Follicum Phase 2 Trials Update

Sometimes, news items concerning major developments in the hair loss cure world suddenly bombard us like an incessant rainfall. This is certainly the case so far this month. Always a great feeling to get this type of drenching, but very time consuming. Earlier today, reader “Camaro” notified us that Sweden based Follicum’s latest investor presentation from the BioStock conference was already available on YouTube. See bottom of this post.

Although I just wrote a post earlier today, I decided to add this short one too since this Follicum CEO video presentation is worth a watch. I have covered this company and its FOL-005 hair loss product many times on this blog in the past. My February post that discussed Follicum is worth a reread. Currently, FOL-005 is in Phase IIA clinical trials (in early March they announced that the first patient in these trials was just treated).

Once you click on the link, the below video will start right after company CEO Jan Alenfall arrives on stage. Some very interesting slides in the presentation, including one with the implication that, at best, this product will work slightly better than topical Minoxidil. Such an upfront declaration makes me trust the company more. Note that oral Minoxidil works better than the topical.

The biggest news is that they are seeing a very high 75 percent successful response rate in initial results (Edit: Might have been referring to earlier trial results). They are testing out powder, cream and gel based topical formulations of FOL-005 in order to compound the best possible final topical product.

I am on Follicum’s mailing list and will add a link to the slides on here if they happen to send one.

135 thoughts on “Follicum Phase 2 Trials Update”

  1. @Admin thanks for posting News when they arrive. And yes its excititing how many News arrive every few days. But its not surprising if you see that at least 50 companies and universities work on hair loss. That means even if they update once in a year you get 1 News every week … I made a comment under the previous post but its ment for this one ….

    Follicum is such a great Company! They seem to take over the whole industry.
    The presentation is great! 60% increase in haircount after 3 months with 75 Response rate! Amazing! (Video at 1h54min)
    The results seem to be from trial with injections but now they trial 3 different topicals (Powder, Gel and Cream). In Autumn this year we will know and Autumn neyt year they will Show final Phase 2b results.

    1. Thanks, but this was 4 important developments in less than a week, and 2 of those developments involved Phase 2 Trials. Not exactly complaining though:-)

      1. Very interesting. 75% response rate is excellent! Now the 60% increase in hair count is what we need more info on. Does that mean if I 100 hairs cm2 I will have 160 after using this treatment? Are they terminal hairs or crap useless minox peach vellous? I wish they could show pics. Either way this is great news and better than brotzu. When is there estimated market release date 2021?

          1. Thanks, I figured that most of the data was from earlier trials (considering that they only just started treating patients for these new trials in early March), but I was not sure about the 75 percent number and too busy to rewatch the video.

  2. Admin, say that at best it does work slightly better than minoxidil – would this still be something to be excited about, because that seems a bit underwhelming?

    1. Yes since there are only two approved treatments to date, so a third one targeting a different mechanism is big.

      Also, for some people, Minoxidil works really well. One of the slides in the Follicum presentation had 60 percent hair growth from FOL-005 as John Doe mentioned, so it seems like some people may already be getting significantly superior results to Minoxidil. I could not tell if that 60 percent increase in hair count was for 1 patient or for all patients tested so far by Follicum.

      Anyway, we should all keep expectations reasonable as the company is implying in that slide comparing FOL-005 to Minoxidil.

      1. The 60% increase is on the mentioned patient. Btw he mentions that it is harder to stimulate hairgrowth on the tighs than it is to stimulate hairgrowth on the scalp, and therefore the ongoing study might give better results.

        After the presentation he also mentions hairlossblogs and hairlossforums as a source of information conserning the hairlossmarket as well as the negative stuff about hairlosstopicals. It seems he is very concerned about making a topical that is not greasy such as minoxidil.

        Btw i think this looks very promising!

        Great blog btw! :)

    1. If this give results of best case minoxidil growth then this will be a game changer. I’ve seen people go two to 3 norwoods growth from being great responders. Hopefully they will release pics of the first case study. 60% increase in hair growth sounds better than 15 to 23% from other treatments.

  3. FYI Puretech has once again updated their Follica pipeline web page: http://puretechhealth.com/our-pipeline/wound-induced-neogenesis-rain The language under Expected Milestones and Timing has changed to: “Our RAIN pivotal study is expected to commence following the completion of an ongoing optimization study.” Presumably, this means the start of the Pivitol Trial may have been moved back somewhat since it no longer says that the Pivitol Trial is expected to begin in the first half of 2018. It also appears there are other parallel pre-clinical trials that are ongoing under the graphic at the right: “Further phases of pre-clinical testing are also ongoing towards the prioritization and development of next-generation, proprietary compounds…….. ” Since a pre-clinical trial is basically a toxicity study in animals designed to determine safety for testing in humans, it sounds like that while Follica believes they have one compound (or more) that works (and they are testing for optimal dosage and application), they have new untested compounds that they think may work even better.

