Rogaine for women is the most recommended treatment for hair loss on the market for women today, and the only FDA approved and clinically proven treatment available for female hair loss sufferers.

Note: Despite what the insert says, Rogaine works just as well for frontal hair loss, recession, and thinning hair.

This product includes the original 2% minoxidil solution manufactured over 15 years ago. While it only reports a 46% success rate as opposed to the 5% liquid solution's 64% and the foam's impressive 85%, Rogaine for women reduces the possibility of unwanted side effects, including the unpopular unwanted facial and body hair growth.

How It Works:

Rogaine works by stimulating the hair follicles and revitalizing them. This sometimes stimulates the regrowth of miniaturizing hairs, promoting a thicker and fuller appearance of hair.

Developing Realistic Expectations:

Rogaine for women is a good starting point for women with thinning hair. While it's not as effective as the 5% liquid solution or Rogaine foam, the possibility of side effects are reduced. Thus, women may want to start small and work their way up to the more advanced Rogaine solutions.

Don't expect immediate results. Just as hair loss is a slow process, regrowing it is too. Thus, it's recommended to use Rogaine for approximately 6 to 12 months before determining its effectiveness. Documenting your progress with bi-monthly photos can help you better evaluate the results.

Hair shedding is a common symptom the first few months and a sign that the medication may be working for you. It's crucial to push past this stage with continued use for the recommended period of time.

To date, only surgical hair restoration is proven to grow hair in completely bald areas. You are invited to have a free virtual consultationwith one of our prescreened hair restoration physicians.

Revolutionary Hair Growth Formula?

Anyone suffering the effects of an incurable and debilitating medical condition yearns for the promise of new and revolutionary treatment options and hair loss sufferers are no exception. Though often dismissed as insignificant by those who are unaffected by it, baldness and thinning hair can devastate the lives of millions of men and women susceptible to the effects of androgenic alopecia. The desperation to restore the flowing locks of youth make this demographic particularly susceptible to slick marketing campaigns promising to halt balding and regrow hair. One such product marketed in this fashion is Europe’s TRX2 Molecular Hair Loss Treatment. But, will hair loss sufferers find follicles behind the flash?

TRX2 Ingredients

TRX2 Molecular Hair Loss Treatment is not a drug or medication. It is an herbal, dietary supplement taken orally. A glance at its ingredients list reveals nothing new or revolutionary. Each component is readily available at your local nutritional supplement shop, though you may not find the same concentrations of each in a single product.  It's ingredients are listed below:

Ingredients: L-carnitine tartrate (800 mg), potassium chloride (191 mg), L-leucine (150 mg), isoleucine (75 mg), valine (75 mg), nicotinic acid (40 mg), and biotin (150 µg).

TRX2 Scientific Studies?

With these ingredients so readily available, one might wonder if the significant cost savings of purchasing them individually and mixing your own TRX2 at home is just as effective for hair growth. The official website’s FAQ addresses this notion with the following response.

“The benefit of taking TRX2™ Molecular Hair Growth Supplement singularly, as opposed to buying each ingredient separately, is based on several facts:

The precise amount and ratio of ingredients in our supplement are carefully chosen and engineered based on credible scientific studies. The ingredients in our capsule were specifically formulated to work in concert with one another and are manufactured in accordance with strict European quality controls. For the consumer, the convenience of taking all compounds at the optimum ratio in one capsule and delivered via our proprietary potassium channel stimulating complex is crucially important.”

Perhaps this is true. However, at a hefty €54.95 (about $72) for a one month supply, those seeking to save some money may want to give the home brew option a shot first.

Additionally, referencing scientific studies is an effective way to add legitimacy to a product but one must always consider the source. While the TRX2 website provides detailed data gathered from a “randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study”, it is unclear who conducted the study and there is no mention of publication in a peer reviewed journal.  Peer review is the industry standard for evaluation of clinical trial results and its absence is cause for concern.

Does TRX2 Work?

TRX2 claims to stop hair loss and regrow hair through the “rejuvenation of potassium ion channels within hair follicles”. This theory is based on research suggesting that the opening of potassium channels is an important regulatory mechanism for hair growth.

A bold statement at the top of the TRX2 website states that it has been shown to regrow hair in nearly 9 out of 10 men and women. But, does TRX2 really do what it claims? The bottom of the company’s website provides a very important disclaimer.

“These statements have not been evaluated by the medicines regulatory agencies. This product is not a drug or medicine, and is therefore not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This patent-pending food supplement contains nutrients that help promote and sustain healthy hair growth. Results may vary and are subject to your individual metabolism. Regarding risks and side-effects please see the package insert and ask your physician or healthcare specialist.”

