Name Ingredients:
Stemoxydine is a patented compound developed by L’Oreal and derived from plant stem cells. It is sold for $39.99 and is often combined with resveratrol, a known antioxidant. YouTube personalities have helped to popularize stemoxydine ever since it first went to market in 2012.
Key insights:
- The in vitro/ex vivo evidence suggests that stemoxydine prevents the degradation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha – which is secreted when tissues sense that they are in a less oxygenated (hypoxic) state – therefore tricking the surrounding tissue into thinking it is in a hypoxic state. If this condition is maintained, it leads to a state of pluripotency in areas of the hair follicle that contain stem cells, which may result in the generation of more robust hair follicles, better-defined outer root sheaths, and perhaps larger and thicker hair strands.
- The clinical evidence suggests that stemoxydine can decrease the latency period of “rest” in between hair cycles which may lead to faster hair regrowth, with a 3-5% overall increase in hair density. This may only be beneficial to those with telogen effluvium-based hair loss, because the product may help to restart the hair cycle faster. One study combined stemoxydine with resveratrol and found that treatment over 3 months in women with androgenetic alopecia also increased hair density compared to the control group.
- Furthermore, because none of the studies were registered clinical trials there could have been negative results never published that we cannot track down. Additionally all of the studies were paid for by L’Oreal meaning that there is a higher likelihood of bias in the publications on this product.
- Our experience tracking members: by itself, stemoxydine alone is not enough to improve hair loss outcomes.
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