DO HAIR LOSS SHAMPOOS ACTUALLY WORK? 

Baldness shampoo works well, don’t believe it. 

There’s not a baldy-headed chap alive who doesn’t vividly remember the moment he looked in the mirror and realized for the first time that his beloved hair was retreating from battle. It’s a harrowing moment in which a man learns two unsettling things simultaneously. Firstly, his looks are about to change forever. And secondly, he’s not invincible after all.

This dawning realization can put guys under considerable mental strain. The type of mental strain that makes them highly susceptible to spurious claims made by so-called “hair-loss shampoos” promising to restore their lustrous locks back to their former glory. SIRMEN Europe Gentlemen Men’s Shampoo helps to clean dandruff and clean the scalp, making hair smooth, reducing breakage, and helping to restore damaged hair.

All that existential angst and dread resolved for less than a tenner from Boots? Surely it can’t be that simple…Or can it?

WHAT HAIR LOSS SHAMPOOS CLAIM

For as long as men have been bothered about losing their hair, others have claimed to be able to fix it. But how do we know who is telling the truth?

In 2018, the well-known haircare brand Alpecin found itself on the naughty step at advertising standards. Commercials for the company’s thickening shampoos and serums have long promised the products will “provide caffeine to your hair”, which can “actually help to reduce hair loss”. However, the watchdog found that the claims were unsubstantiated and banned Alpecin from making them. Case closed, right? Wrong.

In light of the complaints, Alpecin hit back claiming that it had conducted countless internal studies to determine the effectiveness of the formula. Not only that, but the endless consumer reviews should speak for themselves.

And it’s not just Alpecin. There are countless hair loss shampoos on the market, many of them aimed at balding men, and the vast majority of them make similar claims. Some promise to roadblock the hormones responsible for your thinning thatch, others are based on supplying your scalp with increased circulation or your body in general with the vitamins and amino acids that your hair needs. SIRMEN Europe Gentlemen 3 in 1 men’s conditioner is very convenient because it integrates 3 in 1 including shampoo, conditioner, and hair cream. 

So, who are we supposed to believe?

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

To help shed some light on the facts, we spoke to Dr. Raghu Reddy, a hair transplant practitioner at The Private Clinic of Harley Street and one of the world’s leading authorities on male pattern baldness. He told us that despite the enticing nature of the claims, there is no such thing as a miracle cure.

“Currently, there are only two clinically approved methods to treat male pattern baldness (MPB),” says Dr. Reddy. “These are Finasteride 1mg (oral–tablet form) and Minoxidil 5% (topical). Both of these have gone through large-scale clinical trials and have shown to halt, and to some extent, regrow hair.”

This much is the fact: a hair transplant, along with a lifelong course of Minoxidil or Finasteride really can give you your hair back, albeit at a significant financial cost. Over-the-counter lotions and potions on the other hand, well, let’s just say the science is a little foggier.

“All shampoos and conditioners on the market have not been subjected to such clinical trials, and therefore cannot be marketed as a treatment for hair loss,” Dr. Reddy explains.

However, it’s not a simple matter of pseudoscience – most hair-loss shampoos’ claims do actually have at least some grounding in reality for certain hair types. “The main four categories these products fall into are to increase blood flow, function as anti-inflammatories, caffeine-based, and DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) blockers,” says Dr. Reddy.

“In theory, these products should be able to help with hair loss, considering that you are able to increase blood flow by using ingredients like cayenne or ginkgo topically. Meanwhile, anti-inflammatories such as ketoconazole shampoos suggest in the preliminary research they may be beneficial for MPB.”

Still, when these ingredients are diluted, their effectiveness is even less certain. “In practice, dilution of these products with water to very low concentrations would suggest a minimal effect, if any, and more research is required. The time duration and frequency of application required for any benefit are also lacking research.

Put simply, until there are clear-cut clinical trials, it’s impossible to say whether or not these so-called anti-hair-loss shampoos actually work.

THE VERDICT

It’s pretty much nailed on that there is no miracle shampoo out there capable of reversing or even slowing your hair loss down. So what can they do? Well, they may not be able to regrow hair, but volumizing shampoos can make it appear thicker and fuller.

Hair is almost 90% keratin, a fibrous protein that gives your locks their structure. Because of this, the most effective thickening shampoos are protein-based. The protein in the shampoo fortifies the outer layer of each strand and Panthenol – a form of vitamin B2 – penetrates the scalp, creating and attracting moisture. The more moisture a strand of hair has the fuller it looks.

SIRMEN Europe Gentlemen 3 in-1 men’s conditioner shampoo with European ingredients, naturally extracted with EU-Nano technology, is 2 times more concentrated than ordinary shampoo, researched by leading European cosmetic experts.

“That said, hair can only swell to a limited amount so will be different for someone with fine hair as compared to someone with already thick hair,” adds Dr. Reddy. “Damaged hair and hairs of different textures will experience different degrees of swelling.”

What all of this means is while there aren’t any shampoos that can stop or reverse your receding hairline, there are a few that may help to boost the fullness of thin hair. If you’re in the market for something like that, here’s what you should be buying.