  4. If this were to work on the hairline, that alone would be a significant game changer and one that I, and many others, would be thrilled with.

    1. Next generation compounds sounds good to me. As long as it works I don’t mind waiting for great results. So it must mean that it’s not just minox. They said this rain would be an HT replacement and the good thing is it will be administered by dermatologist and HT doctors. So lobbying would be involved to block this treatment. Anyway I’m just presuming this is the case. We shall see….

  5. great news every week!
    10 months to organ/riken start human trials!
    PolarityTE
    Tissuse
    Poietis hair 3d print
    exciting times!
    we are so close

  6. You can get up to 500% extra hair thickness from hair fiber products such as Toppik, guaranteed, immediately after usage, cheaply, available right now, no side-effects.
    All this into consideration, credit to the scientists, but this Follicum product is not worth taking even if it turns out to work.

    1. I am very pleased with Avodart and moderately pleased with Minoxidil despite taking the latter far less often than required. I would definitely take topical FOL-005 if it works as well as Minoxidil. Why not go for a three pronged attack? Maybe what Follicum makes stronger will then be made even stronger and permanent by the other meds?

      Toppik and other hair fibers are not for everyone. I tried Toppik and liked it, but would never want to use it every day, especially when it is raining or snowing or when I want to go swimming.

    2. @Scott when you do not want to take new Drugs or treatments why are you here on this site? If you read the Reports of Follicum you will see this is REAL science. No snake oil! No Cancer sides. No “we saw 6 percent increase after 6 months” bs. No fake pics.

      1. @JohnDoe – I favour the approach of Shiseido and Riken. If they succeed it is a game changer. But for these other lesser drug-cocktail-workarounds versus the possible risks it is not worth it.

        You mention my presence on this site. Isn’t it funny that the same people on here that would not consider a hair system would not hesitate to try a new drug cocktail, based on hearsay of someone they have never met and results they have never seen.

        The worst hair fibers or a hair system can do is fall out. Hair is just hair but you only get one body. If you try new drugs that screw up one of your vital organs it’s generally game over.

        1. Yeah, no.

          Far as I’ve heard, there is no reason to believe this will have vital organ ruining side effects, which for the record, most drugs don’t have except in rare cases.
          I’m not sure if you know, but this is FDA trials and not “hearsay” that this will be dealing with.

          If there is a drug that can increase hair density with minimal risk, it is pure insanity to prefer fake hair and fibers over that because some “my body is a temple” nonsense.

          1. There are several things missing in this argument.

            1. The FDA’s interests are locked hand in hand with that of big Pharma in the United States. First to market is more important than safety.
            2. With the current regulations, drugs still get through that shouldn’t get through. In an ideal world, this would never happen and you would be right, but that’s not necessarily the reality. “Minimal risk” is a sliding scale given point 1.

            The only argument for drugs beating out cloning is if somehow the price differential is immense between the two options, which is possible. But if you believe in capitalism being a self-regulating system, the supply for a method as effective and potentially safe as cloning will eventually converge with the demand. Would you choose drugs over cloning given both options, assuming the amortized price were to be the same?

            1. Cloning is a strawman, because no one is debating it being a superior option.

              The argument here is that drugs that produce real hair would be a superior option to fake hair stemming from drug paranoia and nocebo.

              If “first-to-market” was actually more important than safety, we’d have male birth control on the market, but we don’t.

              “Drugs still get through that shouldn’t”

              Any recent examples? And even still, it’s beside the point entirely.

    3. If Follicum can regrow the temples and pull the appearance of the hairline forward it has a significant advantage over fibres. There’s nothing more desperate than a man sprinkling dust on wispy frontal recession and framing a straight hairline by wiping with his index finger. Believe me! And if I do recall correctly, the boxes of Rogaine claim to only work on the crown. No? Come August we’ll know the Follicum results and I’ll keep my eye on the trial page for the 2b topical study.

      1. Agree with the admin and toccata. Toppik is good but I would never keep up with it and would be more embarrassed having it come off my head in front of people than them pointing out my receded hairline or thinning crown spot. As for follicum I would use it if it stops further loss and regrows 60% more hair. It’s better than anything else we have.

        1. MJones, you have been in a surprisingly agreeable and optimistic mood lately. I am wary about what will happen during the switch next week:-)

          1. Hahaha I’m in a good admin:) So I have one question about follicum. Why did they trial it on a thigh and not straight on the scalp? That makes no sense and a waste of 2a trial. They should just do it straight on the scalp for 2a then 2b can be for adjustments to the usage and dose. Whats going to happen now is that they Wil try it on scalp for 2b then run another phase 2 trial like Samumed for a better optimal dose. The thigh trial concerns me a bit…

            1. It’s a little confusing but the thigh trial was a combined phase 1/2a trial. So it was for Safety and Tolerability but also partly to measure hair growth. Now they are doing a legit 2a trial purely for efficacy.

