Hans van Montfort and his Esthecin Hair Loss Product

Out of the blue comes news that a new hair loss serum product is about to be released in the Netherlands this month or next month (sources vary). The product is called Esthecin, and it has been developed by 67 year old scientist Dr. Hans van Montfort. Thanks to reader “Marty” for first posting about this news in a comment.

Dr. Hans von Montfort

Dr. Montfort has been working on this product for around six years. It first started as a project because his daughter Esther suffered from sudden drastic hair loss after a trip to Thailand. I am guessing that his daughter might have suffered from Telogen Effluvium rather than female pattern hair loss.

Unfortunately, Dr. Montfort has only been able to test this product on his daughter, on eight other women, and on six men. Larger trials are too expensive for him.

Dr. Montfort owns a research institute called The Center for Integral Healthcare, also known as Van Montfort Laboratories.

His profile page on researchgate has a number of comments by him in relation to platelet-rich plasma and hair.

Esthecin’s Facebook page has links to recent articles about the product.

Esthecin has its own website with testimonial videos that I have not watched. The publications page also has summaries of several studies on there. According to the website’s home page:

Esthecin is a formula of natural ingredients, entirely of vegetable origin.

My scam radar is off the charts on this one, but the websites that are owned by Dr. Monfort seem reasonably professional. Much better than what we are used to seeing from new entrants in the hair loss industry.

Moreover, I have a soft spot for older people who are still trying hard to create new products and have the go-getter spirit despite having crossed retirement age. If I am ever conned, I prefer it being done by an older person than a younger person.

61 thoughts on “Hans van Montfort and his Esthecin Hair Loss Product”

  1. I see ginger, rosemary and phytosterols as some ingredients. They are shown to grow hair but it’s natural stuff soooo…. I’m with the admin on this…most likely scam or something that will work on non aga type of hair loss. I guess we wait and see.

  2. I just watched the testimonial videos. I thought they were going to show before and after pics but it just showed people in the mirror seemingly satisfied. I am therefore unconvinced so it does not really matter what ingredients are used. I will stick with my system for now.

      1. It’s going fine after 2 weeks. You can sweat in it but the less the better. I do all my training outside. I can’t stand the gyms. Not just the heat but lack of hygiene in general.

    1. there are some before and after pics as a pdf attachment in the offical homepage of the van montfort …looks like Histogen pics :D

  3. hmmm more than 150 euro for three months… pretty expensive imo.. gonna give a try though.
    Regards !!
    as an italian living in germany all i can say is heil Brotzu !

    1. @ Tribal Willkommen in Deutschland!
      Great to see Italians on this blog! Is there any hope left in Italy concerning Brotzu? News? Release date? Better results? Anything?

      1. I texted fidia pharma and kindly asked them for ANY information concerning the release date. No answer. Real sad.

  4. It basically is a topical Saw Palmetto formula. Most of us will know that Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract or Serenoa Repens as an ingredient means Saw Palmetto. If topical SP WOULD work against scalp DHT, then we better use topical FIN. Although we haven’t seen much results from using the latter either, and Hasson & Wrong have locked parts of their website recently. Another scam?

    1. I understand you mean it’s an inferior product. However some might interpret your remark as they can use the product to grow some decent bush :)

  5. I needed a good laugh this morning!
    Testimonials without before/after shots are ridiculous- a Sphynx cat would be more convincing.

  6. Scott,
    How have people you know reacted to your system? Have they given you hell or have they been accepting?
    Also, are you afraid that if you meet new people that it will be hard to reveal that you wear a hair system?

    1. @champpy – I do a lot of silly things and my friends and coworkers see me as a bit funny. I have dressed up as the Joker before now. To them, this is just my latest thing :-) They have been surprised by how convincing it looks. They must know people who have tried cheap alternatives.

      As for meeting new people, I am not bothered. So far so good but if the system turns out to not be suitable long term I will shave my hair off. I prefer a full head, failing that bald. What I can’t live with is the peach-fuzz thin hair on top that made me look ill. For this reason, I have stopped taking propecia. I don’t want to maintain the fuzz, just get rid of it.

      What I find amusing is that the same people who would never consider a hair system are all too keen to try out the next drug combination, be it a pill or topical, based on evidence they have not seen and hearsay of people they have never met. The worst my system can do is fall off.

