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HAIR LOSS TREATMENT AGENTS

GINGKO BILOBA

Gingko is an herb that has been around for many years. It is particularly common in Asia and its many functions were only recently discovered in North America. The herb is very safe with few known side effects.

One of the key substance that can be found in the herb is bioflavanoids. Bioflavanoids is known to be able to enhance the absorption and potency of vitamin C, increase blood circulation and strengthen cell tissue. The other key substance that can be found in Gingko is "terpenes" which is a great anti-inflammatory agent.

Specifically, some studies have suggested that Gingko can promote hair growth by :

Increasing blood circulation to feed the hair follicles and

preventing inflammation and bacteria infection around hair follicles

Blood circulation is extremely important to healthy hair growth. Studies have shown that blood circulation under the scalp of people with thinning hair are significantly lower than people with healthy hair growth. Also, people with healthy hair growth tend to have thicker blood vessels under the scalp.

In fact, some topical lotions such as Rogaine® (minoxidil) stimulates hair growth by enhancing blood circulation under the scalp. Also, there are many hair loss treatment program that encourage people to massage their scalp on a regular basis. Again, the reason is to enhance blood circulation underneath the scalp to keep the hair healthy. Since studies have shown that Gingko can improve blood circulation, it has been used by many companies as a vasodilator for hair growth.

Gingko is also an anti-inflammatory or anti-bacteria agent. There are theories that inflammation is another catalyst that causes hair loss. Inflammation can be caused by external irritants such as bacteria. This occurs far more frequently than most people would expect. Bacteria or irritants can reside around hair follicles when you use someone's comb, constantly touching your hair and scalp with your hands or using unclean bed sheets, towels or pillow case. Inflammation may manifest in the form of itchiness and redness of the scalp or pimples like rashes on your scalp. This is particularly common for people who just had surgical hair transplant procedures. Surgeons would normally prescribe topical anti-biotic for patients who just had hair transplant procedures.

Inflammation can also be caused internally. This occurs when your hair follicles are exposed to male hormone DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) - the main cause of hair loss for most people. Hair follicles that are sensitive to DHT will shrink and miniaturize when exposed to the hormone. According to Dr. Razack in New York, when hair follicles are damaged by DHT, our immune system will respond by means of an inflammatory reactions to the areas affected by DHT and this reactions will further damage the already weakened hair follicles. The role of inflammation in hair loss is also concurred to by Dr. Todorov (PhD) in New York.

Gingko was tested on mice back in 1993 (Kobayashi N. , Suzuki R, et al) and it was concluded that Gingko can promote hair growth on mice. The researchers attributed the hair growth to Gingko's ability in stimulating blood circulation.

Availability:

Gingko is available both as a dietary supplement as well as a topical lotion. However, while most health food stores carry Gingko as a dietary supplement, it is relatively difficult to find topical lotions that are formulated with Gingko.

I have reviewed many products in the market and found the following product that used Gingko in their formula: