Head Scarves For Hair Loss
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With hair loss such a common problem for both women and men, especially in the wake of COVID, the search for a decent hair growth treatment is on.
Having had alopecia for most of my life, I’ve been tempted to find a ‘miracle cure’: to do anything, spend anything to get my hair back. But I’ve also had some bad side effects from certain hair thinning treatments I’ve tried – not to mention, wasted a lot of money! So now I’m here to help fellow alopecians find a safer alternative.
Bear in mind, what worked for me may not for you…and also, you might love the products of which I’m about to get pretty critical.
But I felt I had to review this brand – as ScalpMED reviews are quite mixed, it might be hard to figure out what’s real. And even though I haven’t, and wouldn’t, try these products myself, I want to give you as honest an overview as I can.
So that you’re fully informed of potential side effects, reports of ScalpMED scams and other factors that might make you reconsider it as your next hair loss treatment.
ScalpMED are quite a shiny, shouty hair brand for thinning hair that has been featured on FOX, NBC, abc and in the Los Angeles Times, according to their website. They make a few different multi-patented hair regrowth systems: including one for women and for men, a styling spray and a hair growth supplement.
The company is pretty confident about their hair regrowth results: on the ScalpMED website, they call themselves the “The#1 Patented, Clinically Proven, Hair Regrowth & Thickening Solution In The World!” They’re SO confident, in fact, that they offer a 120-day money-back guarantee on their hair regrowth products (less shipping and handling costs).
Sounds good on paper, but whether any dissatisfied customers ever receive any money back, is unclear. From the reviews I’ve read, this “guarantee” is actually a total scam…more on that in the “customer reviews” section of this post.
ScalpMed’s patented Hair Regrowth System for Women makes big claims on its bottles, like “Grow my Hair” supplements, “Regrow my Hair” and “Detox my Scalp”. Catchy names, but do they actually work for hair growth as they boast?
For $136, your hair regrowth system includes 2 x bottles of VItadil-5A (including minoxidil), 1 x bottle of Nutrisol-RM, 1 x bottle of Single-Step Application topical solution and a free gift of Thicken my Hair thickening shampoo. You can choose to swap out that bonus of Thicken my Hair with a gift of Grow my Hair (a hair growth supplement) and a detox spray instead.
The Hair Regrowth System for Men is also primarily composed of 2 topical treatments: Nutrisol and Vitadil-5A.
It doesn’t seem like there’s any difference between this and their patented hair regrowth treatment for women, aside from the fact that they’re packaged differently. At least brands like Viviscal offer separate options for women and men, with different ingredients and quantities to suit their differing needs and hormone levels.
In ScalpMed’s system for men, you can choose between a bonus gift of Thicken my Hair thickening shampoo, or Grow my Hair vitamins and a detox spray.
ScalpMED products also include a Hair Thickening Kit, featuring a thickening shampoo and a hair conditioner, a Hair Care Essentials Kit, which includes both of these products plus a hair spray. This thickening spray can be used to give the appearance of fuller looking hair, without making your hair feel crunchy or sticky.
Finally, ScalpMed offers a follicle detox scalp treatment called – you guessed it – Detox my Scalp and the Hair Growth Supplement I mentioned before, which you can buy separately. It seems like a pretty powerful approach towards encouraging hair regrowth, whether you buy separate products or a full hair regrowth system…but do these options really help hair thinning?
ScalpMed products contain 3 key formulas to tackle hair loss: Nutrisol-RM, Vitadil-5A (which contains minoxidil), and a PhytoComplex.
The natural ingredients include DHT-blockers like beta sitosterol, green tea and saw palmetto extract. There are also some great anti-inflammatory ingredients like turmeric extract and horsetail extract, moisturizing compounds like panthenol and linoleic acid, plus vitamins and minerals like biotin and zinc which, if we’re deficient in, could trigger hair loss.
Although I’m a big fan of these natural ingredients, and know from using them in other products how they can help thinning hair and even encourage hair growth by stimulating hair follicles, the other chemicals in ScalpMED products make me less excited.
Sure, the company claims its plant based cleansers and other ScalpMED products are a safe and effective way of treating hair loss, fostering healthy hair and stimulating hair growth. But my question is, at what cost? All the alcohol and other oil-stripping chemicals in scalp treatments could actually do more harm than good.
It also fails to list the concentration of minoxidil in either patented hair regrowth system or in ScalpMED’s carrier formula, which is a big concern to me. As women are recommended to take 2%, while for men, it’s 5%. So that’s a pretty big difference!
Well, the results on their website sound very promising indeed: that in a 6-month consumer trial of NutriSol and Vitadil, these ScalpMED products were proven to retain and regrow hair:
96% said ScalpMED® grew their hair back.
96% rated ScalpMED® Excellent / Very Good for preventing hair from further loss.
96% said ScalpMED® is “Better than Others” compared to other hair treatments they have used.
96% Had an Excellent / Very Good Experience using ScalpMED
Rather than getting too excited about these results, let me point out…they’re exactly the same. Could ScalpMED REALLY have achieved 96% in every category, across all ScalpMED products? Hmm.
Also, on the company’s website, waaay down at the bottom, they add that not only did these customers get free products, but they were “compensated for their time”, too. So, well, of course, they would be positive about the freebies, and the extra cash they received to trial and review them!
On the ScalpMed website, the brand claims: “Nothing Grows Your Hair Back Better Than ScalpMED”. Sorry, guys. I’ve used other, less harmful scalp treatments than topical minoxidil and they’ve worked. Without the nasty side effects.
At the risk of sounding too much like I’m knocking a product that I haven’t tried (which, ok, is true!), I thought I better include some pros to the scalp treatments as well as the many cons I can think of. To make this ScalpMED review a little more balanced!
This hair loss company has up to 640 customer reviews: but pretty much all of them are on the company’s website, so they’re definitely biased.
I had thought that ScalpMED’s return policy was pretty generous – only one review (on Trustpilot) enlightened me to the fact that this policy starts from the date you order the product. Which is pretty ridiculous, in my opinion.
One ScalpMED review says pretty awful things about the company and advises anyone against using it (due to its harsh content, I haven’t included that particular review!)
This product is a Miracle! I suffered from a hair pulling dis-order for years. I stopped when I was 40 years of age. I thought I would never have hair again on the crown of my head. At 59 years of age, after buying this product, it is growing in like crazy. Thank you SO much!
– Joy, UD
I was going to order for my son but reading comment from customer what the return policy is I am bothered by their unfairness to customers. Starting return date at date of order is BS. So if it takes 2 weeks to receive I have 2 weeks to return?? I was going to order as a Christmas gift but not now. Will do without!
– Jackie, US
Let me start with the hair growth products that contain minoxidil.
When I used a topical minoxidil treatment before for hair loss, this FDA approved ingredient gave me scalp irritation, terrible headaches and dizziness. It also thinned the skin of my scalp so much, I could see the veins through – and I’m pretty sure led to long-term gut problems, too.
Other potential side effects include:
So whatever ScalpMED claims, just because minoxidil is an FDA approved topical ingredient, doesn’t mean it’s a risk-free one! The other products in Scalp Med hair regrowth systems might be a more gentle way to treat hair loss: but they still contain alcohols and other chemicals that can irritate the scalp and maybe even contribute to more hair loss.
In my opinion, you’re better off using natural ingredients to widen blood vessels than minoxidil solution. Things like caffeine or ginger, which stimulate blood vessels and boost circulation of essential nutrients to the scalp…to activate hair follicles at less of a high price. More on the products I’d recommend in the next section.
ScalpMED claims to be the best hair loss treatment out there…but I have to say, I disagree. Having used much more natural products, and seen great results from them (with minimal side effects), I’d recommend trying the below hair treatments first.
When I was experiencing a lot of postpartum hair loss, Revita shampoo and conditioner stopped my shedding in its tracks.
I loved the smell of it, how it felt like it was stimulating my hair follicles with a nice tingling sensation and how it made my small amount of existing hair healthier, thicker and stronger. Revita is a really affordable hair loss treatment and the brand behind it (DS Labs) have always been incredibly responsive.
Although I’ve only ever tried Revita’s shampoo and conditioner, DS Labs make a range of other hair thinning products.
I’m waiting on their microroller and a hair loss serum right now, and if I wasn’t pregnant again, I’d be ordering their serum with nanoxidil…which has all the benefits of minoxidil, without the dodgy side effects. It’s quite new so it hasn’t been FDA approved yet – but early clinical trials look very promising.
Although Vegamour is a much more expensive, salon luxury style brand, I love their hair products. Their shampoo, conditioner and serums brought white vellus fuzz back to my bald patches, for the first time in several months. I also saw fantastic results after using its eyebrow serum, which grew it back entirely!
Vegamour is another of my very favorite brands to promote hair growth. If you can afford it!
In my opinion, no. Even if minoxidil offers a quick fix, you’re not getting to the root cause of the problem and you won’t get a long-term solution for your hair loss. I’d prefer a more holistic brand for this reason…with products that are sulfate-free, natural and kind to your scalp.
Each patented hair regrowth system is targeted toward men and women’s hair loss. Both the Regrowth System for Women and the Regrowth System for Men target male pattern hair loss, thanks to the inclusion of saw palmetto.
Plus, the thickening shampoo, the conditioner, and the thickening hair spray (or whatever hair regrowth treatment you’ve chosen as a bonus gift) aim to stimulate the hair follicles for healthy hair and a reduction in hair loss.
These products are only available from ScalpMED’s website. Careful of dodgy autoship programs if you’re buying from there!
In my honest opinion, no it isn’t. I have to say, I’m having a hard time trusting this brand or the big claims they make to reverse hair loss and promote hair growth. (They also make very strange health claims – like saying hair thinning is due to “a toxic scalp”. Huh?!)
Personally, I’d rather stick to a hair treatment that focuses more on hair and scalp health, on addressing vitamin deficiencies that could be triggering hair loss and on a holistic, longer-term approach than offering a quick fix. Plus, a brand that actually seems legit.
Although each ScalpMED review on the company’s website are glowing, these can be fake reviews – and as their survey participants were paid for, the reviews probably were, too. Since ScalpMed isn’t available on Amazon, I couldn’t check for reviews there, either.
Going from the ingredients (which include minoxidil, alcohol and other potentially harmful chemicals), the company’s lack of transparency (about the quantities of these ingredients) and my gut feeling – that ScalpMed claims are all razzle dazzle – I don’t recommend trying ScalpMED.
But if you ever have, I’d love to hear about your experience. Get sharing below!
Love & hugs,
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Alopecian. Yoga Teacher. Copywriter. Here to share information, offer support and show people the adventures that can lie in hair loss. I’m proud to have alopecia and I want to help others embrace their baldness, too!
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I’m Emma. I’ve had alopecia for 24 years and I’m here to inform/hopefully empower people like me! Read my full story here. But I’m not a doctor, so any advice here is based on my own research and experience. I’m also in a few affiliate programs – see my disclaimer page for more. Or contact me here. Also, why not join a thousand fellow alopecians and get my-semi regular hair about life with irregular hair?
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