      In the end, maybe Shiseido, Aclaris and the other less credible players will all fail, the limitations of hair systems improve (get cheaper, last longer) and the funding for a “cure” will dry up as a “cure” becomes far less relevant. My hair system took me from a Norwood 6 to a Norwood 1 in 2 hours, didn’t even have to wait to grow the hair. No suspicious before/after pictures, no injections, no false promises. On top of that, I can choose any hair colour I want; no need to stick to my horrible natural mouse-brown colour. Show me any other treatment that promises that.

      1. Thanks for the answer Scott. Jokester or not, its still quite brave of you to try this. People can be harsh. Very impressed by your attitude and willingness to take this leap. And i agree, thin wispy peach fuzz is not the best look. Either shave it low or off looks much better.

  7. A lot of celebs have worn partial hair systems in films over the years. Sean Connery for one. Especially as James Bond. Still looked cool.

    Good for you mate!

  8. Actually I have seen many many older professional scientific people over 60 start believing weird things from overunity devices (perpetual motion) to having weird religious views and yes even attempting at doing scams or probably uncosciously distorting the real results of their “inventions” (em-drive). So actually, the older they are, the less you should care about it.

    1. @ Reko well that would at least explain why american Presidents get weirder and dumber the older they are! :-) :-) … but btw who said EM-Drive does not work!? But thats an issue for other Blogs.

  9. I am glad you found what works for you Scott. That’s awesome but I still prefer a working treatment whether it be tsuji, follica, jak, or whatever. Me personally couldn’t wear a hair system..the fear of it flying off in public, or someone pointing it with colleagues etc would just be to embarrassing for me. Better to shave it and move on but that is also easier said than done. I give you respect for having the balls to wear one and tell people you have a system.

    1. @mjones they don’t fall off. Since having mine on I have done over a hundred back handsprings, over 50 backflips, over 50 sideflips, over a dozen front flips, over a dozen handstands lasting 20 seconds or more, all in really hot indoor trampoline parks in addition to training outside. The heat today was brutal; the past 2 weeks have been as hot as any August. It stayed on. They are supposed to last 7 or 8 weeks but because of my level of activity I will take the re-glue option at every week 4 whereby they take it completely off, re-shave the head, apply new glue like new, then that same system lasts another 4 weeks until the next system then replaces it. Maybe in winter with less heat and sweat this week 4 extra cost won’t be necessary; we will see.

      If you have the money you should look into it. My biggest problem now is making sure it is combed right. Yes, the irony – I now remember why when I was 18-20 I used to shave it all off :-)

      1. You used to shave it all off ??
        why not do the same now??? and save yourself all this stress and money… you are the sporty type, you probably look better bald;-)

  10. I’m not sure Madoff’s victims would agree. Scams are just bad. If an older person has gone through life nto understanding that scams are reprehensible, then they’ve been horrible people their entire lives. At least a young person has a chance of rehabilitation.

  11. @Scott: since you have the system, i think u r the best person to answer my question. Can I have the system on and make it a 3 haircut? could it be detectable or just weird?

    1. @donitello – I will assume by number 3 you mean where it is really really short all over.
      It would be easily detectable after the first week, or sooner if you are very active in hot weather, because the edges at the front start to lift so you have to get out the maintenance kit more to glue it back down and it becomes more hard work.

      I like my hair forward and as a consequence the inevitable slight lift is unnoticeable and so I leave it as it is until my next session with them. Even with a slight lift and all the upside down stuff I do it won’t fall off. This was also the advice of the salon; leave it alone. If you like it really short or combed backwards then it is more work for you, but I never had my hair backwards.

      A number 3 all over; I personally think even if unnoticeable it would be a waste of money. Microscalp pigmentation/tattoo would be better for that.

  12. I’m considering FUE to top up my successful FUT from Rahal in 2009 and forgetting about any so called cures for a few years. My sense is the hair loss industry needs a good deal more time to really bring to market a game changer.
    That aside, an interim minimal side effect maintenance treatment would be very welcome.

  13. The ingredient list reveals mostly standard cosmetic ingredients with the addition of old and mostly-ineffective “neutroceutical” plant ingredients like saw palmetto and rosemary. The new ingredient is “citanche tubulosa,” a plant used in Chinese medicine with one published study claiming it, in combination with fucoidans from seaweed, will help mild to moderate patterned hairloss.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4418416/

    We’ve seen studies claiming fucoxanthins help with hairloss before.

  14. Costunolide promotes the proliferation of human hair follicle dermal papilla cells and induces hair growth in C57BL/6 mice.
    Kim YE1, Choi HC1, Nam G2, Choi BY3.
    Author information
    Abstract
    BACKGROUND:
    Costunolide (COS), a naturally occurring sesquiterpene lactone, is known to exert anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of costunolide on the promotion of hair growth.

