Patrick Mwamba, Spencer Kobren, Vivek Nigam

Dr. Nigam and Dr. Mwamba to Collaborate

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The phenomenon from the east that is Dr. Nigam just keeps growing. Just a few days after my first post on Dr. Nigam, Spencer Kobren (the famous host of The Bald Truth radio show) conducted an interview with Dr. Patrick Mwamba that all of this blog’s readers have to listen to. In my more than a decade of following hair loss news, the only other thing that has caused so much excitement on hair loss forums was the release of Avodart (Dutasteride) after FDA approval in 2002.

Virtually every other interesting development during this period of time was an obvious scam, or was a development whose success and fruition would not be seen “for at least 5 years”, or was a development (e.g., body hair to head transplants) that offered some hope at an improved appearance, but nothing resembling a cure.

Unfortunately, Avodart was not as significant an improvement over Propecia (Finasteride) as hoped. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Dr. Nigam’s exuberance and unique collaborative approach in this field finally lead to a groundbreaking development in this industry in the coming years.

Cheers to Mr.’s in vitro, in vivo and the previously neglected de novo. And to Dr. Nigam for improving my understanding of both Latin and Biology.

Dermarolling, Dermaroller, Microneedling, Minoxidil, Wounding

Microneedling via a Dermaroller and Minoxidil

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Update: June 2020 — A new study found the microneedling (via a dermaroller) and Minoxidil combination to be very effective in treating a 70-year old man’s hair loss. Also make sure to read my post on at-home microneedling for hair loss.

There is increasing evidence that dermarolling benefits hair growth. Microneedling via the use of a dermaroller is often being conducted to enhance the absorption of topical hair loss products such as Minoxidil (Rogaine).

Creative and intelligent hair loss forum members are also experimenting with the addition of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) inhibitors and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) to this mix. The logic behind these experiments is related to the wounding and resulting hair regrowth that a company named Follica is attempting.

Microneedling via Dermaroller Enhances Effectiveness of Minoxidil

Moreover, a recent study concluded an enhanced positive effect of Minoxidil when used in combination with microneedling. The wounding was conducted via the use of a dermaroller device.

Microneedling and Minoxidil Hair Growth Before After.
Microneedling (via Dermaroller) and Minoxidil Hair Growth Before and After.

The dermaroller had 1.5 mm sized needles and was rolled over scalps. Before and after microneedling photos are shown on the right and below.

This study provides further impetus towards the excitement surrounding this unique concept of wounding and hair growth.

I myself have seen decent results from applying Minoxidil to my scalp for a number of years. I may try dermarolling in the future, although I will have to conduct significant research regarding needle depth and equipment recommendations.

Dermarolling for Hair Growth Experiments

Dermaroller 1.5 mm for Hair Growth.
Dermaroller 1.5 mm for Hair Growth.

A number of blog readers are experimenting with dermarolling their scalps for hair growth. I will elaborate on this subject in more detail in future posts.

Dermarolling and Minoxidil Threads

For now, I encourage readers to go through the following massive threads on some of the main hair loss forums out there in order to gauge the excitement around this issue.

Wounding and Hair Regeneration

Over the years, wounding has garnered a solid reputation in both medical and cosmetic fields. Research on wounding and hair regeneration is progressing rapidly.

For example, a 2018 study found wounding induced hair follicle neogenesis in an elderly patient. Hopefully this can be replicated on a larger scale across balding scalps.