Male Pattern Baldness: Hair Loss Medicine Scams

A variety of products on the market attempt to lure men with male pattern baldness into buying phony baldness drugs. These hair loss medicine scams often succeed in widespread scamming, since men with male pattern baldness are often upset about losing their hair and thus willing to go to great lengths to try and reverse the hair loss.

The good news is that hair loss medicine scams are easy to spot if you remember that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has currently approved just two baldness drugs:

• Finasteride, a prescription pill known by the brand name Propecia^®.
• Minoxidil, a topical drug found primarily in Rogaine^®.

If you're considering a baldness drug that doesn't contain either one of these active ingredients, remember that it has not passed the scientific scrutiny of the FDA. In other words, there's no real proof that it will do anything at all, and it may even be harmful.

Questionable Baldness Drugs

Hair loss medicine scams range from drugs that simply do nothing to those that can actually be detrimental to your health. The following so-called "baldness cures" are not approved by the FDA:

• Avacor^® is a three-part "hair care system" that involves shampoo, a topical formula and a dietary supplement. Avacor^® has been the focus of several consumer lawsuits and media scrutiny. Avacor's^® claims that its product is FDA-approved are technically true, because it contains a small amount of minoxidil, but Avacor^® is far more expensive (and has been proven less effective) than getting minoxidil in other ways.
• Fabao^® is a topical tonic marketed as a "natural" alternative to Rogaine^® and Propecia^® that claims to reverse balding by improving circulation, increasing the absorption of nutrients in the scalp and unclogging pores. Created by Chinese dermatologist Dr. Zhangguang Zhao, it's advertised as an ancient Chinese secret. It has been tested in China, but has not been subject to clinical testing in the United States.
• Revivogen^®, another three-part "scalp therapy" advertised as containing only natural ingredients, claims to block DHT, the chemical that causes hair loss. The FDA has not approved Revivogen^® for use as a baldness drug and its claims have not yet been proven effective in clinical trials.

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