Given that inflammation is probably a significant factor in the causal chain, has there ever been a study to see if the application of cold to the scalp has a positive effect on hair loss?
» Given that inflammation is probably a significant factor in the causal
» chain, has there ever been a study to see if the application of cold to the
» scalp has a positive effect on hair loss?
bump for answer.
» Given that inflammation is probably a significant factor in the causal
» chain, has there ever been a study to see if the application of cold to the
» scalp has a positive effect on hair loss?
Not such a crazy question in my view but even if there was a case or a case to study… will you be the first to pack your scalp in ice for an hour, twice a day???
» » Given that inflammation is probably a significant factor in the causal
» » chain, has there ever been a study to see if the application of cold to
» the
» » scalp has a positive effect on hair loss?
»
» Not such a crazy question in my view but even if there was a case or a
» case to study… will you be the first to pack your scalp in ice for an
» hour, twice a day???
If it worked - people put lasers on their head without any proof of efficacy. If cold was proved to be beneficial, it wouldn’t be that hard to accommodate. Further, it would give some indication of just how important the role of inflammation is in hair loss. I know that when my scalp itches, 10 minutes with an ice pack stops it completely.
Back on alt.baldspot, Dr. Proctor liked to talk about the “icemen” several decades ago (they carried and delivered big blocks of ice on their shoulders to whoever needed it), who had the curious phenomenon of tending to grow hair on the shoulder that carried the ice! (This isn’t a joke, I’m very serious…)
» Back on alt.baldspot, Dr. Proctor liked to talk about the “icemen” several
» decades ago (they carried and delivered big blocks of ice on their
» shoulders to whoever needed it), who had the curious phenomenon of tending
» to grow hair on the shoulder that carried the ice! (This isn’t a joke, I’m
» very serious…)
That’s very strange. It wouldn’t surprise me if the application of cold to the scalp could be therapeutic, if inflammation is a major factor in hair loss. But why would it cause hair to grow where it otherwise wouldn’t? Then again, our entire bodies are covered in hair, and those places that don’t have hair simply have miniaturized hairs that aren’t visible. Could body hair that is miniaturized be so because of the same reasons scalp hair becomes miniaturized? And if so, could the application of cold reverse it? I wish there were some better studies on this.
» Back on alt.baldspot, Dr. Proctor liked to talk about the “icemen” several
» decades ago (they carried and delivered big blocks of ice on their
» shoulders to whoever needed it), who had the curious phenomenon of tending
» to grow hair on the shoulder that carried the ice! (This isn’t a joke, I’m
» very serious…)
“Cold caps” are a treatment for people on chemo that supposedly helps them keep some of their hair:
http://www.msc-worldwide.com/index.html
Their theory is that it slows blood flow to the scalp, preventing the chemo from reaching follicles. Would it have the same affect on internal hair loss drugs?
» » Back on alt.baldspot, Dr. Proctor liked to talk about the “icemen”
» several
» » decades ago (they carried and delivered big blocks of ice on their
» » shoulders to whoever needed it), who had the curious phenomenon of
» tending
» » to grow hair on the shoulder that carried the ice! (This isn’t a joke,
» I’m
» » very serious…)
»
» “Cold caps” are a treatment for people on chemo that supposedly helps them
» keep some of their hair:
»
» http://www.msc-worldwide.com/index.html
»
» Their theory is that it slows blood flow to the scalp, preventing the
» chemo from reaching follicles. Would it have the same affect on internal
» hair loss drugs?
Yeh, so it might help reduce inflammation. But if this method is used for cancer patients to minimize blood flow to the hair, then it might just turn out counterproductive.
As far as the icemen go that grew hair on their shoulders from ice, that’s too far fetched for me. But granted it was real, shoulders don’t suffer from dht related loss. Scalp hair does.
This is a topic I’ve wondered about myself.
Homeless men seem to always have full heads of hair. The percentage in this
catagory is just too high to be a coincidence. Birds and mammals shiver in
cold weather. It’s the bodies response to cold. Initially it increases blood
flow to the extremities but perhaps it also triggers a response to increase
hair ( or fur or feather ) growth to keep warm. I doubt if any studies have
been done to see whether cold increases hair growth. It would be an
interesting theory to test.
» It’s the bodies response to cold. Initially it increases
» blood
»
» flow to the extremities but perhaps it also triggers a response to
» increase
»
» hair ( or fur or feather ) growth to keep warm.
I can actually live with that theory. It’s a very logical one. We adapt for survival. Very possible through some mechanism the body tells the scalp to grow hair. Afterall, most of our body heat escapes through our head. Makes sense.
» This is a topic I’ve wondered about myself.
»
» Homeless men seem to always have full heads of hair. The percentage in
» this
»
» catagory is just too high to be a coincidence. Birds and mammals shiver
» in
»
» cold weather. It’s the bodies response to cold. Initially it increases
» blood
»
» flow to the extremities but perhaps it also triggers a response to
» increase
»
» hair ( or fur or feather ) growth to keep warm. I doubt if any studies
» have
»
» been done to see whether cold increases hair growth. It would be an
»
» interesting theory to test.
Interesting. The problem is, no one can patent cold, so there’s no money to be made, and thus no funding for real double-blind trials. Maybe some researcher would be willing to do a small study to base a paper on, though. We could write to some university researchers in the field and make the suggestion. Personally, I think that if inflammation plays a role (and there’s at least anecdotal evidence that it does - itching, redness, etc.) then cold SHOULD be therapeutic. The only thing I’d be concerned about is whether or not the cold would prohibit internal dht inhibiters from properly affecting the scalp.
