Castor Oil to Treat Hair Loss in Men

A number of men all over the world are not strangers to baldness. Hair loss or alopecia can present itself due to stress or hereditary factors. Since there are a lot of people suffering from this disorder, industrial manufacturers found and keep on finding ways on how to treat the problem. But they also saw a solution in castor oil for hair growth.

Since the old ages, men have been suffering from hair loss. But they are not the only ones who do; women and children also experience this kind of situation. Laser hair regrowth, surgery and other topical and oral products have been manufactured to battle this irritating problem.

How do men benefit from using castor oil on their scalp?

According to studies and research, men who use castor oil benefit in increasing their hair growth and thickness. It does not end there; the eyebrows can also grow thicker if the oil is applied on the areas. This is because the oil is a natural conditioner which allows the dry scalp to be moisturized and retain the healthy hair.

Also, the oil has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties that help with maintaining the growth of hair at its maximum. That means that the growth of dandruff caused by bacterial infection is set at its minimum. More healthy hair can grow if the scalp is at its best.

On the other hand, physicians are to be consulted for topical applications of castor oil. They are the only ones who know whether you are fit enough to consider using the oil on your scalp. Also, they can advise you to use the oil along with several other products that also induce hair growth on the areas of baldness. So in order for you to experience the maximum potential of castor oil, ask your physician all about it.

Female Hair Loss: Categories and Causes

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that we don’t like losing our hair. Those extra strands clogging the shower drain or rolling around the bathroom floor like tumbleweeds in the Mojave desert can send us to the mirror in horror, wondering if it’s really true: Are we going bald?

Okay, maybe not bald for most of us, but thinning hair is equally distressing. Especially when you consider the voluminous manes that virtually every woman walking down the runway or red carpet seems to be sporting.

Some women are inclined to think that hair loss is simply the result of getting older, but quite often, the real culprit behind those falling strands is something completely different. Something you may, in fact, be able to correct!

Let’s start with the facts. An estimated 30 million women in the United States suffer from thinning hair. Hair loss affects 50 percent of women over the age of 50. And while it may seem like this is a growing problem among females, in reality, according to Valerie Callender, board certified dermatologist and Nioxin Expert Consultant, it’s because more women today are seeking treatment. “This can be traumatic for anyone. Women, in particular, are eager to correct this because it can affect self-esteem, confidence and relationships.”

Types of Hair Loss

There are basically four types of hair loss: Female pattern hair loss, which occurs mainly on the vertex and crown area and is a diffuse loss or thinning; traction alopecia, which is the result of hair breakage; alopecia areata, which leads to bald spots; and telogen effluvium, which is a diffuse loss of hair all over.

The type of hair loss you have can result from genetics, a medical condition, lifestyle or other disorder.

Causes of Hair Loss

According to Callender, hair breakage or traction alopecia is the most common type of hair loss. It can result from the overuse of heated styling tools (blow-dryer, flatiron), chemical treatments (hair dyes, perms), or ponytails, extensions or braids that are too tight. Callender said this type of hair loss can be reversed if caught early, but it could also lead to permanent hair loss due to damaged hair follicles.

On the other hand, female pattern hair loss (which is also very common) is largely based on hereditary and postmenopausal factors. Alopecia areata is the result of stress, and telogen effluvium can be caused by pregnancy, diet, thyroid disorders or anemia. Birth-control pills, surgery or testosterone supplements can also contribute to hair loss.

But the causes don’t stop there. Certain scalp disorders can also wreak havoc on your hair.

Seborrheic dermatitis is an exaggerated form of dandruff caused by yeast (malassezia). It can result in inflammation of the hair follicles. After a while, a red, itchy, dry rash develops on the scalp and can also develop on the face as well around the eyebrow area, nose and ears. Recommended treatments include ZPT (zinc pyrithione) shampoos and ketoconazole (or Nizoral) shampoo.

Psoriasis occurs on the scalp and body and is caused by the immune system causing a proliferation of skin cells. Basically, the cells don’t shed and build up. Top treatments include a topical cortisone, topical Vitamin D and tar shampoo.

Cicatricial or scarring alopecia is an intense inflammation and permanent destruction of hair follicles. And while the cause is unknown, treatments include doxycycline and topical cortisones.

Baldness Cure

A study investigating a new treatment for gastrointestinal disease had an unexpected side effect: it reversed baldness.

Scientists were testing a new chemical compound on mice genetically altered to overproduce a stress hormone known as corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), which, among other effects, causes mice to lose their hair as they age.

After five days of daily injections of a newly developed anti-stress hormone, the balding mice were returned to their habitats. Three months later, researchers went to gather up the mice for follow-up studies, but their hairless subjects were gone.

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“It was completely unexpected,” Jean Rivier, with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, told Discovery News. “They couldn’t identify the mice except for their ear tags. That’s when they realized that they’d grown hair.”

Follow-up studies on younger mice that hadn’t yet lost their fur showed the anti-stress hormone actually prevented hair loss.

Rivier and colleagues have filed for a patent on the compound, known as astressin-B, and set up a company to begin raising money for development and testing.

It’s too soon to say if astressin-B would have similar effects on humans, but researcher Million Mulugeta, with the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, is hopeful, particularly since the hormone restarted the hair growth cycle in mice.

”It is difficult to say if this will work for all forms of hair loss. What is promising is that this turned on the hair cycle. It triggered the hair follicles to start working again. Is it possible this mechanism is common to other forms of hair loss? Maybe,” Mulugeta told Discovery News.

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“The next step is to find out how this (hormone) works, what cells are affected, what’s turning on and off to cause the dramatic effects that we’ve see in terms of hair loss reversal,” he said.

The effects of astressin-B extend well beyond the hair follicles. Preliminary results show a beneficial impact to the gastrointestinal system, the point of the original study, as well as the cardiovascular system and other areas of the body where receptors for the stress hormone are located.

The dosages administered to the mice were quite low and the effects were long-lasting—about four months. The success rate was 100 percent, Mulugeta said.