Since Nicotine is an aromatase inhibitor

.. Smoking might be good for hair?

cpio - Unfortunately, smoking increases DHT.

IH, I think that frontal thinning in hair might be mostly caused by aromatase, or for some, stress.

I want to add another aromatase inhibitor other than Damiana. Can you recommend a herbal one.

Pygeum?

Passion flower (which I read has an absorption problem), I am not too comfortable with it.

Any other inhibitors of aromatase that could be worthwhile to your knowledge?

Maybe Prague got suggestions?

Off the top of my head, the top smokers I know that I can think of:

First, male, ex-smoker for a while. Used to smoke filterless two packs a day for around two decades. As good as cue ball bald with a few extremely dry stringy sprouts here and there. It can't be more than a hundred hairs.
Second, male, ex smoker since recently. Smoked filters for around three to four decades. As good as cue ball bald.
Third, male, the most extreme total chimney smoker. Three to four decades. Not exactly cue ball, but close. I never really invested much attention into his condition but I do know that his hair is slightly longer so he indeed could be as bald as the others. What he has left is extremely dry and stringy in any case.
Fourth, female. Smoke free for around five years now, after three-to-four decades of regular, 'decently' intensive tobacco abuse. A slight male-like widow's peak and very dry hair.

Note: second, third and fourth are siblings.

Let me tell you - if we are to assume the unlikely that their smoking had no detrimental effect to their hair, we can sure as hell determine it DEFINITELY didn't help at all in any case.

Don't smoke.

nettle ? aromatase inhibitor no ?

cpio, in a german hairloss forum we dicussed pygeum very intensive.
Some guys used this one from Life extension - 'Ultra Natural Prostate with 5-LOXIN and Standardized Lignans',
http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item01275/Ultra-Natural-Prostate-with-5-Loxin-and-Standardized-Lignans.html - without any result. We guess the dosage was to low, so one guy tried a higher
dosage and reported about a strong shed (because of the higher dosage of Saw Palmetto?) .

After this we discussed to use pygeum externally. We talked about a topical mix
of pygeum, saw palmetto and nettleroot extract that maybe could bring better results.
But I can't make a statement about this because nobody tried it out.

Resveratrol for aromatase inhibition.

Does marijuana also increase DHT?

cpio

smokers have better hair (i'm not sure if it's the aromatase inhibition or more likely that when you smoke you don't crave sugars - it's known that when people stop smoking they get fat - and loose hair for some of them)

i feel the frontal hairloss has much more to do with high aromatase or low T levels (goes hand in hand)

aromatase inhibitors work for me but it's very tricky - you need to fight estrogenes from multiple angles, this is what i do (copied from Ori hofmekler's blog)

Increasing intake of male plants

More studies need to be done on plant androgens and how they affect our health, but based on anecdotal evidence, male plants do work. Testosterone boosting foods and herbs such as garlic, onion, celery, radish, almonds, pine nuts, bee pollen, mucuna, ashwaganda and ginseng respectively have shown great impact on sustaining and boosting testosterone, virility, strength and vitality. In future reports I will present male supportive foods, spices and herbs in more details, but for now let me just suggest that any plant food harvested before and right after pollination, is more likely to have higher concentrations of plant androgens than during other seasons. Evidently phytoandrogens reach max concentrations in plants during pollination and then drop rapidly thereafter. Also, there is evidence that young "green" grains are more "male oriented" than old grains (such as with green oats). The germ in grain is a great source of male hormones supportive compounds vitamin E, phytosteroids and nutritional cofactors – naturally occurring in the fat component of the germ. Note that stabilized wheat germ or rice germ could be highly beneficial in this regard.

Increasing intake of anti-estrogenic foods

Certain foods and herbs have shown the capacity to help balance estrogen in the body by inhibiting its formation or by modulating it metabolism. These include broccoli, cabbage, omega 3 oil, flax, hemp or fish oils, nuts, seeds, turmeric, garlic, onion, oranges, berries, and all greens.

Supplement with estrogen inhibitors

Certain compounds in plants have shown to inhibit estrogen by blocking the aromatase enzyme that produces estrogen (converting androgens to estrogens) and by shifting estrogen metabolism to favor the production of the beneficial metabolites 2-hydroxy estrogens over the harmful fattening and sickening metabolites 16-hydroxy estrogens. These include the flavonoids chrysin from passion flower, apigenine from chamomile, and indoles from cabbage. (More information on estrogen inhibitors at http://www.defensenutrition.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=63.)

Cleanse your liver, kidneys and digestive tract

The liver and kidneys are the sites for steroid metabolism. There is a positive correlation between liver and kidney's health and testosterone activity. Testosterone's impact on the body depends on the level of free testosterone and what becomes evidently clear is that levels of free testosterone DECLINES when the liver is strained or overwhelmed with toxins. Toxicity promotes a process in the liver that DEACTIVATES testosterone by binding it to certain proteins called sex hormone binding globulins (SHBG). Moreover, toxicity increases the level of estrogen and cortisol over testosterone – a process that further diminishes testosterone's impact on the body. At this point, it doesn't matter whether and how much testosterone was ingested or even rejected – due to high levels of SHBG, or an excess of estrogen and cortisol, much of the testosterone pool will be rendered inactive. To avoid this problem, which also accelerates with aging and stress, it is important to CLEANSE all the body's detoxifying organs on a daily basis. Fruits and greens on empty stomach have a detoxifying effect on the body, nonetheless it is also important to supplement with detoxifying herbs

prague's commentary: do not take chrysin, take passion flower whole herb, it's not chrysin responsible for aromatase inhibitor; go for parsley - it works for the front, believe me, damiana is great

also if i get desperate one day (and i'm far from being desperate - you saw my pics, cpio)
i would apply topically dutasteride with progesterone cream to temples - it works, i did some trials with friends and even ppl on one forum i talked about it reported considerable regrowth in the front - google for debris, prog cream, temples - he did pictures)

Prague, thanks for all that great info, I gotta google for Ori's blog soon. Damiana has quickly become a
favourite herb.

I can get Passiflora in raw weight quantity same place as I got Damiana raw weight, this store
is pretty good, http://www.baldwins.co.uk/Herbs-Roots-Barks-Powders-And-Dried-Flowers/Organic-Herbs-Roots-Barks-Powders-And-Dried-Flowers/Baldwins-Organic-Passiflora-(Passion-Flower)-Herb/9514/425

Prague, if you got the whole of the anti-estrogenic diet book, send me copy.

Beneficial effects of chrysin and benzoflavone on virility in 2-year-old male rats.Dhawan K, Kumar S, Sharma A.
Pharmacognosy Division, University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh-160014, India.

This work describes the potential usefulness of bioflavonoids for countering the deleterious effects of aging on male sexuality in 2-year-old rats. A flavone chrysin from Passiflora caerulea Linn. and a benzoflavone moiety (BZF) recently isolated from Passiflora incarnata Linn. were administered to 2-year-old male rats for a period of 30 days. After cessation of these treatments, there was a significant improvement in overall sexual functions in the rats given bioflavonoids, compared with control rats. The rats receiving chrysin (1 mg/kg) and BZF (10 mg/kg) exhibited increased libido when they were allowed to interact with nonestrous female rats. Additionally, both treated groups had increased sperm count, greater fertilization potential, and greater litter size when they were allowed to interact with proven proestrous female rats of a similar strain. BZF was more potent than chrysin as an antiaromatase agent and exhibited better effects on the sexual system of the 2-year-old male rats. Plant flavonoids have great potential for clinical and therapeutic applications against the physiological and biochemical effects of aging.