              Informative video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=225&v=ZVNQL_dKoOI

              Points of interest:
              · Only has to be applied 3x weekly.
              · Probably prescription-only for the first few years.
              · Phase 3 planned for early 2020.
              · Proof-of-concept for investors will be a topical on the scalp (to be presented at the end of 2019).
              · This week he has 20 meetings with companies interested in the hairloss market.

  7. Very exciting but I am hesitant about potential side effects, the extent of which won’t truly be known until it’s been on the market for some time. Minoxidil worked for me but I had to stop after wrinkles, dark under eye bags, and facial bloating came rapidly. Still, I am hopeful! The road to a solution to hair loss gets closer everyday.

  8. This is very interesting:

    https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/hair-growth-from-diabetes-treatment-heberprot-p.113538/

    I’ve long seen a big connection between diabetes, insulin, metabolic syndrome, PCOS, and baldness. I don’t know what the connection is, but they are often connected.

    Look at this guy:

    https://img.4plebs.org/boards/pol/thumb/1519/75/1519752337120s.jpg

    Puffy face. hyperkeratosis on his face. His skin looks more weathered. Other guys in this photo also have that diabetes look to them:

    https://i.redditmedia.com/Dayg3pdbNYqeAQHAeexFs02xcLgw6IHSb4LmMJVX8NQ.jpg?w=994&s=c299dc9deee0b5b413229fab7829f9e2

    1. interesting.

      http://heberprot-p.cigb.edu.cu/index.php/en/producto/resultados-preclinicos

      “ The prevention of hair lost in the denervated limb was maybe the earliest response to the treatment with EGF, which allowed taking the risk to forecast the magnitude of the effect in terms of nerve restoration and prevention of finger necrosis. The finding that the EGF showed an anti-necrotic effect into the assayed experimental context, suggested an unusual citoprotection capacity with a high potential for therapeutic applications, according to the physiopathologic relevance of the implemented lesion model. “

    1. Yeah probably 2021 to 2023. So in other words if you are a nw3 to nw4 now the time this comes out it won’t be of any use for you.but for those who are nw2 to nw4 this could be very helpful.

  9. “Cells from a single cow could produce 175 million quarter-pounders.”

    “The production of cultured meat starts with harvesting so-called adult stem cells (a.k.a. satellite cells) from the muscle tissue of a living cow. Satellite cells are cells in the muscle tissue that are there to create new muscle tissue when the muscle is injured, and It is exactly this inherent talent of the stem cells that will be used in a cultured meat production system. The cells are isolated from a muscle sample and then brought in a bio reactor to multiply, resulting into very high quantities. When the cell mass is big enough, the satellite cells are harvested and then triggered to differentiate into muscle tissue; in this final step, the structure and texture of the meat are built.

    The cell culturing process allows for much more control over the production process and over the composition of the meat (nutrients, fat, taste, etc.).”

    https://mosameat.eu/technology.html

    Anything is possible guys, as long as universities invest.

  10. baldness could also be an allergic reaction to something we eat. Some time ago I had a special diet for stomach problems, and I noticed that my hair had become much thicker, and my skin smooth as a peach, in the diet I had eliminated almost everything and of what I ate I ate very little quantities when I started to eat normally everything was back as before … fine hair and dry skin. Is there anyone who has ever heard of baldness due to allergic reactions?

    1. No your hair loss is related to mpb. Androgens dht. You might have hair loss due to stress or inflammation but if you are losing hair in a Norwood pattern then it’s mpb.

      1. Not arguing that it isn’t coz of androgens DHT.
        But what makes some hair follicles (milimeters apart) sensiteve to DHT and others not?
        Is really strange that organs (hair follicles) would so different and it’s obvious that it isn’t random selection – it is a norwood pattern. Gnetic differences would come with some randomness to it right, like diffuse hairloss all over the scalp.
        I think that before they explain this process/differences is a bit unwise to take any meds for hairloss.

    2. There is a slight possibility but I doubt it based on 2 facts.

      Firstly, baldness has been a problem since ancient Egyptian times so that rules out a lot of food allergies, modern non-organic food, fluoride in tap water, phone masts, GMO, modern life stress/working patterns, artificial lighting and many other things that YouTube vloggers blame it on.

      Secondly, bald men in long term comas fed only the essential nutrients on an IV drip would eventually wake up looking like Slash from Guns n Roses.

      Still an interesting thought. So-called “elimination diets” do help with many other conditions and may become more popular again once the last of the antibiotics stop working, but that is a topic for another forum!

