Regrowth with topical Kefir and Agrimony?

Well, we all know about the benefit of kefir as a probiotic.
For topical use I found this:

http://kevinsremedies.com/hair/kefir-remedy.aspx

What do you guys think? Is it worth a try?
I could imagine, it's good for anyone with itching and flaky scalp.

Crusher - This seems like a marvelous idea! Based on all the research, having bacteria imbalance is the biggest factor in hair loss, so if this can change bacteria homeostasis in the scalp area could be the most effective natural topical. If you try this, please provide feedback.

If this works, making your own kefir instead of a kefir store product would probably make a significant difference.

CausticSymmetry wrote:Crusher - This seems like a marvelous idea! Based on all the research, having bacteria imbalance is the biggest factor in hair loss, so if this can change bacteria homeostasis in the scalp area could be the most effective natural topical. If you try this, please provide feedback.

When you say bacteria imbalance Caustic, do you think of demodex etc ?

NrwgnKID - Demodex is not bacteria, but there are is a pretty strong association between the two. For example in a Chinese study on Rosacea which is an inflammatory skin disease with some similarity to hair loss inflammation. While there 74.2% rate of rosacea cases were infected by Demodex, it was found that 80.4% were infected with bacteria.

Could this kefir as a topical solution also be useful for treatment of rosacea?

Thanks for the info Caustic. But what bacterial imbalance are we talking about in this case ? Is it the bacterial imbalance and negative bacterial growth in the digestive system that eventually reaches the scalp, and we are using topical kefir to battle this ?

Misirlou - I'm not sure. In 2007 the exact etiology with Rosacea may have been found, which is an imbalance of Antimicrobial peptides. If the innate immune system for the skin works properly there is sufficient defense against
bacteria, viruses and yeast. One aspect that casually links Rosacea with hair loss is that an increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 exists.

NrwgnKID - A lot of what causes Rosacea starts in the digestive tract. Insufficient hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes or presence of Helicobacter Pylori, and possibly an imbalance of lactic acid bacteria in the lower GI-Tract.

Bacteria is everywhere and much of its health can be governed by probiotics, but to what extent there are still a lot of unanswered questions (more studies needed). Here is an example of what one strain of Lactobacilli bacteria can do for the oral cavity.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118545073/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

The link didnt work, but Ill try and find it somewhere else. Thanks for the info !!

Interesting! I make tons of kefir so I will try this out.

CausticSymmetry wrote:Crusher - This seems like a marvelous idea! Based on all the research, having bacteria imbalance is the biggest factor in hair loss, so if this can change bacteria homeostasis in the scalp area could be the most effective natural topical. If you try this, please provide feedback.

CS - yes, I think I'll try this out. My idea behind it was exactly that, what you have written =>
bacteria imbalance ( I really was surprised to find some google-hits).

Thanks for your hint to make my own kefir, there are two possible ways:

- making water-kefir or
- making milk-kefir.

As far as I know the milk version is the better choice. First of all I have to organize
a kefir-bulb.
And yes, I'll provide feedback.

Has anyone tried this with any results?

As DirtyHarry asked: Have you got any positive result???

I would assume it's far too early to assess results at this stage.

As CS said before, it's too early to speak about concrete results.
But here my first impression:

Kefir seems to work good on my scalp (maybe the homemade version works much more better, havent't tried it until now), decreasing oilness, less of dandruff and itching (to obviate a misunderstanding:
Kefir can't create regrwoth).
I can't give a comment about Agrimony-oil, cause I haven't found here in Europe a store/website to purchase
Agrimony-oil.
Maybe Papain-oil within some additional oils could be helpful.
I'll provide feedback.

As CS said before, it's too early to speak about concrete results.
But here my first impression:

Kefir seems to work good on my scalp (maybe the homemade version works much more better, haven't tried it until now), decreasing oiling, less of dandruff and itching (to obviate a misunderstanding:
Kefir can't create regrwoth).
I can't give a comment about Agrimony-oil, cause I haven't found here in Europe a store/website to purchase
Agrimony-oil.
Maybe Papain-oil within some additional oils could be helpful.
I'll provide feedback.

