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My hair has been receding over the years and thinning. I've been looking into nutrition and supplements for something that might work. So far Silica (cheap in diatomaceous earth), biotin (viatmin H), saw palmetto, MSM, and Emu Oil have some promise. Does anybody have experience with this or have regrown their hair back? I'd also be curious on what foods have these nutrients.

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7 Answers

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www.dannyroddy.com

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 it depends how you define paleo – cliff Dec 7 2011 at 21:56
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 Nice infomercial. – Travis Culp♦ Dec 7 2011 at 23:10
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 I wouldn't exactly call it an infomercial considering danny gives guidelines of what to do without buying his book. I think the book just goes a little deeper into the whole thing and provides more sources. – cliff Dec 8 2011 at 0:25
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 My whole regimen in two of my infomercials: dannyroddy.com/main/2011/12/8/… dannyroddy.com/main/2011/10/6/… Watch the videos, keep your money. – dannyroddy Dec 9 2011 at 6:48
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 Danny is a little easier to understand than Ray especially for newbies. I think he puts emphasis on hair loss because that was his major health problem. – cliff Dec 9 2011 at 13:27
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The hereditary component of pattern baldness is decisive. High testosterone levels = another huge factor.

One respectable solution: shaved head. When a head is hairless, widow's peaks disappear.

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Totally agree. I shaved a whole lot of stress out of my life by taking the blades to my head when I started losing my hair at around 18. Never looked back. Never take any shampoo to the shower. :) – Harry Dec 7 2011 at 17:30
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 Many women think bald is sexy. (Balding though, not so sexy). Geek alert -Captain Picard is So so hot! – Senneth Dec 7 2011 at 18:38
And I forgot to mention, re the nutritional/supplement side: don't hold your breath. Rogaine is often cites as "stop receding hairline" treatment. Common side effects: acne, lower blood pressure, blurred vision, chest pains and sometimes even uneven heart beats. I'd even choose a really bad toupee over that lineup. I'm with you, Harry. I go for the Bruce Willis look myself. – Dorado Galore Dec 7 2011 at 18:41
I keep my hair buzzed as it is. I don't hate the widows peak. It makes me look more evil. Although it would be nice to let it grow out without an issue. It used to grow like a weed. – primallykosher Dec 7 2011 at 23:40
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This won't address male pattern baldness, but a couple clues on the nutritional/hair care side.

I am a postmenopausal woman and my hair is definitely getting thicker on this lifestyle. My nails are also much harder. I'm convinced it's because I'm eating ample protein and fat.

Yesterday, I was putting a hat on and as I moved it up and down near my hairline I saw a clear "row" of growing hair that wasn't there before. Last year, my hairline had no growing hair at all. I've also noticed the new hair is less silver and showing some of the original darkness.

I still have hair on the brush every morning, but it's obvious I'm keeping more of the strands longer based on the thickness.

Another point: Don't shampoo your hair too often; just rinse it as long as it isn't oily so you don't damage what you have.

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 Supposedly copper deficiency causes grey hair. You may have corrected it with organ meats or simply a reduced phytate intake. – Travis Culp♦ Dec 7 2011 at 23:08
Does phytate bind copper? Didn't know that. – Korion Apr 2 2012 at 17:58
I've always had these wonky-ass little "baby hairs" on my hairline, and lately they've gone nuts. My hair got WAY thicker when I dropped vegetarianism, and my nails are pretty knarly. I didn't even think about how those little hairs could be new hairs- interesting. – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 0:12
Exactly. I currently have some jet black baby hairs at one corner of my front hairline and I haven't seen true black hairs in decades. I think the difference I'm seeing is that individual hairs had either been silver, gray or faded brown for ten years or so and I still have a majority of silver and gray but I now have "original" color in newer hairs. – Nance Apr 15 2012 at 15:21
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I also have done nothing but change to a paleo diet, and the bald spot is starting to regrow!

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Now that's what I like to hear! – Nance Dec 7 2011 at 20:30
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I've recently seen reversal of male pattern baldness on one side of my widow's peak. Skin that had been completely hairless for years now has thick colored hairs, and the hairline is lower. However this has happened only on one side, in a small area.

I experiment constantly with supplements and food, so it's difficult to know why this occurred, but I think the cause was one or more of the following:

  1. I started taking large doses of n-acetyl cysteine (NAC) shortly before the regrowth occurred. (I was also taking glutathione but that wasn't new.)

  2. Eight months ago I suddenly lost a great deal of hair. It fell out in clumps. I think this was telogen effluvium caused by switching from a clinical ketogenic diet to a non-ketogenic diet. Within a few months, all the hair that was lost to telogen effluvium grew back. Maybe some "extra" grew back.

  3. I had used minoxidil for years, but had stopped using it about a year ago. When the telogen effluvium occurred I began using it again for a while.

  4. I took antibiotics (doxycycline, azithromycin, ampicillin) for a couple of months.

Of these four possible causes, I think NAC is the most likely.

I wonder if the regrowth was due to remedying a sulfur deficiency.

In order to try to promote more regrowth, I'm now eating large amounts of sulfur-containing vegetables and eggs and continuing to take NAC and glutathione as supplements.

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How large is a "large dose" of NAC to you? – James Dec 9 2011 at 8:55
I took 1200 mg NAC per day for eight days, then increased to 2400 mg per day. – Rob from ketocure.com Dec 9 2011 at 11:00
Ok, I've done in the range of 1200-1800 NAC/day for 14 days and haven't notice that. So at least for me it didn't do anything. Some theories I have seen are that the hair growth was due to anti-inflammatory actions. So are you having any problems like that? – James Dec 9 2011 at 15:54
14 days? I took NAC at that dosage for four months before I noticed the change in my hairline. I'm not sure what kinds of problems you are asking about. I had no symptoms of inflammation on my scalp (redness, heat, swelling, pain), if that's what you mean. – Rob from ketocure.com Dec 9 2011 at 16:20
Maybe NAC is similar to MSM, which is related to sulfure too. Maybe if you take both it will fill in the missing side of the peak. – primallykosher Dec 10 2011 at 5:10
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the herb horsetail also contains silica (silicon).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum_arvense

i have not tried it myself but i have seen it mentioned by others here on paleohacks before.

so other PH'ers may be able to comment on what it's used for, & did it have any effect (good or bad), & dosage etc?

update: i have just read that Horsetail contains nicotine, only trace amounts (less than 1 ppm). but it may be a concern. so if you are thinking of trying Horsetail, best to look in to this first.

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Eggplant contains nicotine as well. I don't think it will be enough to addict you. Unless your addicted to cigarettes. – primallykosher Dec 9 2011 at 4:04
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Uhm, testosterone is good for hair.... Try exersizing daily (short sprints and walking) lifting light weights several times, eat more protein! avoid veggies and try to only buy organic fruit, hope this helps!

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Why should I avoid veggies? They taste pretty good to me too. – primallykosher Apr 14 2012 at 23:47
I though testosterone was the major factor for baldness? I've always heard jokes about "rubbing out" your hair line if you're rubbing something else out... – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 0:13

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