Careful wording in the above statement may give consumers the wrong idea. Helping to “promote and sustain healthy hair growth” is not the same as stopping hair loss or regrowing hair lost due to the effects of androgenic alopecia. A quality shampoo and condition can make hair more manageable and appear fuller.

TRX2 Side Effects

While TRX2 contains "drug-free" ingredients that are all natural or synthesized as normal metabolites in the human body, there is a potential for certain side effects.

Some consumers of TRX2 have reported transitory gastrointestinal effects including an upset stomach.  Thus, it is recommended to take TRX2 after eating.  Additional side effects include the possibility of allergic reactions such as skin flushes.  If any of these conditions occur, it is recommended to consult a physician.

 It is also recommended that any potential customers suffering from digestive system disorders, diabetes or those who are glucose-intolerant consult with their physician before taking TRX2.

Moreover, pregnant women and nursing mothers should avoid taking TRX2 due to its lack of long term safety data.

Conclusion

The role of potassium channels in hair growth is still being investigated and it’s unclear if TRX2 truly has the potential to significantly affect these channels. However, there is a clinically proven and FDA approved medical hair loss treatment that is known to do so. Rogaine (minoxidil) has been used successfully by balding men and women for more than 20 years. The exact mechanisms by which minoxidil affects hair growth are not fully understood but it is a known vasodilator and has also been shown to enhance the flow of potassium ions. Given that minoxidil is relatively inexpensive, clinically proven and comes with very little risk of side effects, it may be a better option for hair loss suffering men and women.

Additionally, balding men should seriously consider adding Propecia (finasteride) to their hair growth regimen. Propecia stops hair loss  at its core by inhibiting the production of DHT (the hormone responsible for genetic baldness) and is arguably the most effective treatment for male pattern balding currently available.

When it comes to “new and revolutionary” hair loss treatments, proceed with caution. There is nothing wrong with trying a new treatment provided it is safe and purchased from a reliable source. However, forgoing tried and true medical treatment s in favor of experimental products may result in further loss of precious and irreplaceable hair.

To share your thoughts and experience with TRX2 on our hair loss forum, join the discussion “TRX2: Any Feedback?”.

Causes and Treatments

Alopecia is the medical name for hair loss to the scalp or body.  While Androgenetic Alopecia (genetic hair loss) is the most common, there are many other forms of alopecia related hair loss worth discussing.  Each medically named alopecia comes with distinct symptoms, a unique cause and exclusive treatments. Below, we've compiled a list of and description for the most common types of alopecia related hair loss along with the available treatment options for each.

While the information on this website can be used as a guide, men and women who believe they are experiencing hair loss should always be properly diagnosed by a qualified hair restoration physician to determine its cause. To learn more about each distinctive alopecia hair loss condition, click the links below.

Traction Alopecia
Alopecia Areata
Diffuse Patterned Alopecia
Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA)

Cicatricial alopecia (Scarring Alopecia)

Alopecia Universalis and Alopecia Totalis

As the field of medical hair restoration continues advancing and evolving, hair loss sufferers look toward new, cutting edge clinics and corporations for faster, more effective, and less invasive hair loss treatments. In various but not all cases, the breakthroughs achieved through oral medications and topical solutions (seen in proven hair loss treatments like Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) are fantastic.  Thus, hair restoration entities continue striving to create the next advancement and bring the world closer to a “hair loss cure.” However, for each hair restoration treatment that’s proven safe, effective, and efficient, it seems as if a dozen others are rejected for being unproven, inefficient, or unsafe.

For this reason, it’s always advantageous to thoroughly research the newest hair loss solutions and determine whether they are safe and effective, or if they fail to live up to the high expectations set by the current gold standard treatments such as proven solutions Propecia and Rogaine.   Below, we evaluate whether Spectral.DNC, a topical solution created by Divine Skin Laboratories (DS Laboratories) can help stop hair loss and regrow hair.

Spectral.DNC is a topical treatment formulated by DS Laboratories which claims its “the world’s most effective topical hair loss treatment.” But can Spectral.DNC live up to these lofty claims and offer a more effective solution, or will it suffer the fate of many therapies before it and fail to gain the approval of the hair restoration patient community?