      1. Eating a crappy diet with junk foods, smoking, heavy drinking will accelerate your hair loss but if you live a healthy lifestyle you will bald the normal rate with you don’t take any meds like Propecia or minox. That’s the bottom line. Now there are other types of hair loss like diffuse or areata that can be from thyroid or scalp immune issues. Those cases are different story. I got a friend who has total hair loss on his scalp. It happens sporadically and he loses all his hair but after 4 months it all grows back. Explain that ? Hair is a b! I’m only thinning on my right side. 2 inch wide strip from hair line to crown. Mt left is much thicker. Weird

        1. Areata is truely horrible. At least with AGA I only look slightly older, but this 14 year old boy near where I live has Areata and he looks like Nomac from the movie Blade II.

          If Aclaris with their magic lotions cure AA but not AGA I will still be happy for that kid and others like him.

    3. If you’re curious then go to your doctor and get your IgE levels checked.

      I think DHT is one facet of the etiology of hair loss, among others. Interesting enough, loratidine (Claritin) is used to treat bone pain in some patients with cancer.

        1. IgE serum level, if it’s very high then it’s a sign that your body is very allergic to something and is mounting an immune response.

  11. @mjones: Current treatments do not cure androgenetic alopecia…you’re wrong. Minoxidil and Finasteride have poor results. DHT is not the main cause of androgenetic alopecia. Accept that.

    1. I never said it cures mpb Paul. It just treats it. Propecia stopped my hair loss and cured my acne. Propecia stopped hair loss for me for 12 yrs old. It’s main mechanism is blocking dht. So for me at least my dht is causing my hair loss those 12 years. I got blood tests done many times. Everything came back fine. Only thing that was low was vit D. I’m taking 5000iu a day for the past 3 months. My hair just gets thinner.

  12. I don’t think diet has much to do with hair loss. I have a friend who does crossfit stuff and has the most strict diet ive ever seen, and he’s completely bald and is 32. I have another friend who is a fat piece of crap lol eats pizza fast food and never exercises and you guessed it, the thickest hair I’ve ever seen. Hair loss is all genetics. Also, I had a question about my hair loss. I am 31, my crown around my swirl began thinning at around 27? ish, but my hair line has remained consistent, not thinning or receding. Is this common? According to the Norwood scales the hairline goes first?

    1. The Norwood scale is a bit outdated. Your path to loss is different but the end result will be roughly the same without treatment. You would be a good candidate for finasteride because in addition to preserving existing hair it can in some cases revive “dying hair” in the crown.

      1. Anybody know any good fue surgeons that are good for hairlines? I’m going to start checking out ht for my right side. I’m not sure if it’s the Rogaine destroying my right side or what but I went from a nw 1.5 diffuse to nw3 in a 15 months. I was slowly thinning on right side before Rogaine but now it’s all f ed up.

  13. Yo think maybe in 5 years come some funtional ?? I have 30 years old and I guess in 5 years im lost a lot hair

      1. Is Aclaris going to cure AGA for good? I mean without having to use their product every day or it will be like minoxidil, as long as u use it ur hair won t fall…?

        1. I welcome someone to correct me, but I’m under the impression that it would be a topical treatment that one would need to consistently use. As for if it’s a ‘cure’ I guess that’d depend on its efficacy. What they’re saying is that they want to help hair out of the anagen phase and be able to continue to grow. If the consistent appliation of this enables that, then I would call it a technical cure. I think the only permanent cure we currently have in our sights in stem-cell mediate hair transplants, which, will/would be huge when it is properly figured out. Realistically, there will probably one day be a number of products that work well for different people, and that stop/halt/slow hairloss to the degree that HTs might be needed for some but not for others.

          1. I read it as a daily application. Once you’ve reached it’s maximum efficiency I could see it being reduced. Maybe every other day or week since the growth phase wouldn’t just shut off overnight.

  14. Nice update gentlemen.

    Its official, Ding! Aclaris starts the human trials for Male Pattern Hairloss. Goodbye baldies no one here by that name (at least for much longer). 30 weeks would take us to year end.

    Fingers crossed.

    nasa_rs

    1. I like the optimism Nasa_rs. Especially with Brotzu falling way short on presentation of data, which anyone who has ever had a peer reviewed speech knows, this is very important…..brotzu gets zero excuses. I know this personally, just made a speech at a university this weekend.

      However, at the end of the summer, or mid…I think I might just go Topical Fin, with studied dosages of Litanaprost. I think a lot of mixtures have 0.003%- Way too low, if using studies.
      After that, I might come back to the forum and see new updates and hopefully they are good. I haven’t had any new hairloss in 2 years using nothing. So maybe if I use something, it can help regrow.
      Hopefully one of these companies comes through. – Note to self, will probably still be on the forum.

  15. Phase 2 aclaris is great news. However let’s sit tight and wait for some clinical updates regarding its effectiveness. If there report back on 6 months that a nw6 turned into a nw2 then I will buy nasa his first bottle jak:) Let’s not turn this into a brotzu thread lol.

      1. haha, The Top Jakkers and No Fappers sound like rival gangs in The Warriors. Well, since we’re talking about an inhibitor, we could be called the Jak-offs.

