ANTIAGING TREATMENTS: HAIR

Treating Greying Hair

Approaches To Treating Grey Hair

Three approaches to treating greying hair

1. Oral Hair Nutrition
2. Topical Hair Nutrition
3. Medical Grey Hair Treatments
4. Cosmetic Grey Hair Treatments

Oral Nutritional Treatments For Grey Hair

By replacing deficient vitamins and minerals, greying of hair may be prevented, slowed or reversed.

Vitamin B12 - can be taken in tablet form

Omega 3 - capsules and can be applied topically.

Minerals –calcium, copper and zinc supplementation sometimes delays the onset of gray hair

Biotin - delays the onset of gray hair and may retard the further progression of gray hair. Research

Folic acid - helps to prevent gray hair.

Inositol - has a protective effect on Hair Follicles and via this protection of hair follicles it sometimes prevents or halts the progression of gray hair.

PABA - in approximately 10-25% of cases, para-aminobenzoic Acid (PABA) use causes gray or white hair to darken toward its original color [6-24 GRAMS per day is required]. Clinical trials support this claim.

• 200 mg of PABA per day for two months resulted in marked darkening of the hair in nearly all participants.
• 200 mg of PABA combined with 100 mg of calcium pantothenate and 50 mg of Brewer’s yeast per day for eight months caused significant hair color change in only two patients out of 33
• 6-24 grams of PABA per day for six weeks caused dramatic hair color change and hair regrowth in 5 patients out of 20. With markedly grey hair (hair color returned to grey within three to four weeks of ceasing PABA treatment).

HGH - there are many reliable anecdotal reports claiming that human growth hormone [HGH] replacement therapy has restored normal hair color to grey hair.

L-Tyrosine - Tyrosine is necessary for melanin formation. A product known as Gleevec, which reversed gray hair in some people who used it, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

DMAE - DMAE may not only affect coloring, but also have a possible use in maintaining or restoring hair growth:

Calorie restriction or Fasting - could slow down the graying of hair.

Fo-Ti - herb

Jiaogulan (gynostemma) Tea - reported to have a repigmentation effect if used for several months

Grey Hair Treatments

Topical Nutrient Application For Grey Hair

Retin-A combined with AHA [alpha-hydroxy acid] - applied topically to the scalp is under investigation as a means of returning grey hair to its original color. [New York dermatologist, Jim Baral - claims to have restored his hair color to normal after accidentally smearing the mixture onto his scalp. His hair color remained normal one year after the incident.]

SOD [superoxide dismutase] compound - proposes to protect against graying, found in some gels.

Omega 3 rich shampoo - works by penetrating deep into the hair follicle to deliver unprecedented nutrition to keep the hair follicle in its original colour.

Pigments - Melanin can be encapsulated within liposomes and applied topically to the scalp in order to deliver melanin to the cells of hair follicles where it is then utilized endogenously to "pump" melanin which is responsible for hair color back into otherwise gray hair.

Eugenol Oil - the principal active ingredient in cloves and clove Oil, applied topically to the scalp has been demonstrated to restore hair color.

Indian Amla Oil - enriches hair growth and pigmentation, and increases the strength of hair follicles.

Ashwagandha - helps to prevent and treat gray hair by increasing the melanin content of the hair.

Ligustrum - is used in China to prevent gray hair.

Grey Hair Treatments

Medical and Pharmaceutical Drugs For Grey Hair

Auxins - Dihydroxyl-5,6-indole (applied topically) reverses gray Hair. This occurs via dihydroxyl-5,6-indole functioning as a precursor molecule for the production of melanin via a slow oxidation process. This compound is not yet commercially-available.

Imatinib Mesylate - reverses gray hair (this drug causes many toxic side effects).

Anticancer drug Gleevec - reversed hair depigmentation as a side effect in some people in a study reported in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.

Hair stem cell replacement therapy – unproven as yet.

Grey Hair Treatments

Cosmetic Treatments For Grey Hair

Semi-permanent dyes - made for coloring gray hair have small molecules which pass through the cuticle into the cortex without damaging the scales of the cuticle. If you are concerned about chemically-treating your hair, choose a non-ammonium vegetable colour, such as henna, instead.

Sage - strong infusion of 100 grams in 500 ml of water cosmetically disguises grey air.

Grey Hair Treatments