several surveys with results and degree of progress, between people implementing the massages. Would it be possible for you to share the data?

Many thanks

By: Aissela92

Aissela92 — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:26:42 +0000

Hi Rob,
I bought you eBook and I wanna thank you because your method is working well for my boyfriend but I have a question: does it work also for women? I’m struggling with female pattern baldness and I would like to try it. Thank you.

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 01:35:19 +0000

In reply to John.

One other objective recommendation — outside of the recommended minutes per session — is based around shedding rates (which vary depending on someone’s hair density, AGA progression, and massage technique/duration). For people who experience lots of shedding during the massages — to the point of visible hair loss after 1+ months of massaging — I recommend that those individuals taper their massage intensity so that by the end of a session, they shed no more than 10-15 hairs.

If that means the session only lasts 5 minutes, then that’s okay. But in these cases, the end-goal is to make it the 20 full minutes while shedding only 10-15 hairs. Again, this is just for individuals with lots of shedding that they can’t seem to get under control. If this isn’t your case, and you find benefit by massaging just until the crunches stop, then keep riding that wave until progress stops. At that point, please reach out and we can troubleshoot!

Best,
Rob

By: John

John — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 05:58:26 +0000

In reply to Rob.

Yes I’ve been taking pictures, I’ve been uploading them to an Imgur album, these were posted a month ago which is relevant for non-dated timestamps.

Overall – https://imgur.com/a/sbORLf9
Hairline – https://imgur.com/a/AARrnqD
Crown – https://imgur.com/a/2bEfC1g

Current Regime:

Derma Roller 1.5mm – weekly
Nizoral – weekly
Zinc Pyrithione – daily
Scalp Massage – daily (I try to aim for 5 minutes daily)
Scalp Exercise – whenever I remember to do it, based on Tom Hagerty
Fish Oil

The noise doesn’t bother me at all, I was just using it as a measure for how long to massage. Would you have any objective recommendations for the massages aside from an arbitrary number? I found massaging till the crunches stopped much easier than massage for X minutes.

By: Paz

Paz — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 00:16:47 +0000

Hi John

Your not alone In hearing the noise.

It’s a common query from many people who have done the massages. And we also believe it’s to do with fibrosis tissue, or some of us do . But We definitely need a solid answer.
However the Symptom I’ve noticed is pliable scalp skin, which is good.

Regards

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 00:12:41 +0000

In reply to John.

Hey John,

Thanks for reaching out. It’s a great question, and one that’s not always the easiest to answer. I think the evidence tends to suggest that the crunches we sometimes hear from massaging are more likely edema (swelling), and less likely the breaking up of fibrotic tissue. This is mainly because morphologically, fibrotic tissue doesn’t typically detach from healthy tissues and produce noise when manipulated. Rather, it’s the acute inflammation from the massages that promotes anagen-associated growth factors which then help attenuate / metabolize part of that fibrotic tissue as the skin remodels.

If the noise bothers you, you can certainly reduce your massage intensity, or take a few days off to see if anything improves. Otherwise, keep it up, and congrats on your progress so far! Have you been taking any photos?

Best,
Rob