    1. Hopefully they fast track it and it comes out in 2019. If not, then they need to complete phase 3 which would be late 2019 then release in 2021.

  16. I think all of these companies are starting to feel the pressure. They know people are demanding a treatment that works. I think now it is a race to be first and win the prize $$$. Companies know how to cure this or at least what can make a significant improvement. Part of the slowness and delay is deliberate, I’m sure. Jaks if they work, will be awesome, no hormonal side effects. I bet you Cristiano is using it. Her hair is outrageous. I also don’t buy all the side effects announced with jaks. It’s just cya. Women have nothing to help them. It’s a shame. It’s uncomfortable and extremely distressing. Praying for 2019. Most likely 2020 because the zeljanz patent will expire if I am correct.

  17. @admin
    I made the trip to the testing center today to see if I could get enrolled in the aclaris trial. They were wanting Norwood’s three four and five and they wouldn’t allow me because they said I was still a 2. Oh well.
    I was able to get a little bit more information that some of you might find interesting.

    As we know it’s two daily doses. I was
    informed today that the doses have to be 12 hours apart and that the substance is slightly greasy liquid. It’s also applied with a dropper so I expect it to be a liquid like minoxidil. I also found out that they are not using Placebo in this study so every participant will be getting the real deal. I read in the enrollment paper the topical was a 46% strength, whatever that means.

    The doctor that performed my exam sounded a little bit excited because he says this works on a different mechanism than what’s out currently. He also mentioned something about this medication working for different kind of hair loss so I assume he means areata. he said the trial would last about 8 months and then expect several months of information gathering afterwards but he couldn’t tell me anything else about how fast it would be released to the public.
    if I remember anything else I’ll let you guys know

    1. Thanks for the update Champpy!

      Imagine taking part in the study and seeing it working and then the study ends and you are cut short of your daily two doses until the official release years later :-)

    2. By the way, don’t you have a friend or relative who is NW3 that wants to participate? :-D Would be great

  18. 1. Will this jak liquid have any alcohol in it as one of the ingredients? Alcohol products are bad for people with Scalp Micropigmentation.
    2. Will this jak liquid regrow hair anywhere on scalp applied or only in areas you were genetically programmed to have hair?
    3. If this were to be the cure would aclaris stock go through the roof?
    Thanks

  19. Hey guys, just wanted to mention that the Polichem trials for their P-3074 topical fin product have finished.

    A user on HLT posted the reply he got from the company in regards to when the results will be published. Here is what the reponse was:

    (Translated from Italian to English)

    Q: – Reading the online resources, phase 3 of experimentation should now have ended. When will the study’s results be published?

    A: – The study ended in March, its results will be published within a year starting from its closure.

    Q: – If the results will be adequately positive, when can we expect a release of the product?

    A: – If the results will be positive, the commercialization could start by 2020.

    Q: – Eventually, will the product be sold as a “stand-alone” one, produced by a pharmaceutical company, or will it need a pharmacy to be prepared under a medical prescription as a galenical?

    A: – The product will be sold as a stand-alone drug.

    Q: – Unfortunately, I suffer from unbearable side effects from the systemic use of finasteride, which forced me to stop the treatment. In your opinion, is there a possibility according to your latest researches, to use your product without having to face finasteride’s side effects while keeping its effectiveness?

    A: – That’s what we hope for. As of now, we don’t have sufficient data to answer the question.

    1. In Vancouver, you can topical fin a bunch of places. The results are not mind blowing .
      They should be working on topical dusasteride .

    2. Wait a minute! They finished Phase 3 and still “don’t have sufficient data to answer the question” as regards to whether or not topical finasteride has side effects. So what exactly were they doing during all these trials? Did patients have sides or not? Stop the Madness!

  20. Side note update, George Church is working on a genome writing project they are making virus resistant human cells that don’t age. They are working in dogs right now. There are RIKENs of immortality happening right now I can’t imagine anything more incredible.

  21. I’m just wondering.. if any of these companies are making breakthroughs.. like Follicum, like Aclaris. Why are their stock prices declining, if changing at all? You’d think they’d disclose certain things to their investors before other people.

    1. Exactly. Even Mark Cuban was saying buy bitcoin years ago. Even people who are not familiar with healthcare have investors and also financial advisers. So if a hair loss cure where to hit, and an adviser caught wind, don’t you think people who didn’t even have a clue about hairloss would be buying?

      However, on a rebuke sense, how many companies have claimed, ” 3-5 years”, and no result? So, that could be one factor.

      Far as Jaks, I hope they do work, and probably will in AA for sure. However, I don’t see it in MPB. Why? Simple, it doesn’t target the problem much. One can say….” Well in thinning and bald men, there was more inflammation in the scalp than the general population of non hairloss sufferers.” Right, but we can also look at a 100 variables that would be abnormal in thinning hair. Oil, Type of connective tissue, DHT, Genetics, inflammation, etc, etc. However, you would have to believe that Jak is targeting the issue. From modern science, it isn’t. It’s a hope.