    METHODS:
    Real-time cell analyzer (RTCA), measurement of 5α-reductase activity, mRNA expression, and Western blotting were adopted to address whether COS can stimulate the proliferation of human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (hHFDPCs). The effect of COS on in vivo hair growth was examined by reconstitution assay and shaven dorsal skin in C57BL/6 mice.

    RESULTS:
    Costunolide significantly promoted the proliferation of hHFDPCs, which is comparable to that of tofacitinib. COS also inhibited the 5α-reductase activity in hHFDPCs. While COS increased the level of β-catenin and Gli1 mRNA and proteins, it suppressed transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-induced phosphorylation of Smad-1/5 in hHFDPCs. COS increased the number of cultured hHFDPCs to induce hair follicles from mouse epidermal cells in Spheres formation of reconstitution assay. Topical application of COS on the shaven back of C57BL/6 mice significantly improved the hair growth.

    CONCLUSIONS:
    Our results illustrate that COS promotes hair growth in vitro and in vivo by regulating the amount of growth factors and/or the activity of cellular responses through coordination of the WNT-β-catenin, hedgehog-Gli, and TGF-β1-Smad pathways.

    © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

    KEYWORDS:
    TGF ; BMP/Smad; Shh/Gli; WNT/ β-catenin; costunolide; human hair follicle dermal papilla cells; mouse hair growth

  15. So .. Costunolide looks very interesting! Anyone know of a topical formulation?
    I have alpopecia areta and cant afford tofacitinib .. so I would love to learn more about this.

  16. Costunolide, like so many compounds isolated from extant ethnobotanical sources, may SOUND promising, but the claim for its promise is made in a single, limited study on ex vivo human hair cells kept alive in a chemical wash of fetal cow serum and other chemicals, as well as in tests on mice. Studies like these are a dime a dozen and we know from experience that they are seldom reproducible and rarely (ever?) result in clinically viable treatments.

    1. Ugh. Look at the pedigree of the authors on the costunolide study; you’ll find several are employed by HP&C, a cosmetics company that already sells a line of products made from Saussurea involucrata, which just happens to be a source of costunolide.

      Somehow they fail to cite a conflict of interest.

  17. Minoxidil, finasteride, collagen, rhodanide, ketoconazole.. What else can we do for now?
    I wish there were more rhodanide products.. Activance leave in treatment is the only thing that keeps my scalp healthy and i pay 75aud every 3 weeks.. So frustrating.
    Also a question for everyone. How often should you get a new derma roller? I use mine once a week and no idea how to clean it or how often to order another.

  18. today I bought another 150 capsules of generic finasteride, every time I buy them I hope it be the last time … I’ve been hoping since 11 years…

    150 capsules last me a year, I don’t take it everyday

  19. Second google result on his name shows a dutch website for blacklisted doctors. He’s been reprimanded for not providing enough information. Date says 8th of July 2014.

    1. Google results vary depending on your location…seems like you are in the Netherlands based on the e-mail address you used?
      Can you post the exact link?

    1. I was a norwood 2 and I’m still a norwood 2. I also use minoxidil once a day. More than once I stopped the use of finasteride for a whole year just to see if I could mantein only with minoxidil , during that time I didn’t have a major hair loss but the quality of my hair was getting worse, therefore I decided to go back to finasteride.

  20. I really wish something natural worked. I actually think super mega doses of saw palmetto in liquid form standardized to 85 percent sterols might help with MPB.
    At this point though why not just use finasteride? I dont think anything else natural in any normal dose works or we would know. The first thing any man alive does when MPB starts is try to change his diet to see if it helps. It doesnt.

  21. One major problem with MPB is that scams and snake oils like this make more money than legit products. Look at the amount of negative articles and publicity on propecia despite the piles of evidence its superior by a country mile to everything else.
    Whenever something has no good solution cue the snake oils and desperate dumb people to buy them in droves.

