13 replies to this topic

[ellekereljer]

Hello. I am not necessarily trying to find some crazy herb that will give me the beard of Zeus here. Rather, is there anywhere that offers a complete list of anti-androgens or potential anti-androgens? The reason I ask is, I used to apply finacea to my skin for mild acne. Finacea ended up being quite a powerful dht blocker from my experience, turning my hairs vastly more blond then black/brown. I got off it and started using a natural cleanser with tea tree oil in it. It worked decently but ended up just buying tea tree oil and adding it to an amazing cleanser I found. The cleanser I found lists the second ingredient as lavender extract. Wondering why again, my facial hair growth seems stunted I read about lavender and tea tree oil and how they were anti-androgenic and quite possibly could grow breasts in little boys. Now I am just overwhelmed with fury. I want the damn beard I am capable of growing.

Since going natural all the good facial products contain various herbs that do various things. So I am wondering has someone complied a list containing known dht blockers?

Is green tea androgenic or anti-androgenic? Why is it still debated or confused as either? It is in my sunscreen which I apply daily.

Chamomile is in everything I pretty much use and said to lighten facial hair. Is this due to some coloring mechanism or blocking dht?

If I apply a dht blocker to my head is it systemically absorbed in significant amounts to affect dht in the body?

It seems if I don't want to inhibit dht I shouldn't use anything but some mild cleanser formulated from various chemicals rather then the natural approach. Is this the price I would have to pay to have anti-aging skin care. Shame , shame on me.

[Robert C]

My antiaging doc swears that a lot of soy products will raise estrogen like compounds in men and women (which will in turn reduce testosterone). He told me he has seen it a number of times in lab tests from his patients. He advised me not to consume too much soy. He told me it was not necessary get get OCD about small amounts in food here and there but lay off soy protein powder, tofu, etc.

[ellekereljer]

When I first became vegan, I ate and drank way to many soy products. Now I only get soy if its a filler in one of my supplements. Soy? No thank you. I love my coconut milk.


For anyone who cares, chamomile seems to make facial hairs lighter due to its role as a dying mechanism sometimes used in the manufacturing of wool. Despite my worries about it, in actually it seems to be a estrogen blocker instead of dht. Probably very weak though as it is in almost every natural shampoo.

I stopped putting green tea on my face and discontinued my before work out beverage to see what effects it might have.

I am loosing hair , what looks like diffusely. So I'm guessing dht is running rampant in my body by interpreting such actions on my hair. I didn't realize herbs could be such powerful dht blockers to inhibit my facial hair, that was my mistake. Or I am just not ment to have a beard as dht doesn't go near my face? I really don't know anymore its all speculation on my part.

It just blows to be loosing hair all over my head yet haveing the same sparse beard anatomy as I did for the last couple years. *ponders*

[Robert C]

This is a long shot, but a lack of copper can cause a lighter than normal pigment in hair and skin. Most of us probably get too much copper but if the color of your beard is lighter than you think it should be you might think about this.

[ellekereljer]

Thanks for the suggestion. I wish copper was the culprit. Alas, I get more than the daily value from brewers yeast and a multi. I have looked into folligen, a copper peptide spray, which would get to the root of the problem . Maybe thats exactly how topical copper peptides work, to make more vellus hairs terminal. Worth a go I suppose. I know rogaine can grow one's beard but I really don't want to resort to poisions for hair follicles. Who wants rogaine face? (puffy eyes, dark circles, big pores).

Theres also internal supplementation of sod but I don't know anything other than its a powerful antioxidant related to copper? No idea what it can do for hair loss/ beard growth. Intriguing though.

I know balding is inevitable for me, I just wish a beard would grow more decently to compensate. Receding hairline + dense beard = really not that bad of a look.

[Robert C]

I hear you! I'm 52 and have a decent amount of hair but the hairline is moving back. My hair is turning salt and pepper with more salt than pepper. When my hair grows out to normal guy's length it flies all over the place like Einstein. So what I do is just cut it once a week with an electric hair razor with a number one (1/8th of an inch) guard in place. These cheap razors are available at most pharmacies. It's really easy, same lengh all over and no trips to barber shop! It totally solves the sucky hair problem by getting rid of most of it! There is enough left for some sun and cold insulation but not enough to really notice what is going on with the hair. A totally shaved head is way more work. One must use a razor and shaving cream frequently. I think having a small amount of hair is more pratical and the male pattern baldness does not really stand out.

[ellekereljer]

Oh I agree number one attachments provide a good look. Somehow hide/reveal hairloss at the same time, in a good way. I cut my hair to a number two and that was a no go for me. Truly showcasing my diffuse hair loss. Luckily I am still young enough and have enough hair that when my hair reaches end of a 3/4ish atachement territory it doesn't look as though I am balding. By shaving it short as I usually do I got an early warning that I am loosing my hair. Some guys keep their hair pretty long then cut it not realizing how much hair they have actually lost.