      Jak inhibitors are under strict prescription usage, for standard care of practice. Of course, FDA approval of hairloss would change that. It is prescribed for Rheumatoid Arthritis.
      Side effect…..s ready for Tofacitinib, a Jak……..Increased risk for getting infections, both viral and bacteria in nature. Also those infections include TUBERCULOSIS. Do you see why some of these jaks are extremely not going to be prescribed even if they work. Unless, FDA approved. The side effect profile is up there. Worse than finasteride. Low libido vs tuberculosis.

      Unless they have another JAK inhibitor that is safer and works at targeting hairloss specifics…….than I don;t know what else to say.

      My assessment could be off, but looking at my med books, I would stand firm in what I said, unless evidence suggested otherwise. Again, look at the Jak I talked about. If there is another type of Jak, and it gets approved……than ok.

      I hope Jaks work for hairloss.

      1. Especially considering the fact that they are doing trials where people who take part can immediately judge whether the treatment works. Maybe they are not told for which company or which compound but if they were I think you would see a great deal of insider buying.

  22. I’m thinking to take fin and hopefully it maintain my hair till something promising until I read vice article about post fin syndrome, that worries me now….

    1. Hi Billa, I would recommend trying it at least to see if you are one of the majority who do not experience side effects. I unfortunately succumbed to the side effects so i am personally not taking them but they did help me for the first year. I guess it depends how desperate you are. I always told myself i’d never take that or get a hair transplant. did one and seriously considering the other lol

  23. Hair loss is of course something we would like to not have and we visit several forums and holding our breath for research going on in the hair loss world, but until a miracelous cure will come, id rather to wait instead of taking a drug which can cause so many side effects. Of course it is a very small among of peopl in compare, who obtain this very extreme side effects but why the hell should someone let himself to take that risc? Because they feel hopless and want to undone it in every manner, but finasteride can only stop your further hair loss in its best and thats actually not the only thing we want to achieve, its getting all back we lost once. But under such circumstances even stopping the hair loss seems very promising. At the end taking finasteride or not you will still have the bald spots, so why the hell think to feel better while taking a drug which can cause so much harm to us. Its like taking drugs, some people think they gonna feel better or like smoking, youll feel better but only cause you made up in your mind that smoking will fix your stress or whatever. The thing is your health will go away and wont come back again, so lets try to be healthy, so we can fully enjoy once a cure comes out, cause health matters.

  24. Polichem a huge disappointment, really not sure what they’re playing at…

    What on earth takes 2 years after a phase THREE?? This damn thing should be out at Xmas!!!

    1. Thats pretty normal. Preparing the results to send out for approval takes time and then the Authorithies need very Long till they give the “go”. You will see that with all Drugs. Just check big Pharma company pipelines. They Show Status “Registration” for 1 to 1,5 years.

  25. As this is a respectful site, I waited almost a week before commenting on a recent incident. Any reactions, please be respectful.

    Some time ago I mentioned Armin van Buuren, a Dutch world known dj, as an example of a famous person that underwent a hairtransplant. I have seen him several times in late night shows and during a documentary about the origin of his last name. He never talked about the HT, but I compliment him with the results, because it looks great and I can imagine that a full head of hair is better than balding while dj-ing. Especially if you look at the fullhead counterparts like Tiesto, Laidback Luke, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Afrojack, Don Diablo, Nicky Romero, W&W, etcetera…

    As a Dutch person, who has trance, techno, house, hardstyle and EDM (as some people call it nowadays) pumping through his vains since he was 12 years old (happy hardcore and eurodance back then), I am also fan of the Swedish producers.

    As the last 7 days passed by, people have seen 3 live tributes coming from churches in Utrecht, Nijmegen en Doetinchem, various tributes on dance festivals like Coachella, interviews with Steve Aoki, Tiesto, Armin and Laidback Luke: all concerning one young and modest Swedish guy in the industry who “could not go on any longer”. These last words are from his family.

    While googling all the news about this tremendously skilled guy which I truely respect, I stumbled upon a site with “ 25 Things You Didn’t Know About the Late DJ” (an old article) which indicated at bulletpoint 9 and 10:

    “9. I had trouble with acne growing up, and it made me a great deal more shy.

    10. I started wearing caps because my hair looked ridiculous after every show from all the sweat and the onstage fans blowing on me.”

    In a recent interview with radio 538 Nicky Romero stated that almost everybody in the industry thought it was going better with Tim, as he stopped live dj-ing a few years ago, and it seemed that this live dj-ing and a too full schedule were the main drivers behind his tremendous stress and bad health. He wanted to produce in the studio, and that was it.

