Saw Palmetto extract is the extract from the fruit of the Serenoa repens. Rich in fatty oils and phytosterols, it has been used in traditional medicine since ancient times by the American Indians, The Mayans and The Seminoles. It is also used in alternative medicine to treat a variety of ailments and is a popular herbal remedy for benign prostatic hyperplasia. European and American medical practitioners have been using saw palmetto extract for the last two hundred years to treat a wide range of diseases including weakness and urogenital issues.
Over the past few years, saw palmetto oil has been gaining recognition for its ability to treat hair loss and baldness. Read further to gain in depth insight into why saw palmetto extract could very well be the answer to your hair loss issues. This article would address two frequently asked questions that are bound to come up before you could actually go on to use saw palmetto hair loss treatment to your benefit.
Saw Palmetto or Serenoa repens is a dwarf palm plant native to North America. It mainly grows along the Atlantic Coast in Georgia and Florida and as mentioned earlier has been used in American Indian traditional medicine for ages. The extract from saw palmetto used for medical purposes comes from the plant’s brown-black berries. Native American used saw palmetto to treat urinary tract disorders in men and breast disorders in women however from then right up to now saw palmetto is still used as an herbal remedy for hair loss.
Though there have been no scientific studies to conclusively prove the effectiveness of saw palmetto, much of its popularity is based on word of mouth from people who have successfully treated hair loss with saw palmetto and from the fact that it’s an old herbal remedy that has still managed to stick around which bears testament to its effectiveness. Saw palmetto is mainly used to treat hair loss and baldness caused by androgenic alopecia which affects both men and women.
Typically androgenic alopecia causes hair loss and baldness at the top of the head or around the temples. As mentioned earlier there is no concrete scientific proof to show how saw palmetto works however it is commonly believed to block an enzyme called 5-Alpha-Reductase from allowing the hormone testosterone from converting into another hormone called dehydrotestosteone which is believed to be the main factor that brings on androgenic alopecia in men and women.
In a small study conducted on ten men and women with moderate hair loss and baldness, saw palmetto proved to be pretty effective. Though the study bears little weight because of the small number of subjects, the fact that saw palmetto has been used as an herbal remedy even before Americans learned to count speaks for itself.
Most hair loss treatments can be costly, time consuming, may have side effects or all three. Common treatments for hair loss are allopathic medication, herbal remedies like hair packs or hair grafting. Most allopathic medications for hair loss are expensive, need to be taken for a long duration of time to be effective and can have adverse side effects in comparison to which saw palmetto is not that expensive and is a herbal remedy that has few or no side effects.
Using hair packs can be time consuming and take up time that can be utilized elsewhere apart from the fact that they can be messy where as it is easier to swallow down a saw palmetto extract supplement or simply apply saw palmetto hair oil regularly. It need not be mentioned how expensive hair transplant or grafting can be apart from the fact that it takes time and most often one session at the doctor’s office isn’t sufficient. Good enough reasons to give saw palmetto a fair try, right!
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