In this post, I cover two potential hair thickening ingredients in Stemoxydine and Resveratrol. A number of readers have mentioned both of these over the years. We now also have a product that includes both ingredients (see bottom of post), although no miracle results are expected.
When writing my 2017 post on the Kenogen phase of the hair growth cycle, one ingredient that I read about was Stemoxydine. According to a study from 2014, Stemoxydine acts as a kenogen phase shortener, leading to an increase in scalp hair density. Note that men with androgenetic alopecia have longer kenogen stages.
Stemoxydine
Stemoxydine is a topical hair loss product (not FDA approved) that was patented in 2012 by the cosmetics behemoth L’Oreal. It is classified as a prolyl-4-hydroxylase (P4H) inhibitor and its chemical structure consists of Diethyl pyridine-2,4-dicarboxylate. According to L’Oreal researchers, P4H inhibition leads to the creation of hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions.
This hypoxia environment is favorable for thicker denser hair growth due to a shorter kenogen phase. Stem cells product hair more effectively under the low oxygen conditions. Besides the earlier mentioned 2014 study from L’Oreal, there is no new evidence on the efficacy of Stemoxydine towards hair growth. L’Oreal uses Stemoxydine 5% in a few of its hair products.
Stemoxydine likely has fewer side effects than Minoxidil based on anecdotal reports and customer reviews.
Resveratrol and Hair Growth
Before NAD and NMN supplements along with TA-65 became popular for their potential anti-aging effects, there was Reservatrol (RSV). The latter “red wine molecule” was originally discovered in Japan in the 1930s, but became famous in 2004 courtesy of Dr. David Sinclair. Over the years, a number of people wondered whether Resveratrol would benefit hair, even just by making it thicker.
In 2021, a study from China concluded that Resveratrol prolongs the anagen growth phase of the hair follicle cycle. It delays progression to the catagen transitional phase when hair stops growing. Moreover, the researchers found hair growth promoting effects of RSV in mice, human hair follicles and dermal papilla cells. They concluded that RSV is expected to become a potential drug for the prevention and treatment of hair loss.
In a recent video, Dr. Arvind Poswal performed a microneedling and Resveratrol combination treatment on a patient’s scalp. Also see his video on resveratrol and hair growth.
Serioxyl Denser Hair Treatment
When I originally wrote my best hair loss shampoos post, one product that got mentioned in various reviews was L’Oréal’s Serioxyl denser hair scalp solution. I did not think too much of it at the time.
However, more recently, L’Oreal came out with a new formula version of Serioxyl that contains both Stemoxydine 5% and Resveratrol. It currently has an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
The company also published a study on this product in April 2020. They claim that the synergistic effect of using both Resveratrol and Stemoxydine (pyridine-2, 4-dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester) leads to denser hair.
In an interesting 2020 video, hair loss celebrity “MattDominance” discussed making a combination hair loss product. It contains topical finasteride plus topical Stemoxydine (via Serioxyl). Also check out Australia based “The Hair Loss Show” channel’s 2021 coverage of this product.