    All in all he seemed happier during the last years and the digital communication he had with Nicky. One day he scared Nicky a bit by sending a photo of his shaved head. Nicky thought he lost his hair due to illness or operation, however “it seemed to be something that Tim just enjoyed doing”, as Nicky openly thinks/states during the radio interview …

    After all the Google images I have seen of Tim Bergling with caps and caps and caps, his own comment under bullet point 10 already years ago, Nicky’s recent remarks about shaving, one may cautiously conclude that the famous documentary True Stories did not include ALL the stuff that was torturing Avicii from the inside. Stuff normal people don’t talk about, let alone world famous dj’s/producers … Altogether, a tragic week for his family and close friends.

    This survey Spex has been discussing in the media in 2017 hopefully opens up some eyes, especially the eyes of those working in (mental) healthcare:

    “A recent UK survey on hair loss and its effects, … , found that

    41% of men would prefer partial blindness to full, Dr. Phil baldness

    35% of the men reported turning to drugs and alcohol as a result of their hair loss

    38% said they felt depressed due to their male pattern baldness

    39% claimed to experience a lack of sex drive

    1/3 reported avoiding social activities because of hair loss, and almost 1/3 struggled with confidence issues

    31% are already actively considering hair transplantation as a possible solution”

    http://www.hairlossdaily.com/hair-loss-survey-2017/

    Stay well, fellow balding men and women!

    1. Very interesting. We never know how much celebrities are suffering from inside, including from cosmetic problems.

  26. I am very discouraged, I have already struggled more than 25 years against baldness and still nothing concrete.
    But I think the road is still very long .. 2020 or even 2025 sounds too good to be true
    When I started taking finasteride I was 28 now I am 45, in the last few years I have noticed some side effects, fortunately when I stop everything goes back to normal. I’m seriously thinking about quitting everything and devoting myself to hats. Enough with vanity, certain wisdom comes around at a certain age.

    1. What you say mostly makes sense when considering that you have been at it for 25 years.

      However, my last 4 posts were very encouraging. If you are discouraged after reading those, I guarantee that you are going to always be discouraged while reading this blog :-( I doubt there will ever be this much good news in half a month ever again… except when the cure eventually comes.

  27. Lorence what Norwood were you when you started propecia 25 yrs ago and what Norwood are you now? I’ve been on it for 16 years. Maintained well for 12 years of it. The last 4 I have been diffusing in a nw2.5. Mostly on right side.

    1. i was norwood 2 when I started, now I’m still norwood 2 but my hair has gotten thin through the years, when I style it with a blow dryer and other tricks they still look ok but all that is very stressful… and that’s why I prefer to wear a hat, I never really felt myself with my hair full of hair spray, I guess a lot of you guys know that feeling.

      PS: through all these years I had stopped the use of finasteride several times, once ot twice for a whole year and nothing much happened to my hair, but I couldn’t do the same thing with minoxidil, when I had stopped the use of minoxidil within three months I saw big troubles coming. to this day I’ve never used finasteride on a daily basis, minoxidil once a day and this works for me. but as I said earlyer I’m tired to deal with it.

  28. The countdown is on. JAK has been applied to now bald heads will beautiful hair arise? Results for the individuals should occur in about 3 more weeks and they will know if it is working or if they simply give it a few more weeks.

    We are 3 weeks from possibly knowing if word leaks out or if they see no results and possibly stop the test.

  29. Man lets at least give it till mid summer before we expect to hear anything, even a leak from a trial participant. Nothings going to be disclosed in three weeks man

  30. Hi Lorence I am in the same boat as you. I am still nw2 2.5 after all those years but my density has diffused throughout the years. I use a blow dryer everyday to make my hair look better. Without my hair is just asful. I use minox once a day but I believe it has thinned my right side hairline. Wherever I apply it the hairs has gotten thinner. There are days I want to just give up but I know I will be super sad to see my hair go. Nothing is guaranteed with these new treatments coming up. They may or may not get released and if they do we can’t assume they will work well enough to grow back tons of hair. Just remember once our hair is gone it’s going to be very hard to get it back without ht. I say hang in there longer and maybe one of these new treatments will give us both more density. Propecia never gave me problem or did it bother me all these years taking a pill. Minoxidil is the crap that pisses me off. It’s such a pain to put on every night with lackluster results.

  31. It’s official. I am getting a hair system. I won’t mention what product; I don’t want to sound like a commercial bot.

    I am going straight from a norwood 5 to a norwood 1 guaranteed, within 1 day. I just have to go in once a month for maintenance but don’t mind it. I was never fussed with these oral/topical chemistry sets that get mentioned on here, but I will still monitor the posts on here about Aclaris and Shiseido very closely and take them if they turn out to be the real deal, but in any case; I am getting the hair I wanted.

    1. If you want, I can post your before and after photos in a blog post if you e-mail them to me. You can blur or block out your eyes and part of the face. Would be interesting to see what people think.

      1. @admin okay I will. The consultation is tomorrow and my time off work is infrequent so the actual job they do to me might not happen for a few weeks, but when the time comes I will send the pictures.

