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InFlamil Review

While it is not clear whether inflammation plays a role in androgenetic alopecia, there are some researchers who believe that it may be involved to some degree (read the first paragraph on the 6th page of this PDF artice on androgenetic alopecia, from the International Journal of Men's Health and Gender):

"A moderate perifollicular, lymphohistiocystic infiltrate, perhaps with concentric layers of perifollicular collagen depositions, is present in 40% of cases of androgenetic alopecia, but only 10% of normal control subjects. Occasional eosinophils and mast cells can be seen. The cellular inflammatory changes also occur around lower follicles in some cases and occasionally involve follicular stellae. The diagnostic and prognostic significance of the degree of inflammation is not known."

If inflammation is involved in hair loss it probably makes sense to try to get it under control. In my own case, I have two conditions of the scalp, both of which involve inflammation. I have seborrheic dermatitis (also known as cradle cap) and folliculitis decalvans. The first causes itching and redness, while the second actually causes swelling around the follicles and permanent hair loss. In addition to these I have regular androgenetic alopecia.

Obviously I'd like to stop all three of these. Most people with androgenetic genetic alopecia don't suffer from either of these other two conditions. But I've mentioned them because in my personal situation unless I get them under control then I'll continue to lose hair due to the inflammation, regardless of whether I use Propecia, Minoxidil or any other hair loss treatments. I desparately needed something to at the very least keep the symptoms of inflammation under control on my scalp.

Due to persistent recommendations from several members of the Hair Loss Forums (forums which I'd like to invite you to sign-up and join!) I decided to try a product that claims to combat inflammation of the scalp, called InFlamil.

InFlamil is produced by a company called Lipoxidil that makes various treatments for hair and hair loss. They claim to have products that are based in Liposomes--fat molecules that can encapsulate the active ingredients in a product and carry them through various skin layers to deliver them to the targeted area. In our case that's the hair follicles.

Anyway, I placed an order for it online. At the recommendation of several forum members I asked specifically for the gel-based version of InFlamil because apparently they had changed the formulation to a liquid-based one from a gel-based one, and the forum members seemed to prefer the gel-based one. It arrived in the mail in under a week.

It comes in a small white bottle with a pump on the top. See the following picture of the label:

The ingredients and proportions listed are 10% Feverfew, 10% Thuja Occidentalils, 10% Epibolium, 5% Green Tea Extract (see green tea catechins) and 1% Mentholum verum.

I did some research to find out what these ingredients are for. So far I have learned the following:

Feverfew: This is a medicinal herb containing parthenolide, which is purported to inhibit inflammation via interaction with IkappaB kinase beta, a molecule known for it's role in inflammation (see this abstract).

Thuja Occidentalis: This is a tree native to Europe that is purported to have various essential oils that have antiviral and immune-stimulating properties (see this abstract). It has also been shown to inhibit 5-alpha-reductase and androchonogenetic alopecia in a mouse hybrid (see this abstract). Inhibition of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme is the property of Thuja that I am assuming is the reason for it's inclusion in InFlamil.

Epibolium: Still haven't been able to dig up anything on this ingredient.

Green Tee Extract: Green tea catechins have been shown to have anti-androgenic properties (see green tea catechins). Anti-inflammatory treatment is not intended to regrow hair but it will delay or prevent some of the miniaturization process and keep the tissue "alive" for cellular communication.

Mentholum verum: A mint herbal. I am assuming the function of this ingredient is to produce a cooling effect when applied to the scalp.

Here is an excerpt from Lipoxidil about InFlamil and it's ingredients:

"Anti-inflammatory treatment is not intended to regrow hair but it will delay or prevent some of the miniaturization process and keep the tissue "alive" for cellular communication.

Nevertheless we have added some growth stimulants in both InFlamil products to increase the chances of regrowth in developing cases of AGA.

The ingredients Pathenolide, Thujae Occidentalis extract, Epilobium, EGCG and 6-BAP are known and documented NF-KappaB inhibitors,anti-inflammatory, estrogen regulator, BMP stimulator, TNF-a and proteasome inhibitors."

It should be noted that the version of Inflamil that I ordered did not include 6-BAP. I'm also not sure if any other ingredients than the ones on the label were included in the bottle that I purchased.

I didn't receive any instructions on how to use it with my order, but a quick search of the vendor's website gave me what I was looking for. The directions for use basically stated that it should be applied to the thinning area without rubbing or massaging, daily for 10 days in the morning or evening. The instructions continue to state that you should let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes and then wash it away with InFlamil shampoo. (I didn't use the InFlamil shampoo during my own trial of the product and believe that this should be optional). The instructions state that it should be used daily for an initial 10-day period to eliminate the inflammation, after which once or twice a week should suffice.

I should state that despite all of the urgings of my forum members, I was skeptical about this product. However, I followed the instructions and applied it daily for 10 days as the instructions stated.

My first application was interesting. The product is basically more of a cream than a gel, it is light-brown in color, and has a minty, herbal smell to it that I found to be very pleasant. I very much enjoyed the cooling sensation that it gave me. It was actually quite relaxing. After my first application I liked the product due to the way it made me feel more than anything else, although admittedly this does not justify the $50 price-tag. That would have to come from positive results.

After using it for the 10 initial days I can say that without question the noticable and visible symptoms of my inflammation of the scalp appear to be almost completely gone. I say almost because I still occasionally feel some tenderness, but it is significantly reduced from prior to using the product. I have continued to use the product in the hopes that it will continue to keep my inflammation under control. Having said this, I can't say that the inflammation is actually gone. I don't know if there is inflammation at the follicles that I can't feel. All I can say is that the itching, redness and swelling that was visibly there and noticable by me has gone down signficantly, and for these reasons I believe InFlamil is a good product for those of us hair loss sufferers that have noticable inflammation. It may also be a good product in general for hair loss, but I have know way of knowing either way.

For the record, this review (and EVERY SINGLE other review on this website) was done completely on my own accord and is a completely independent and unbiased review. I felt compelled to state this because I have done several reviews of products and never stated this fact, but I want everyone that reads the review and any other review on HairLossFight.com to be aware of this fact.

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