Why didn't I mention this yesterday? Since I'm using Kefir on my scalp, my daily hair loss rate slows down.
No more than 4 or 5 hairs a day.
So I think it's worth a try.

I´m gonna say a very positive things about kefir.
I´ve using it since monday.
I don´t know if it´s provided by kefir but my hairloss seems to be very stabilised since Im using it.
I pray to keep it like this.
So it´s really worth to try!

tommmash: Are you using kefir topically or orally?

tommmash wrote:I´m gonna say a very positive things about kefir.
I´ve using it since monday.
I don´t know if it´s provided by kefir but my hairloss seems to be very stabilised since Im using it.
I pray to keep it like this.
So it´s really worth to try!

Warren wrote:tommmash: Are you using kefir topically or orally?

tommmash wrote:I´m gonna say a very positive things about kefir.
I´ve using it since monday.
I don´t know if it´s provided by kefir but my hairloss seems to be very stabilised since Im using it.
I pray to keep it like this.
So it´s really worth to try!

topically of course!

what about simply opening a probiotic cap mixing it in water and apply it to the scalp after a shampoo?

CS- would you mind elaborating on your statement about the primacy of bacteria in hair loss? much appreciated !

BTW, I am thoroughly enjoying your blog- awesome! And seriously, you should sign up members for a small monthly fee- I would gladly pay 10 bucks a month to access this site!

thelibrarian - Thank you for your comments, much appreciated. Even though I could use the money, doing a subscription would lose a lot of readers for sure. My website design skills are seriously lacking also, but I thought about placing a donation area somewhere just to help offset the general operating cost which the google ads often fail to do. I think the readers here are too knowledgeable to click on them anyway, LOL.

Regarding the bacteria, I think it's potentially viable because tetracyclines such as doxycycline can help stimulate hair growth by inhibiting TGF-B1–induced production of MMP-9. It's also effective in acne and rosacea, which are definitely associated with bacteria. There are some health conditions that lead to an elevated bacteria count, such as in rosacea which is strongly affected by the presence of helicobacter pylori. Because helicobacter pylori literally sucks up stomach acid, the body's ability to contain bacteria is compromised.

For example, phagocytosis occurs with proper amounts of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Phagocytosis is a process of engulfing pathogens, so in the case of rosacea increasing the stomach acid either orally or by eradicating h. pylori along with b-vitamins will prevent most rosacea. Rosacea have some similarities to androgenetic alopecia in terms of the inflammatory process and enzymes.

Emerging evidence suggests that our immune system is largely determined by bacteria. In vascular diseases bacteria has a strong role to play, and if AGA is at least in part an autoimmune disease where the body is unable to recognize that it is attacking itself, getting enough good bacteria in there will straighten out the pathogenic bacteria and lead to a better regulation instead of attacking indiscriminately.

Bacteria can also have a strong influence on glucose and insulin levels and even steroid enzyme expression.

CausticSymmetry wrote:thelibrarian - My website design skills are seriously lacking also, but I thought about placing a donation area somewhere just to help offset the general operating cost which the google ads often fail to do. I think the readers here are too knowledgeable to click on them anyway, LOL.

I can send a small donatation to show my appreciation for all you do and to keep this site out of the red.

CS - I´ve read that turmeric could kill H. pylori... Won´t turmeric work as a topical?

"AIM: To investigate the 'killing and anti-adhesive] properties of 25 plants against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)...

RESULTS: Of all the plants tested, eight plants, including Bengal quince, nightshade, garlic, dill, black peooer, coriander, fenugreek and black tea, were found to have no killing effect...

...long pepper, parsley, tarragon, nutmeg...sage and cinnamon had killing activities against H. pylori, but total inhibition of 'its growth was not achieved in this study. Among the plants that killed H. pylori, turmeric was the most effective, followed by cumin, ginger, chilli, borage, black caraway, oregano and liquorice..."

From: World J. Gastroent., Dec. 2005. By: Drs. O'Mahony, Al-Khtheeri, Weerasekera, Fernando, Holton and Basset, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Royal Free and University Colleges, London Med. School, 46 Cleveland St., London, WIP 6DB, United Kingdom.

Thanksfor your response CS- so what do you think of applying some probiotic solution directly to the scalp?