        There is no need to blur or block anything. What I might do is upload a short before and after video that shows a quick 360 view at different angles and lighting then send you the YouTube links so nobody can suspect foul play or editing or whatever. Still pictures just raise too many questions nowadays, or at least they should.

          1. I will also get a hair system. If you want to see the results and videos just google Heydecke hairsystems. Its in Germany but just look hiw amazing the results are and how natural the hairline is.

            Brotzu failed miserably. The mysterious beps turned out to be a mysterious snake oil seller. Aclaris, Shiseido, Tsuji and Follia. One of these companies will solve our problem. I dont trust any other magical lotions anymore. The moment when the 83 year old Brotzu presented those s…. before and after pictures I was sure that you cannot even trust a reputable man with such an important last name. Its nothing. They repeatedly claimed to were abke to recover 5 years of hair loss and that thr results were excellent. And then these pics. From this moment on I knew that the best thing I can do is to get a hair system.

            Go Aclaris!!

  32. Just read on a commentor from the other hair loss site that an ingredient in follicum causes cancer but at high doses only. That is a little alarming if it’s true. They listed the ingredient …osteo something…

    1. I think I have read that oxygen slowly kills you….maybe if you try to hold your breath a lot, you could live longer?

      1. Admin I love your sarcasm but just because follicum is in clinical trials doesn’t mean it’s safe and the long term use of it will be safe. Many drugs get fda approved then a decade later get pulled from the market due to cancer or death. I was just bringing up a possible health issue..you shouldnt be sarcastic with that.

        1. They are using much lower doses as you said yourself….and all drugs have this potential. Are you trying to tell me that you will never use Follica’s mystery Minox+ compound (which will have much higher chances of side effects since it is being combined with wounding)? I thought you were already in love with Follica before any proof of long-term safety. Didn’t you also use Finasteride despite some studies suggesting permanent side effects in some and even slightly higher rates of advanced prostate cancer? And Minox lowers blood pressure…not always a good thing.

          1. I love follica and still believe that it will be the only working treatment to come out in the next couple years. However, if those chemicals causes cancer I sure will not be using it. Propecia or minox haven’t been proven to cause cancer. Erectile dysfunction for some and low blood pressure for some. The stuff wont kill you though if you get sides. Plus if you stop treatments the sides subside. Now if you get cancer well you are kind of screwed whether to stop or continue that treatment. I don’t know man knowing they are using a chemical that causes cancer whether in low doses concerns me. Feel free to bash me all you want with my opinions.

            1. Propecia slightly increased high grade prostate cancer rates per one or two studies. I would not take it if I had your level of fears. Also, definitely avoid red meat and asbestos tainted buildings and mobile phones as many studies have linked all three to higher cancer rates… Not bashing you at all, but trying to aid your cause if you think about it.

            2. How the hell can you tell if those Follica drugs will cause cancer after 10 or 20 yrs of use…..run mjones run!!

              1. Unfortunately we cant…but knowing that follicum contains cancer causing ingredients is a good reason to be extra cautious. Once the list of compounds comes out for follica and it ends up having cancer causing compounds then I probably won’t take it.

                Admin you would go into a asbestos tainted building?

                1. Mjones I probably have 100s of times without knowing. No idea how I could measure asbestos levels before entering buildings.

  33. ADMIN – I found the following paragraph (see below) on a new itch drug for dogs. Interesting that it is a JAK, and that it stops the Inflammation and allergic skin condition. Could this be our problem? We have a skin Allergy and Inflamation? let’s stay on topic. Comment on this:

    “MADISON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Zoetis, Inc. (NYSE: ZTS), formerly the animal health business unit of Pfizer Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved APOQUEL® (oclacitinib tablet) for the control of pruritus associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs at least 12 months of age. Pruritus, or itching, is the most common sign of allergies in dogs. Developed by Zoetis, APOQUEL is the first Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor approved for veterinary use that targets the itch and inflammation pathway. APOQUEL provides fast-acting relief from itching and improves inflammation for the estimated 8.2 million dogs that suffer from short- and long-term allergic skin conditions. ”

    http://news.zoetis.com/press-release/companion-animals/fda-approves-apoquel-oclacitinib-tablet-control-itch-and-inflammatio

  34. https://www.aclaristx.com/pipeline

    Interesting that Androgenic Alopecia drug is the same as the Areata and Vitiligo ones (ATI-502), whilst further down the pipeline they are still listing the covalently bound ‘soft JAK’ drug that they purchased from Confluence Life Sciences. So is this Phase 2 trial just seeing how well the Areata drug works for AGA before continuing development of their ‘Soft JAK’?

  35. I’m not nearly as informed as the majority of people on this forum, so apologies if my question is not a smart one. Is the hope that this product will grow hair on completely bald scalps (high norwoods) or is it envisaged that only people who recently started balding will benefit?

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