reversing hair loss with TCM, traditional chinese medicine, Fo Ti or hu-shou-wu

I've meant to pose for along time my success at reversing a bald spot on the top of my head that my wife noticed and kept to herself. Un benounced to her I started a TCM protocol centered on Fo Ti, Jaio Gu Lan, Ashwagandha. I buy 4:1 extracts in powder form from kalyx.com. Buy the size you can afford. I buy the 1 kg size. This mix will last 6 months at 1/2 T to 1 T per day of each. I take 1/2 T each.

It took 6 months but my bald spot has filled in and the top front sides weakness seems to have abated.

I now do the un-concentrated Fo Ti root in a tea that I leave the root in the thermos all day and add hot water as it empties. I also do a morning smoothie with 4:1 extracts of Fo Ti and the herbs mentioned above into a water based blended mixture I down in the morning. I do about 1/2 T of each herb in the 4:1 extract and about 1T of FoTi in the tea. You need to read up and do your own experiments. In the case of this TCM protocol more is not better from my reading. These daily amounts on a 3 months on, 1 month off regimen is safe and worked for me.

I left ginseng out of my protocol only do to expense.

Good places to buy herbs:
http://www.starwest-botanicals.com/category/ginger?c1=GAW_SE_NW&source=USA_orgn&kw=ginger_organic&cr5=776016927&gclid=CKOSx_mKpKoCFUHu7Qod502mWw

http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1026112

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/g.html

http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Ginger-Root-Powder_Organic

I buy all my Fo Ti and extracts etc herbs from kalyx.com.

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More TCM ideas for hair growth that I have not tried.

Research Confirms the Herb Bhringraj Can Cure Androgenetic alopecia ( Baldness )

recipe for hair growth topical: bhringraj + amla
http://www.eherbalremedies.com/bhringaraj-a-natures-gift/
research: http://ayurveda.ygoy.com/2009/10/08/research-confirms-the-herb-bhringraj-can-cure-androgenetic-alopecia-baldness/


http://www.herbal-hair-shampoo.com/bhringaraj-ecliptaalba-falsedaisy.php

http://www.banyanbotanicals.com/prodinfo.asp?number=6132&variation=&aitem=17&mitem=125


Curt

I have to add that although I could not see the top of my head fill in, I could see much more hair on my arms, hands and fingers sprout out. Not gorilla like, but I'm hairier than i was. Proof I could see says this protocol works.

curt

how about acupuncture?

Thanks for that Curt.

I tried Fo Ti for a while and it seemed to have some effect on my hair, but not enough to keep using it. The most noticable impact for me was on libido.

You've given me some renewed faith in this, I'm going to have a look into TCM/ayurvedic side of things again.

TCM is designed to be a long term life style change.

In Chinese medicine, the perfect Doctor writes prescriptions but sees no patients.



curt

bhringraj, amla, and ashwaganda are indian auyervedic herbs not chinese i thought.

they r all in the supplement chyawanprash, which ive been taking for 5 years. Both the original jam by dabur, and the metagenics version.

its a great supplement for general well being and immunity, but still wont stop mpb. definately helps other types of hairloss though.

curt504,

Can you post links to Fo Ti, Jaio Gu Lan, and Ashwagandha on Kalyx? like 3 separate links to the exact ones you bought? thanks!

helpmyhair1 wrote:... links to Fo Ti, Jaio Gu Lan, and Ashwagandha on Kalyx?

based on curt's description, it looks like these:

Ashwagandha - http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1085065
fo-ti - http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1086062
Jaiogulan - http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1101501

Which will set you back $172.24, plus shipping. Not bad for a 6 month supply.

Is anyone else gonna try this? unfortunately i cant shell out 175 bucks at the moment. Would be nice if we could buy in smaller amounts.

Curt- What is meaning of TCM? Can you post a link so i can get some more info on this? Very interested!

Curt,

can you say for sure that these 3 herbs are what made your bald spot fill in? Or were you taking other stuff that could be what did it?

helpmyhair1 wrote:Curt,

can you say for sure that these 3 herbs are what made your bald spot fill in? Or were you taking other stuff that could be what did it?

Good question re other protocols being run in parallel. I've not personally done a comparison with and without fo to etc (TCM=Traditional Chinese Medicine which is a big field including all of herbology, acupuncture etc). I can offer that I have been on the top 6 for 10 years using my own variations, a low inflammation oriented diet, good health and weight management protocols etc and still the bald spot shows up about 1.5 years ago. My herb protocol did away with it is what my wife says. I can see my hairier arms and fingers. In addition there's at least a 1000 years of Chinese and Indian data re these compounds. Jaiogulan is actually a new comer and has only 300 years of use.

Try googling for fo ti 4:1 extract for example for smaller quantities. It will be more expensive per dose though. This is also not fast. For me it took 6 months. I found a non-concentrated source at a good price for 1#.
http://www.znaturalfoods.com/Fo-Ti-Root-Powder-%28Ho-Shou-Wu%29-Organic-%281lb%29?gclid=CPmR9fbMjKsCFY5b7AodCwhuxg

I found that Amazon carries the 2.2 pound 4:1 fo ti extract same as kalyx.

To be honest there's so much on the net re these ingredients I can't be any more help beyond my original post. Each of us will choose a different experiment and product sources and will have individual results. The wife just checked and the thin spot is still filled in is my experiment report.

curt

curt504 wrote:
http://www.znaturalfoods.com/Fo-Ti-Root-Powder-%28Ho-Shou-Wu%29-Organic-%281lb%29?gclid=CPmR9fbMjKsCFY5b7AodCwhuxg

curt

How is this Fo-ti so much cheaper than the one at kalyx.com?

also... i've heard rumors that fo-ti is esterogenic. is this true? isn't that bad for guys then? i.e. gyno, turning into a female, etc.?

Curt,

If I do this regimen, I plan on going to a local retailer here in toronto. Would get the herbs faster and save on shipping costs. We have a herb shop here.. I don't see any info on extracts (ie. 4:1). It just says the herb. Is there a difference?

Here are the links of each of the herbs from the store here in toronto. Let me know if they are sufficient for this regimen.

http://secure.herbies-herbs.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=835&category_id=19&flypage=flypage.mi.tpl&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

http://secure.herbies-herbs.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.mi.tpl&product_id=439&category_id=15&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

http://secure.herbies-herbs.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.mi.tpl&product_id=1035&category_id=20&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

thanks

Extracts are a concentration of the raw herb. 4:1 means you need to take 1/4 the amount. Something is usually lost in the concentration process which is why my protocol takes both the raw root in a tea and the 4:1 extract in a smoothie. Google and read up on herb extracts and what it means. Cost per oz goes up for extracts as you might guess.

Historically daily dose for each of these herbs is in the 5 grams / day range. This adds up to alot of bland muddish concoction which is why I moved to extracts for my smoothie. Daily dose comes down to 1 gram or so of each herb.

I did start out on raw root tea using a heaping table spoon of each herb and add hot water and shake through the day.

curt

I have minor gyno which I believed to be from several things, one of them is Fo-Ti (the others being essential oils)

I'm going to try Fo Ti. Can I get it at a local store? I'm not allowed to buy offline. I'm 23 with hairloss due to hormonal imbalances so I truely believe fo ti will benefit me. And what is the dosage per day?

Curt504- Just wanted follow up to see if you have any symptoms of gyno or loss of libido from fo-ti? Really interested in your protocol.

Sounds like this worked very well for you. Are you sure increased hair on arms and hands is such a good sign though? In my case I've noticed slightly increased body hair correlating with hair loss.

I've been having acupuncture for the last six weeks or so, she is focusing on strengthening my weak kidneys. She thought I could achieve this without herbals, although I was warned it'd be a slow process. Also she uses moxibustion with the needles. According to TCM, weak kidneys will be reflected in poor hair growth, among many other symptoms.