At this time, Minoxidil is the only treatment approved by the FDA for female pattern hair loss. Since efficacy is marginal at best, many women seek alternative treatments to help regrow hair. Today I’ll tell you about “Viviscal”, a new dietary supplement containing a proprietary blend that includes marine extracts and has been shown to have encouraging results.
Over time, diffuse hair loss in women can progress to cosmetically obvious thinning. While finasteride – also known as Propecia – has been shown to be very effective in regrowing hair in men, its use in post menopausal women has not been effective and it shouldn’t be used before menopause. On the other hand, Viviscal, a dietary supplement containing a proprietary combination of marine extracts was shown to be moderately helpful in a placebo, controlled study involving 15 women with self-perceived hair thinning. They took the pill for 180 days and the number of hairs in a designated area of the scalp were counted before and after the study. The mean number of mature hairs in the target region increased from 271 at the beginning of the study to 571 at 90 days and 610 at 180 days. These results were significantly higher than the placebo treated group.
For the stat geeks watching, the p value was less than 0.001… a very compelling result.
Additionally, in response to a self-assessment questionnaire, more subjects in the treated group reported increased hair volume than in the placebo group.
And there were no side effects in the treated group.
The bottom line is that this study supports the efficacy and tolerability of the marine extract supplement for women. In my opinion, there’s very little known downside at this time and the upside is promising.
Viviscal is available on line and in some doctor’s offices.
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