All of the herbs I am trying to avoid applying to my face have found a new home atop my head. I found a really nice tea tree, lavender, nettle, rosemary shampoo and conditioner I hope will suit me. I have started back up an oil application on my head of half olive/castor oil. Now I have added some organic tea tree oil! I leave it in overnight and sleep with a shower-cap. All is well. I am not expecting magic in the slightest. Perhaps a slowdown of shedding maybe? Either way its soothing.

Edited by ellekereljer, 08 July 2011 - 12:01 AM.

[JLL]

Taking capsaicin capsules could work -- it's been shown to increase hair growth on the scalp, but since it appears to work through IGF-1 instead of androgens, it could increase facial hair as well. Not sure how soy isoflavones fit into the body hair equation, since isoflavones also increase IGF-1 but might act as an antiandrogen too (see the comment section of that post for potential problems with topical capsaicin). I saw one paper saying topical soy reduces body hair growth. What about applying topical tretinoin on your chin?

I've noticed an increase in the thickness of my chest hairs recently, and although I can't pinpoint the reason for that, another thing I've added to my regimen recently is biotin. I tried to search the literature for a connection between body hair and biotin but couldn't find any.

When I was doing my experiment with topical vitamin C, I noticed new beard hairs growing on the side I applied the serum on. I still have beard hairs growing on only one side under my chin, looks kinda funny.

[ellekereljer]

Cayenne Pepper is amazing. I take it specifically for the heart. It has the added benefit, in my personal experience, of increased digestive capabilities, mood boost, catalyst herb, and it may work for hair loss.

Tretenion is my favorite topical. I got off it because i was broke.. but I also questioned whether or not it was the cause of slow beard growth. Switched to finacea and that was a disaster for facial hair but pretty damn good for the rest of my face.

I am back on retinoids for good, this time with tazorac 0.01% cream. Works better than retin-a in my personal experience. Also I wake up a tad more "glowy" instead of red on retin-a gel.

I use c-ester on my face as well. Good stuff but have put it aside for now to use copper peptides! Yes, I have decided to try them out and see how it goes. Copper peptides are my last ditch effort, otherwise its the passage of time for me. I can post my experience if anyone cares, I started yesterday.

Biotin is a good supplement, I believe. Especially if you take ala, seems to exhaust your natural supplies.

All these things certainly help my beard growth, but only faintly. Retin-a and rogaine applied to the face is supposed to have amazing results but I still label it a poision.

I am just hoping that now I know about all the dht blockers I was smearing on my face, things will pick up.

Edited by ellekereljer, 09 July 2011 - 06:17 AM.

[spacetime]

Rogaine was purported to irreversibly degrade or damage collagen though this may have only been in vitro. Latisse is another consideration as there are reports of it stimulating facial hair growth.



But I'm wondering what role estrogen can play in hair loss. If I recall correctly, it can contribute significantly to prostrate hyperplasia via SHBG binding to the AR. And since estrogen increases SHBG the problem is further exacerbated. I wonder if the same process can occur elsewhere and excessive estrogen can elicit the same affect as DHT.

[ellekereljer]

Thing is, since backing off of soy my hair has been diffusing at a much higher rate. When I was chugging soy milk excessively I had mantained a pretty damn thick head of hair. This could all just be related to aging really but seems more than a coincidence to me..When I found out soy could do powerful things to the body I avoided anything estrogenic like the plauge. Flax? Yeah I dropped it. I picked up fish oil worked much better on my mood but my hair has declined because of it.

Any other guys taking soy and flax oil want to comment? In excess, all that estrogen is really something you can feel as a man. I found out the hard way. Super emotional. If taking a tablespoon of flax oil a day keeps hair in decent shape.. a moderate amount seems like a fair trade off.

Edited by ellekereljer, 11 July 2011 - 01:17 AM.

[BarrelBoy]

There are a lot of anecdotal reports that state that beard growth increased after abstaining from ejaculation for extended periods.

I noticed a thickening and quickening of my beard growth around the 1 month mark.

[Adamzski]

Im looking for the opposite and might try lavender + green tea. I am an extremely horney type of mofo with barely a hair on my head in the horseshoe pattern a NW5 and I have extreme facial hair, it can not ever be totally clean shaven plus grows to a very decent beard within a few days.

 

 

My facial hair ~1hr after shaving and then ~24hrs on

 

I do not shave against the grain as I end up with shaving rash 100% of the time on all parts of my neck from the very edge of my jaw bone down and I could have gone accross the grain to get a bit more of a closer shave in that pic but I really can not get a close shave even going against the grain all over my face.

 

Im very interested in retarding facial hair growth.

 

[Soma]

Cayenne Pepper is amazing. I take it specifically for the heart. It has the added benefit, in my personal experience, of increased digestive capabilities, mood boost, catalyst herb, and it may work for hair loss.

Yes, cayenne would be quite amazing...if it wasn't for its mutagenic effects.


Mechanism of oxidative DNA damage induced by capsaicin, a principal ingredient of hot chili pepper:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/17015277

Oxidative DNA damage by capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in the presence of Cu(II):
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/11431102