  22. miR-195-5p Regulates Hair Follicle Inductivity of Dermal Papilla Cells by Suppressing Wnt/β-Catenin Activation.
    Zhu N1,2, Huang K3, Liu Y4, Zhang H4, Lin E4, Zeng Y4, Li H5, Xu Y6, Cai B7, Yuan Y7, Li Y7, Lin C4.
    Author information
    Abstract
    Dermal papilla (DP) cells play a vital role in hair follicle (HF) development and postnatal hair cycling. However, the abilities are lost on further culture. Recent studies have demonstrated significant influences of posttranscriptional regulation by microRNA (miRNA) on HF development. The current study aims to investigate how miRNAs regulate Wnt/β-catenin to control HF inductivity of DP cells by performing microarray analysis in early- and late-passage DP cells and transfecting with miRNAs inhibitor or mimic. Results showed early-passage DP cells strongly expressed miRNAs related to inhibition of noncanonical Wnt pathways. In late-passage DP cells, miRNAs capable of inhibiting the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway were upregulated, in addition to the miRNAs targeting the noncanonical Wnt pathway. Moreover, we verified that β-catenin expression was downregulated by miR-195-5p overexpression in dose manner. Meanwhile LRP6 expression was downregulated in both protein and mRNA as well as the genes involved in the hair inductivity of DP cells. These results suggest that the appearance of miRNAs that suppress the Wnt/β-catenin pathway may be responsible for the loss of ability of DP cells in culture and miR-195-5p is the potential key factor involved in regulating HF inductivity of DP cells.

    PMID: 29850524 PMCID: PMC5937601 DOI: 10.1155/2018/4924356

  23. I just would like to give my support to those men who have suffered from hair loss and share my testimony.
    I heard about a new potential medical treatment to cure baldness, something originally intended to treat osteoporosis. Well, this is absolute welcome as baldness affects the self-confidence and social life of millions around the world. I hope this treatment is available to public soon, not in 10 or 20 years, like hundreds of times before in similar news.

    I am from Brazil, 52, and started losing hair very very early, in my teens during the 1980s but I could relatively cover it up until my early 20s. When I was about 23, I couldn’t hide it anymore. You could imagine how devastated, low self-esteem I felt in the prime of my youth.
    When I turned 25 and having used Rogaine for some time, I decided to have my first hair transplant. I felt somewhat relieved at first, but the baldness kept progressing aggressively and rapidly. Then, I did a couple more procedures during the next 2 years but things only got worse, looked unnatural and did not cover my baldness at all. Not to mention the obscene amount of money I had spent until that point, I felt even more frustrated and very unhappy.
    With scars in the back of my head, I couldn’t shave it off. I tell you, it would look scar(y)…LOL
    Finally, in 2015, I learned about scalp pigmentation. That was my redemption. I had to go for a few visits at this clinic to have the entire procedure done, since my case was quite challenging, considering all the scars in the back and side of my head, transplanted hair and the original graying hair I still had. In the end, the outcome was absolute outstanding. Once a while I stop by at this guy’s office to say hello and kid him saying that it was his masterpiece in scalp pigmentation. My scars were all covered completely and the pigmented scalp combined with the shaved transplanted hair matched perfectly. It looks absolute natural. No one can tell there is anything done, unless I mention it.
    I never thought I could look this great again. All my friends, my fiancée and family just loved the result. It took years off my face!
    I’ve always lived a healthy life, worked out regularly, professionally realized and all. The only thing that still bothered me was the way my hair, or the lack of it, looked.
    Now, I am a new man. I mean, really new, invigorated, confident man. It is difficult to put in words how good I feel.
    I must tell you that I do not represent any company or the scalp pigmentation business. I just happen to be giving my testimony.
    My advice to all of you who feel miserable because of your hair loss and baldness is try scalp pigmentation and stay away from hair transplant.
    But, if scalp pigmentation does not seem appealing to you either, just shave it off.
    You will look far better than with hair transplant.
    The cure for baldness might happen sometime in the future, be through hair cloning or other medical discovery, but bear in mind that hair transplant is not a definite solution to hair loss and baldness.

    God bless you all!

  24. This DR who is not a DR in the past had sold other products for a high price on his patients. Is was just quack and therefore he had been reprimand from the government. He wants to be rich and he has the right trying to become rich from all those of us who suffer from hair loss.

  25. With simple googling I came across the Researchgate page of Hans van Montfort (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hans_Van_Montfort) and there it says he is an MD and researcher. Then I also checked the BIG-register in Holland and there he can also be found as a doctor. Despite the negative reports here, I gave Esthecin a chance. If it does not work, it does no harm. And because it is recommended by the Dutch Hair Foundation. I must say: I’m pleasantly surprised even after a few weeks! My partner has a lot of new hairs along his hairline and in the inlets and my own hair feels stronger and healthier and has never been as shinny as now.

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