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Comments by Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master of Awakening Mineral Therapies

In this series of articles, I’ve been talking about Alopecia, which is the medical term for hair loss. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at the issue of “androgenic alopecia” in women. And although menopausal hair loss, which falls into this category, is the type of hair loss that many our customers have struggled with, this is not problem that only comes with “middle age.” In fact, thinning can start as early as a woman’s teenage years. As I mention later in this post, the sooner treatment can be started to curb this thinning and loss, the better. And although hair loss during menopause is not the only kind of alopecia that women may encounter (or even the only kind of androgenic alopecia they may encounter), it is one type of women’s hair loss that Awakening’s products have had a dramatic, positive effect on.

If you are a woman going through menopause (or if you know someone who is), and you’re dealing with thinning hair as a result, it will be reassuring to know that other women in your situation have had great results using our Dead Sea Hair Loss Formula, called SCALP. I’ll be talking about how this product works in detail below.
First, a quick review.

As I discussed in my most recent post in this series, alopecia is the medical term for significant hair loss of any kind - whether as the result of disease, hormonal imbalance, stress events, or any other source. There are three main types of alopecia.

Telogen effluvium

Telogen effluvium is a type of alopecia that essentially refers to “increased shedding.” The “telogen” phase of hair growth is the normal, shedding stage that represents about 10% of the hair on your head at any given time. With telogen effluvium, some event triggers a shift to a larger percentage of hair in the telogen phase. One very common cause is childbirth. In fact, this type of hair loss even has its own name - Postpartum effluvium. Other causes include a drastic change in weight, major illness, and certain types of medications. The key thing about telogen effluvium is that it is a temporary condition. Hair returns to normal without treatment.

Alopecia areata

Alopecia areata, which may affect up to 2% of the population during their lifetimes, is the result of an immune misfire in which the immune system attacks hair follicles, causing distinct patches of hair to fall out, leaving completely hair-free bald spots (and in some cases, all the hair on the head will fall out). Treatment for Alopecia Areata usually involves the injection of corticosteroids into the scalp, and the success of the treatment varies widely among patients.

Androgenic alopecia

Androgenic alopecia (AGA), the type of hair loss we’re interested in here, is hormonal in nature. This condition is extremely common in women of all ages. In fact, you may be surprised (or relieved) to know that as many as 20% of women experience some level of AGA prior to age 40 (although it’s not always noticeable). After that, as many as 40% of women experience alopecia.

Now, because AGA is hormonal in nature, it is pretty complex. There is ongoing research into the hormones responsible for AGA, which is part of the larger research into hormones in general (a very hot topic in medicine right now). There is a lot we still have to learn about hormones, and we will undoubtedly see new hair loss treatments as research progresses. That said, here is the “short and easy version” of what causes AGA.

Hormones, Hormones, Hormones

Androgenic alopecia gets its name from the fact that all hair follicles contain what are called “androgen receptors.” Androgens are a class of hormone which includes testosterone and estrogen. (AGA is sometimes referred to as “androgenetic alopecia,” a term that emphasizes the genetic component of the condition, but this is not the favored term because many women who experience androgenic alopecia have no family history of the condition whatsoever.)

In the presence of androgens, genes that reduce the amount of time hair spends in the anagen (growth) phase are activated, and hair follicles shrink or become miniaturized. With each successive anagen cycle, the follicles become narrower and more shallow, which in turn leads to shorter, finer hair. Eventually, “vellus” hairs (short, colorless) replace “terminal” hairs (pigmented, normal). In women, thinning is typically diffuse, but often more pronounced on the top and sides of the head.

The androgen-class hormone that’s responsible for the vast majority pre-menopause cases of AGA is called DHT (dihydrotestosterone). DHT is a converted form of testosterone, which for women is a “scalp hair killer.” This is odd, because an overabundance of testosterone in women is also responsible for excessive hair growth on other parts of the body.

(Ladies, if this sounds confusing, take heart: it’s even weirder for men, who, as they age, lose hair on their heads and gain it in other wonderful places like noses and ears, even as testosterone levels DROP. Such is the mysterious world of hormones).

To make matters even more complicated, some research has shown that women with androgenetic alopecia do not actually have higher levels of androgens, but instead have higher levels of 5a-reductase, an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT. They also appear to have more androgen receptors in their hair follicles, and other hormonal particularities that make testosterone more abundant.

Before you go running off to your local endocrinologist, though, I should mention that the vast majority of women with androgenic alopecia do NOT have any kind of hormonal disorder. Most have normal menses, normal fertility levels, normal endocrine function, and normal levels of androgens. So getting an extensive hormonal work-up is usually unnecessary. If, however, you are experiencing irregular menses, abrupt hair loss, hirsutism (that is, an excess of hair), or severe acne recurrence, it is probably worth your while to get your hormones checked.

However, the topic of hormonal changes is indeed an important consideration in the case of menopausal hair loss in women. As many women (and even a few men!) know, hair loss often begins at menopause. In this case, it is falling levels of estrogen that are responsible for alopecia.

