I have been using Nizoral to combat hairloss over the last few months. It seems to be working but I have no real proof of that other than what I see in the mirror. I don’t really have a problem with loss at the vertex of the head (knock on wood) but rather with forward recession. I’ve noticed that neither finasteride nor rogaine claim to be able to do anything about hairloss at the temples. Is this because the androgen receptors at the front of the head are somehow different than the ones at the top? I know that ketoconazole, the active ingredient in Nizoral inhibits testosterone (it causes gyno and testicular atrophy) but I don’t know what the mechanism is by which it does this, but it stands to reason that it would prevent hairloss, even at the front of the head. Am I at risk for these nasty side effects using it topically a couple of times per week, or are these effects only really a problem for oral users?
On a side note, do you chemists out there really think that Saw Palmetto inhibits DHT as finasteride does or is this just wishful thinking?
Saw Palmetto has been shown to reduce the size of the prostate in patients with Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy and I have also heard that it works for hair loss.
A quick note about rogaine and other minoxidil products. I used 5% minoxidil topical solution for 2 1/2 years. The best growth areas were at the front temple (despite what the research says) and side front temple. The area between these did not grow much. The reason for this type of growth is that minoxidil thickens hair that has not died out completely. The hair may be too small to see with the human eye but it is still there. I haven’t used it for 1 year and am gradually going bald. When it gets back to what it was before I’ll try something new. It does work though. Particularly if you saturate areas rather than do an even coat.