Hi, I am just starting a regimen of saw palmetto and plant steroles - I'm not native English but Polish and there is huge a forum in my country dedicated to female AGA in which many people had a lot of success in stopping hairloss plus re-growing their hair using a combo of saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol. However, in order for it to be effective some rules had to be followed - saw palmetto had to be pure extract around 320 mg daily in one tablet or divided, taken with an oil - for example flaxseed oil (said to be great for hair too). The sitosterol had to be taken separately, at least an hour after the saw palmetto. Taking a strong multivitamin at least a few hours later was also recommended. Large dosages of B-vitamins and vitamin D in addition were also recommended. People with most success used the spacing system when taking these supps and thats when it worked best because then one suplement canot interfere with another as can happen when they are taken in one gulp. DHT blockers like saw palmetto had to be taken with an oil and vitamins also had to be taken with an oil for better absorption. Flaxseed and other oils said to be good for airgrowth (google) were recommended as the combination factors. Time spacing between differen supps reccommended - I repeat this, but realize many ppl here know this - just in case, tho. In women with AGA, estrogen levels can also be low, so if you test this way, taking a natural estro promoter like Red Clover extract is also recommended.
ALSO - and this was an English language source, so I will link it in my next post as soon as i find it again (but im pretty sure it was somewhere on pubmed) -it is said that saw palmetto is not only good in regulating estrogen-androgen balance, but also helps with thyroid. I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, so I researched this before deciding on using saw palmetto and it is said it can be used to help thyroid health as well. I also often read that saw palmetto has been used for a long time in general balancing of hormones - not promoting just male prostate health as it is made mostly famous for now, but generally balancing hormones,not favoring any one of them. Links to sources following, just wanted to share this fast, as it is from large amount of research on the net and personal consultations.
This is great. Thank you so much for your thorough post! I still have much to research in terms of its side effects, future pregnancy effects, and what can happen if you stop going on it after a long period of time. There have been numerous reports on side effects kicking in with supplemental hormone products POST-usage, meaning after it has been stopped. Fenasteride (Propecia) is one of them. You don't hear about many people having bad effects while they are using them. Also, what exactly is the mechanism induced by using beta-sitosterol in conjuction with Saw Palmetto?
I also need to research it's effects on the skin and collagen. I've learned the hard way not to use yourself as a guinea pig and to only follow through one thorough research is done and if the benefits heavily outweigh the risks. It's interesting what you say about Saw Palmetto's effect on the thyroid though (I have hypothyroidism). I'm definitely doing some thorough research. Thanks again!
Hey, you're very welcome, I'm in the learning process of this myself - as far as I read (darn, the article's in Polish, but I will at least provide an outline of what they say) the effect of beta-sitosterol in conjunction with Saw Palmetto is that it enhances its action and is a source of nutrients that are delivered to the hair follicle from within. As with every other hairloss treatment, though, it does not work on everyone, but I think its better than the chemical stuff.
I'm wondering myself about the effect of minoxidil on collagen since my face changed a lot for worse lately and I've been using minoxidil frequently, but then again, I noticed the facial changes before using it and there are many other lifestyle factors involved like lack of sleep, increased stress, etc.
Oils are really important, however for hair and face both - I learned it the hard way when I went almost vegetarian but introduced little to no other fats to my body. Flaxseed and fish oil are especially good, like I said to mix with vits and salad for both absorption and good skin/hair results. One has to have healthy liver to take these oils, however, since they are fats, after all, so introducing them on a sick liver would be bad, so its good to check liver before taking them just in case.
From what I notice around me, there is a real epidemic of hairloss in women right now and the conventionally prescribed meds don;t seem to work. I might have given up on spironolactone too fast since its effects were supposed ti start appearing after 6 weeks at most, but the increasing shed and fainting moments plus possible other side effects made me reluctant to continue it. Besides - is it not funny that spiro , a commonly anti andorgenic hairloss med has "balding" as one of its side effects in the leaflet? Really, the pharmaceutical industry makes me sick sometimes, literally and figuratively.
Anyway,
JBForrester, I hope we both find some gems that work on our journey to better hair and skin and we will continue to share info and experiences:)
LongeCity
