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Does DHT Blocking Shampoo Work?

Do you need a DHT-blocking shampoo to stop receding hairline and thinning hair? You might be surprised at the number of DHT-blocking shampoos available in your local drugstore. These products can cost between $18 and $30 per bottle. What should you look at on the ingredients label if this is true?

What’s DHT?

DHT is Dihydrotestosterone and is produced in both men (and women) by the male sex hormone testosterone. DHT will bind to specific receptors on your scalp’s hair follicles if you are predisposed to hair loss. DHT stimulates an enzyme that shrinks the follicle.

Follicle shrinkage can lead to hair becoming thinner and finer than a baby’s and then disappearing altogether. Sharleen St. surin-Lord MD, dermatologist, tells WebMD Connect to Care.

What is DHT-blocking shampoo?

If your hair loss is due to DHT, and your shampoo contains effective blockers, a DHT-blocking shampoo can reduce hair loss.

Researchers haven’t identified any one ingredient in DHT-blocking shampoos that can prevent hair loss. A DHT-blocking shampoo label that includes one or more of these ingredients will boost your confidence.

Ketoconazole is an antifungal agent normally found in shampoos for dandruff and psoriasis but can also disrupt DHT attachments to hair follicles.

  • Saw Palmetto, an herbal ingredient that has DHT-blocking properties.
  • Biotin vitamins, including vitamins H, B7, and B8, or lavender oil to promote hair grow
  • Rosemary oil to increase circulation in your scalp
  • To stop testosterone from producing DHT, use pumpkin seed oil
  • Tea tree oil can be used to combat fungi that may irritate the scalp

DHT Blocking Shampoos: The Essentials

DHT-blocking shampoos sound exactly like they do. They are shampoos formulated with ingredients that inhibit the effects of DHT.

Treatments for male pattern hair loss work by blocking DHT at the scalp or systemically.

For example, the hair loss medication finasteride inhibits five alpha-reductase, which decreases the body’s ability to convert testosterone to DHT.

DHT-blocking shampoos have the same effect but at the scalp level. DHT-blocking shampoos do not block DHT in your entire body. Instead, they lower DHT activity at the hair follicles level.

Over the past few decades, the hair loss prevention shampoo market has been booming. New shampoos are popping up all the time with a variety of natural and pharmaceutical ingredients. These shampoos are meant to block DHT from the scalp and prevent hair fall.

These shampoos contain exotic oils, plant extracts, and other natural ingredients that can stop hair loss.

DHT-blocking shampoos may have some value, but anti-hair loss shampoo companies should be careful about making claims.

The Best Shampoo Ingredients to Block DHT

Ketoconazole

Ketoconazole can be used as an antifungal agent. It is used to treat tinea infections such as jock itch, athlete’s feet, and ringworm.

It is often used as a shampoo ingredient to control flaking, scaling, and itching caused by dandruff.

Ketoconazole can be found as an active ingredient in many DHT-blocking shampoos. However, it is not used in all formulas.

Although best known for its antifungal properties, DHT is also associated with disruption of the process through which DHT is synthesized on the scalp and in hair follicles.

A lot of research found that ketoconazole shampoo can increase hair density and size in the anagen phase (growth) of the hair-growing cycle.

Despite this, research on the effects of ketoconazole on scalp DHT levels has been very limited and there are no large-scale studies.

Saw Palmetto

Saw Palmetto, which is a naturally occurring ingredient, is extracted from the Serena Reopen plant. This small palm grows in the southeastern United States.

Saw Palmetto is an active ingredient in many hair-loss shampoos. You can also purchase it as a dietary supplement in capsules. It is a clinically tested DHT blocker. Therefore, Many hair clinics use Palmetto in their hair loss treatment.

While there is not much data available on saw palmetto’s effectiveness as a hair-loss treatment, researchers believe that it may be effective in preventing the conversion of testosterone into DHT.

Some studies have shown that saw Palmetto can promote hair growth. One study compared the effects of a saw-petal supplement to the hair loss medication finasteride in a paper. An additional study that was published in the journal Urology showed that DHT levels were 32 percent lower in men with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Important to remember that the study only measured DHT levels within the prostate tissue of the men and not the hair follicles.

However, considering few scientific study reviews, hair transplant clinics in India use Palmetto ketoconazole as the DHT blocker. They use DHT blocker shampoo in their hair fall treatment. Saw Palmetto is specially used in Male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness is very common among mid-age males and females. Loss of hair from particular both sides of the head which looks very odd. In this case, Palmetto contained DHT blocker shampoo works well.

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Akshay Sharma

Hi! I’m Akshay Sharma. I’m a blogger at Imagination Waffle. I love to read and write about Fitness, Health & Lifestyle topics. You can contact me at Twitter or Instagram.

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