Published by
Sunday Mirror May 9, 1999
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Curry herb is hot new cure for baldness. A new treatment for baldness using herbal extract has surprised doctors by its effectiveness.
The spray and capsule remedy contains extracts of fenugreek, a herb used in salads and curries, and a relative of the tomato called saw palmetto. Hair specialists at the Helsinki University have carried out extensive trials on Folligro™ and have been stunned by the results. The new treatment is about to be sold in the UK and British hair specialist is to try it on patients. The herbal treatment was discovered accidentally by a doctor who developed a herbal soup for himself to treat his bronchitis and a chronic chest infection. While taking the herbal concoction for six months, he noticed that he was starting to grow hair on previously bald patches on his head. "It was quite and amazing discovery," said Dr. Annikki Hagros a scientist at Helsinki University’s Trichological Institute. "I was quite sceptical at first because there are so many so-called cures for hair loss that don’t work." "But I carried out a trial last year and was astounded at how quickly hair started to grow back on bald patches." "Some patients’ hair started to come back after only a week, although on most cases it took several months to see a significant improvements" The most successful patient in the trial was Karl Hautala. A 42-year-old photographer. "I’ve tried a lot of lotions and liquids without any success," he said. "But the end of the trial I was completely won over." "My hair loss had been halted and the areas that had already gone bald started to grow new hair. It was wonderful." Dr. Richard Rogers, who runs, the Wellesbourne Hair Restoration Centre in Harley Street, plans to recruit 100 patients for his trial, starting in the next few months. The herbal extracts work in the same was as standard pharmaceutical drugs used to treat hair loss. One is minoxidil and the other finsteride. The benefit if the herbal treatment is that it appears to be more potent than the drugs. The treatment only works for patients with mail pattern baldness and other types of hair loss. |
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