Biotin and niacin "study"- question

[Only Natural]

This was provided by Bryan, a frequent poster in various hair forums. As far as I know the "study" is not available online:

one series of tests of biotin in balding men, biotin was used instead of estrogen in a penetrating cream applied to the scalp. The biotin cream (which also contained niacin, vitamin B-3, a histamine releaser) was applied daily at bedtime. The biotin content was 0.25 to 1.0 percent. Histamine release, such as is triggered by niacin, is essential for cell growth and reproduction. Histamine release causes a normally healing wound to become red and itchy. In addition, a shampoo containing various conditioners to reduce hair breakage and cystine, cysteine, and methionine (amino acids in hair) was used three times a week. There were no side effects with the biotin. Within six to eight weeks, 89 percent of the nearly 1,200 men in the study (ranging in age from 15 to 69) showed marked reduction in hair fallout, from losses of 100 to 350 hairs per day to a daily average loss of less than 50 hairs. Regrowth of hair also occurred in the biotin study. Although incomplete at the time the paper was published, preliminary data indicated that regrowth (150 to 200 3/4-inch or longer hairs per square inch in bald areas) occurred in about 50 to 75 percent of the subjects. Younger men in the study had better results

If one were to use the biotin(nanosomal) and niacin mentioned there, would adding other ingredients(I'm thinking of royal jelly, for one) screw up the histamine release needed according to that "study"? 

If you could shed any light on why they used those two ingredients together, I'm all hair...err ears.

[DrYechiel]

Hello Only Natural,

I will be happy to “shed” some light on the issue though, the word “shed” may not be very appropriate in connection with hairloss… 1% biotin is very high and since biotin is water-soluble, its penetration into the skin can significantly improve when used in Nanosomes™. Niacin alone is very effective for hairloss-related aspects since it is also a strong vasodilator (will make your skin flush when you swallow it or use it topically above a certain concentration range). It is hard to know which of the ingredients has a more significant role but the results described in the study indicate that even this combination at a very high concentration of biotin is effective but not remarkable and is matched by quite a few other combinations. In other words, the effects, though significant, are not exeptional. These two ingredients are used in many scalp formulations and are definitely contributing to their respective hosting formulations.

As for histamine release, it is one of the paradoxes of nature and the reason why everything you use is not perfect. Just as anti-oxidants can be good but in some cases bad, and even act as pro-oxidants, so are other ingredients which circle the metabolic pathways. On one hand, histamine is necessary for healing; on the other hand, it is connected with scarring and supporting imflamation processes. If we accept the study’s hypothesis that the observed good results are histamine-related, that histamine release is behind the improvement in hairloss, you can clearly see the biopattern: low histamine coincides with hairloss; increased histamine reduces hairloss; high histamine may contribute to inflammation and scarring and then coincides with hairloss again. This is how biosystems work: not linear, but cyclical.

So what can you do? You can only balance between the ingredients. If you try to shut down a bio-pathway you may cause an increase in the problem you try to solve, even if that bio-pathway is perpetrating the problem. You can reduce the pathway, control it, but you don’t want to shut it down. People who are trying to narrowly act upon precise mathematical models of biosystems are either presumptous, or totally ignorant, or deceptive, and trying to market their miracle solution to impressed consumers. The bio-system is not a passive shooting target, it shoots back. These models never solved the hairloss problem. The problem is multi-parametered and the solutions (not solution) are in multi-tasking. When a breakthrough will occur, and it will, it will be on a different level. Use biotin, use niacin, don’t worry about helping them further to complete their tasks. No one truly knows why they are helpful and the ideas about vasodialation and histamine are just ideas. If they worked in the study where people were not subjected to other chemicals, that is helpful. If you try to guess why they worked and stretch that reasoning to increase histamine release or to increase vasodilation, you may end-up losing more hair than without the treatment to start with. So, the best plan is to go with a regimen that works well and not try to speed things up because they usually will slow down or even set back to reverse hard-achieved progress.

[Only Natural]

Thanks for the response, Dr. Yechiel.  I guess if something is shown to work or at least help..no sense in trying to figure it all out.  I've noticed some things that are "good"- someone will find something "bad" about it and then have no interest in it, even though it's shown to have a positive effect on hair.

It was pointed out to me that you now have SOD on the Formulator's list.  Of course I'm quite excited about that, just wish it were cheaper!  Do you think a topical consisting of SOD(encapsulated), biotin(encapsulated), and royal jelly (don't ask me why, I've just always been interested in using it..I guess it could be taken out as well) would have much color to it? I'm looking to possibly use it during the daytime.  If I could get 3 months out of a bottle...as I have with some of your other products...it's going to be tempting.

Also, which base would you recommend, and what other ingreds, if any? Probably nothing that's already in your other topicals, which I use.

[DrYechiel]

Hello Only Natural,

Well, it’s human to try and figure things out, but luckily, many things worked and work before we could figure them out (like aspirin), and most things are not entirely figured out even after many people believe they are. The most important point is that nothing is perfect, including ingredients. If an ingredient shows very good activity, there is no point in trying to argue that it has also some contradictory activity. Obviously it mainly has good activity or it would not show in a credible experiment. So, many people try to find the “ultimate ingredient” that is perfect (sometimes so that other people will not be able to contradict their statement about its benefits). What they usually find is an ingredient which is not well studied and therefore not sufficiently criticized, and so it is perfect because it is not well known. It is not different from perceiving new people we meet as “nice and helpful” until after we know them better and some unpleasant aspects show up (which can mean that the person is still as nice and helpful as ever but has some flaws like every one else). In human behavior, we can understand that and not dismiss everyone who is not perfect but, for some reason, when it comes to ingredients many people lose their common sense. The best and safest ingredients are those that have been used for many years and studied thoroughly, even if some small problems were discovered to be related to them. They are the safest because their problems are known and are minor. The psychology of trying a new ingredient which has not yet been bad-mouthed is less safe. It may not be that a new ingredient is 100% safe, but only that not much is known about it. However, by suggesting new ingredients, people can argue that they are perfect for a while and sell them better for a while.

SOD is unfortunately very expensive (when the material purchased under the name “SOD” actually contains some SOD in it). SOD is well combined with biotin and royal jelly, best formulated with our double emulsion technology with Nanosomes™. Royal jelly is a great ingredient with a large array of actives in it; there is surprisingly little “buzz” about it (even though it does come from bees).  Such a formulation could last you three-four months or more (must keep refrigerated and don’t freeze, and don’t shake bottles vigorously, just tilt gently upside down several time if necessary). It will be extremely mild in color and odor and will not be noticeable on the scalp. Other ingredients are for pore-clearing and scalp penetrating so that the ingredients can better reach the proximity of their targets. Vitamins C, and E, are very collaborative with SOD and you really don’t need any others for this particular formulation.

I hope this helps.

[Only Natural]

I've gone ahead and ordered the SOD/biotin/rj...so will post here or start another thread on my experiences with it. I'm glad it's getting warmer around here, because the stuff is going to be coooooold to apply. Well..maybe just for a second or two