Bryan, If you’re still following this thread, what are your thoughts on the issue? Do you know of any concrete evidence that shows that inflammation causes hair loss, and do you think icing the scalp would inhibit internals from properly affecting hair follicles?
Temporary inflammation treatments aside, I can’t imagine that chronic cold exposure would be a significant factor on the balding process.
I understand the train of thought that leads one to consider it. But could such a simple factor could be exerting a major influence on MPB, and mankind has not picked up on it during the last several thousand years?
There are so many old wives tales (in general) that reflect such a keen attention to detail over so many cumulative years of observation. I just can’t imagine this one going under everyone’s radar until 2010.
» Temporary inflammation treatments aside, I can’t imagine that chronic cold
» exposure would be a significant factor on the balding process.
»
»
» I understand the train of thought that leads one to consider it. But
» could such a simple factor could be exerting a major influence on MPB, and
» mankind has not picked up on it during the last several thousand years?
»
» There are so many old wives tales (in general) that reflect such a keen
» attention to detail over so many cumulative years of observation. I just
» can’t imagine this one going under everyone’s radar until 2010.
I’m going to come to HM and shatter all hope there too lol
Guys
i dunno if what you are discussing makes sense or not …but what i have observed in my visits to himalayas is that its really hard to find bald native people up there!!
» Yeh, so it might help reduce inflammation. But if this method is used for
» cancer patients to minimize blood flow to the hair, then it might just turn
» out counterproductive.
»
» As far as the icemen go that grew hair on their shoulders from ice, that’s
» too far fetched for me. But granted it was real, shoulders don’t suffer
» from dht related loss. Scalp hair does.
Reducing the blood flow to your scalp is actually a way to stop hairloss and regrow some hairs. Months ago I read a study made by some scientist in the seventies that tried a surgery to prevent the blood flow from arteries to reach the scalp, leaving just the circulation based on veins. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s just because my english sucks. Unfortunately I can’t find that study. Anyway the idea is that reducing the blood flow, you reduce also the amount of dht to the scalp, but you still have enough supply of everything else for your hair to survive. Anyway, cold should increase circulation…
» » Yeh, so it might help reduce inflammation. But if this method is used
» for
» » cancer patients to minimize blood flow to the hair, then it might just
» turn
» » out counterproductive.
» »
» » As far as the icemen go that grew hair on their shoulders from ice,
» that’s
» » too far fetched for me. But granted it was real, shoulders don’t suffer
» » from dht related loss. Scalp hair does.
»
» Reducing the blood flow to your scalp is actually a way to stop hairloss
» and regrow some hairs. Months ago I read a study made by some scientist in
» the seventies that tried a surgery to prevent the blood flow from arteries
» to reach the scalp, leaving just the circulation based on veins. I know it
» sounds crazy, but it’s just because my english sucks. Unfortunately I can’t
» find that study. Anyway the idea is that reducing the blood flow, you
» reduce also the amount of dht to the scalp, but you still have enough
» supply of everything else for your hair to survive. Anyway, cold should
» increase circulation…
I think it makes some sense, but the only issue is whether or not cold application would inhibit internal protocols like Proscar or Dut. If that’s the case, then it would be counter productive. But assuming that, because cold inhibits chemo drugs from attacking hair, then it would prevent Dut or Proscar from working is a fairly unsophisticated analogy. After all, they are vastly different drugs with different mechanisms. Still, I’d love to see a real, double-blind study on it. Does anyone know if there is any real research about inflammation and hair loss? As far as I know, its just a theory that I’ve seen on hair loss forums. It makes sense, but I’d like to see some research.
Someone should contact the manufacture of this thing and ask them what they think about using it for MPB. Maybe they’d fund a trial.
» This is a topic I’ve wondered about myself.
»
» Homeless men seem to always have full heads of hair. The percentage in
» this
»
» catagory is just too high to be a coincidence. Birds and mammals shiver
» in
»
» cold weather. It’s the bodies response to cold. Initially it increases
» blood
»
» flow to the extremities but perhaps it also triggers a response to
» increase
»
» hair ( or fur or feather ) growth to keep warm. I doubt if any studies
» have
»
» been done to see whether cold increases hair growth. It would be an
»
» interesting theory to test.
But what about all those homeless…and I guess animals…in the summer months? I guess those working in air-conditioned environments should have more hair 
Check out the meat packing workers…anyone else working in the “cold” year round.
Of course animals have their winter coats…shed them in the spring. I personally do better in the regrowth dept in the spring summer. Hmmmmmmm
» » This is a topic I’ve wondered about myself.
» »
» » Homeless men seem to always have full heads of hair. The percentage in
» » this
» »
» » catagory is just too high to be a coincidence. Birds and mammals shiver
» » in
» »
» » cold weather. It’s the bodies response to cold. Initially it increases
» » blood
» »
» » flow to the extremities but perhaps it also triggers a response to
» » increase
» »
» » hair ( or fur or feather ) growth to keep warm. I doubt if any studies
» » have
» »
» » been done to see whether cold increases hair growth. It would be an
» »
» » interesting theory to test.
»
» But what about all those homeless…and I guess animals…in the summer
» months? I guess those working in air-conditioned environments should have
» more hair Check out the meat packing workers…anyone else working in
» the “cold” year round.
»
» Of course animals have their winter coats…shed them in the spring. I
» personally do better in the regrowth dept in the spring summer. Hmmmmmmm
What are you talking about?? We don’t have any homeless people in the summer.
» What are you talking about?? We don’t have any homeless people in the
» summer.
:lol: