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By age 50, up to 40% of women will experience noticeable hair loss,
according to research
, though shedding can occur at any age.
Commonly used topical and oral medications can help for many, but some not work on all patients.
Scientists may have discovered a new treatment to tackle hair loss that preliminary research suggests may be more effective than common solutions such as minoxidil and finasteride.
You’ve got options when it comes to treating
hair loss
, but you’re also probably aware that there’s no magic fix. Even
the most effective treatments
don't work for certain people (and some of them
come with risks
). But there’s a new topical treatment for shedding that’s getting a lot of early buzz—and it has some science to back it up.
It’s called TH07, and it’s a combination of finasteride, minoxidil, and latanoprost. A pilot study (which is small-scale, preliminary research) suggests that this topical solution could be more effective than other popular OTC options currently on the market. Big news!
Meet the experts
:
Ife J. Rodney, MD
, founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics;
Gary Goldenberg, MD
, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital;
Cindy Wassef, MD
, a dermatologist at Premier Health Associates in Randolph, NJ;
Joshua Zeichner, MD
, director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital
Again, this is preliminary research, but the early findings are pretty promising. Here’s what you need to know, plus what dermatologists who treat hair loss want you to keep in mind.
What did the study find?
The study, which was published in the
International Journal of Trichology
, followed 34 men with light to moderate androgenetic alopecia (the most common form of hereditary hair loss) who were randomized to get a topical treatment once a day of TH07, 0.1% finasteride, 0.03% latanoprost, or 5% minoxidil. The daily treatments took place over six months.
At the end of the study the researchers found that the majority of the participants who used TH07 reported moderate hair growth and said they were more satisfied with how their hair looked than those who were treated individually with minoxidil, finasteride, or latanoprost. In fact, more than half—or 52 percent—of people in the TH07 group reported dense hair growth, while 30 percent said they had moderate hair growth. Most people in the other groups didn’t report hair growth.
“The data of the current study demonstrated that the topical administration of TH07 resulted in an improved efficacy in the treatment of the androgenetic alopecia compared to treatment with each of the ingredients administered separately,” the researchers wrote in the conclusion.
Why might this help combat hair loss?
It’s important to get a few things out of the way first. This study was small (only 23 of the participants took TH07) and the comparison groups were also small. In the latanoprost group, for example, only three people completed the study from start to finish. The study was also conducted by researchers from Triple Hair Inc, which makes TH07.
With that, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions. Still, it’s pretty clear that the OTC hair loss treatment market could use some help. Minoxidil has an average of
38 percent
effectiveness for hair regrowth, while finasteride tops out at
66 percent
. Latanoprost is actually
FDA-approved
as an eye drop for glaucoma, but it’s been linked to eyelash growth.
Why might mixing them together help with hair re-growth? It’s likely because these medications are targeting different areas of hair loss, says
Ife J. Rodney
, MD, founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics. “Generally in medicine, when you treat conditions by targeting different mechanisms, you tend to get a better result than each individual agent,” she says.
That's certainly the case with the compounds that make up TH07: Each of the ingredients targets hair loss through a different mechanism, says
Cindy Wassef
, MD, a dermatologist at Premier Health Associates in Randolph, NJ. Minoxidil is thought to help with hair loss by opening up blood vessels and allowing more blood and nutrients to reach the hair follicle, while finasteride blocks DHT, which causes progressive thinning or miniaturization of the hair until hair loss is seen. Latanoprost, on the other hand, is found to improve the growing phase of hair and shifting some of the hairs from resting to growing, Dr. Wassef adds. “The findings find what we see in real life—hair loss patients that combine many treatments with different mechanisms of action see better results,” she says.
The multi-pronged approach is something that many dermatologists use when working with hair loss patients. “The best way to treat hair thinning is to address as many of the causative factors as possible,” says
Joshua Zeichner
, MD
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Source: https://www.oprahdaily.com/beauty/hair/a71445562/hair-loss-treatment-triple-threat-study/