Now, I have no desire to wade into the thorny issue of estrogen replacement therapy. This is a complicated matter that’s well beyond the scope of this article. There are not only complex issues of efficacy, there is also a moral component (the estrogen hormones often come from horse fetuses which are killed for the purpose of gathering the hormones). Suffice it to say that this kind of therapy can in some cases be helpful, but as with any medical issue, you must take the time to see a physician and make a decision from there (and not expect miracles).

It’s all the same to your hair

Although there are treatments for AGA that target hormones in one way or another, the most consistently effective treatments are topical (that is, they are applied to the surface of the skin rather than being ingested), regardless of your age. In other words, as far as your hair follicles are concerned, it doesn’t matter whether it’s estrogen or DHT that’s causing the problem - the effect is the same cycle of diminishing hair follicles which leads to hair loss. And since the process of fully inactivating a hair follicle can take years, the sooner treatment can be started the better. Some research has shown that even when alopecia has been present for years there can still be some response to treatment.

Hair Loss Treatments

Currently, minoxidil (sold under the well-known brand name Rogaine) is the number one hair loss medication on the market. It is the favored treatment for women, because of the serious health risks (such as fetal deformations) associated with oral medications.

Minoxidil works in three ways. First, it increases the length of time hair follicles spend in the anagen phase. Second, it “wakes up” follicles that are in catagen or resting phase, effectively converting them back to anagen phase follicles. Third, it enlarges the follicles themselves, allowing once dormant hair follicles to become active again, and converts vellus hairs into terminal hairs. Strangely, the way minoxidil actually accomplishes all this is not known, although that is not a major complaint from the people who are benefitting from using it!

Women are generally prescribed 2% minoxidil, because one main side effect of the stronger concentrations is that it makes hair start growing in the WRONG places, like on foreheads and temples, where most people have a soft covering of tiny, pigment-free vellus hairs. This is actually a pretty serious concern. You have to wash your hands carefully because if you repeatedly get the medication on other parts of your body, you can start sprouting hairs, like in some mad scientific experiment.

I do not mean to be dismissive of minoxidil, because it has been a godsend for many women (and men) suffering from unwanted hair loss. But aside from the issue of hair growth in the wrong places, there are some other concerns. The most serious of these is the fact that minoxidil is classified as a “Pregnancy Category C drug,” despite the fact that it is FDA-approved. According to Wikipedia, in the case of these drugs, “animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.” Additionally, minoxidil is not recommended for use by people under the age of 18.

Of course, there is often a question of balancing risks and benefits when using pharmaceutical drugs. In most cases, the short-term benefits outweigh the long-term risks. But as alternative and natural treatments for many disorders become more widely available, those same risks become much more glaring, since they can often be avoided completely by using a natural solution with no side effects.

The Dead Sea Solution

This brings us to SCALP, Awakening’s patented hair loss formula that assists with the restoration of hair growth and the retardation of hair loss for those suffering from alopecia.

The key ingredient in SCALP is mineral-rich Dead Sea mud, one of the most bioactive substances on earth. This product is unique because it not only supplies hair follicles with Dead Sea magnesium, which is a building-block mineral that plays a remarkable role in supporting skin and hair follicle health, but also contains all the other deep-cleansing and invigorating minerals that have made Dead Sea mud a highly sought-after treatment for a range of skin and other health conditions.

With repeated use, SCALP makes hair follicles healthier by scouring away sebum and other detritus that can clog the follicle passageway.  As the scalp is progressively cleansed through the application of the mud, it is progressively easier for the magnesium to penetrate the scalp and thus the follicle passageways, thus supporting healthy, invigorated follicle activity.

This process can slow hair loss in women who are experiencing AGA, and will support the healthy return of healthy hair in a way that no other product, pharmaceutical or otherwise, is capable of doing.

If you’d like to see what some of our other customers have said about this natural alternative to minoxidil, please click here.

And by using SCALP, you do not run any of the risks associated with oral medications or minoxidil, because SCALP is natural product taken from the Earth’s own medicine cabinet.

We understand that hair loss is a very delicate issue for women, and we are truly honored to be able to offer an natural hair loss formula for women that is a true alternative to minoxidil. However, we understand that there are many companies out there making very exaggerated claims about their products’ ability to restore hair, and we understand that people may be have some doubts. Nor do we wish to mislead our customers or make promises that we can’t keep.

However, SCALP is a patented product from a company that has been making award winning Dead Sea skin care products for over 15 years. We are not selling snake oil here, and we are fully aware that, just like with minoxidil and other hair loss treatments, SCALP will not work for everyone. That’s why we offer an unconditional, 100% money-back guarantee on SCALP (and all our other products, for that matter), so that you can see for yourself whether, after using SCALP for 60 days or so, you will also experience the positive results that so many of our customers are already getting from SCALP.

If you have any questions about SCALP or our other products, please feel free to shoot us an email at info (AT) awakeningskincare (DOT) com. And if you’re using SCALP and have any feedback, positive or otherwise, by all means send it our way!