According to DS Laboratories, Spectral.DNC is applied (as an atomized mist or liquid) to the balding scalp twice daily, once in the morning and once at night. Along with a series of vitamins and herbal supplements (herbal extracts, copper peptides, and a vitamin complex), the active ingredients in Spectral. DNC are 5% minoxidil, Aminexil (SP94), and Retinol. Since minoxidil is also the proven, active ingredient in topical Rogaine, Divine Skin utilizes a frequently asked questions feature on its website to explain how Spectral.DNC is different and more effective than minoxidil. According to Divine Skin, it’s the two other active ingredients – Aminexil and Retinol that make Spectral.DNC more effective than Rogaine.

Aminexil (or Aminexil SP94) is a compound currently featured as an active ingredient in a line of healthy hair shampoos by L’Oreal. Aminexil is allegedly helpful in the treatment of perifollicular fibrosis – a pre-mature aging of hair shafts caused by inflammation and an overproduction of collagen proteins. It’s worth noting that while some reputable sources have researched its connection to perifollicular fibrosis, it hasn’t been conclusively linked to hair loss (especially androgenic alopecia hair loss), nor is Aminexil proven to treat perifollicular fibrosis. Furthermore, Aminexil is not recognized or approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for any type of hair loss.

DS Laboratories indirectly counters these statements by sharing the results of a “worldwide” study which demonstrated an 8% increase in hair growth and a 6% increase in hair shaft diameter in hair loss sufferers using Aminexil (compared to a placebo group). This study however, is not without its limitations.  This study was conducted in 1994, only contained 130 participants, lasted for 42 days, and doesn’t appear to be published in any sort of peer reviewed publication. Because of this, it’s difficult to evaluate whether or not the addition of Aminexil as an improvement over simple 5% minoxidil. But what about the Retinol?

Retinol (and its derivatives) is a form of Vitamin A, often used in medical dermatology for maintaining healthy skin and treating specific types of acne. Allegedly, certain forms of Retinol act as hair restoration drugs (after periods of long term usage) by preventing hair loss hormones from binding to target receptors and killing healthy hair follicles. While evidence of these claims was difficult to find, many Retinol users claim that the drug is harsh on skin and utilizing it in the scalp would cause irritation and require small, likely ineffective dosages. Much like Aminexil, there’s no solid evidence to suggest that Retinol makes Spectral.DNC a more effective hair loss solution than Rogaine or other minoxidil related products. Interestingly enough, while copper peptidesare listed as in inactive ingredient, research supports that copper peptides may play a role in transforming thin vellus hairs into thicker terminal hairs, increasing follicular size, and regenerating healthy scalp skin.  However, because copper peptides aren’t listed as an official “active ingredient” by DS Laboratories nor do we know its concentration, it’s difficult to gauge its efficacy within Spectral.DNC.

The only proven and FDA approved ingredient in Spectral.DNC is 5% minoxidil. While minoxidil is safe and efficient, it’s unclear what the additional ingredients in Spectral.DNC may actually accomplish. Furthermore, the cost of Spectral.DNC runs between $35.00 and $45.00 for a month supply, compared to around $ 25.00 for a three month supply of generic 5% minoxidil.  According to DS Laboratories, the only known side effects revolve around minoxidil (which are no different than those associated with Rogaine).  Although minoxidil is relatively safe and effective, it’s been used as a hair loss treatment for decades.

Those hair loss sufferers considering using Spectral.DNC as a treatment for thinning hair can feel confident knowing that they will, at the very least, obtain similar results to using minoxidil 5%.  Until the other active ingredients are peer reviewed, whether or not Spectral.DNC is more effective than Rogaine 5% is mostly conjecture.

There are a variety of hair loss remedy "concealer" products that are applied to the scalp and/or hair in the thinning areas to mask a person's baldness and increase the look of fullness of thinning hairs. These products such as Toppik, Couvré, and Prothik can work surprisingly well at creating the illusion of fuller hair.

Some of our member physicians advise their hair restoration patients to use such hair loss remedy products to enhance the look of fullness in their transplanted areas. These products can also be used post operatively to hide the immediate surgery.

Toppik - Toppik is an effective, safe, and easy-to-use product that completely covers up the scalp's thinning areas.

Couvre - COUVRe is safe for men and women, easy to use, and is totally undetectable to the world's toughest critics.

Caboki - Caboki is comprised of a series of charged microfibers that, when applied to the scalp, tightly bind hair shafts and create a denser, fuller appearance.

DermMatch - DermMatch is a safe and easy way to cover-up thinning areas and instantly provides the appearance of a natural looking head of hair.

Nanogen - Nanogen is one of the fastest, easiest ways to conceal thinning hair and hair loss.

Prothik - Prothik does an exceptional job of adding thickness and fullness to thinning hair while reducing the contrast between thinning hair and the scalp.