The real active ingredient from Santalum Album: efficacy studies in a anti hair loss protocol
90
Presented by: Nicola Lionetti
Introduction
Heavy hair loss and reduced hair density represent for all humans problematic and impacting conditions on daily life. It is estimated that about two-thirds of men start to perceive hair thinning as early as the age of 35. Hair thinning is commonly associated with men, but also women can suffer from this condition; indeed, about 40% of all individuals suffering with hair loss are female.
By the age of 50, approximately 85% of men will have significantly thinner hair, while nearly a half of all women will show some degree of hair loss. Genetic factors play a key role in these kinds of disorder, however other causes are to be found in hormone imbalance (high testosterone, high cortisol, high or low thyroid hormone), stress (childbirth, illness, fever, surgery, emotional stress, significant weight loss) and exogenous factors causing inflammation (pollution, sun exposure, excessive use of hair bleaching or dyeing products). From the literature, it is known that the epithelium of human hair follicles express the olfactory receptors OR2AT4, whose stimulation mediates an increase in hair growth. Some specific molecules derived from sandalwood oil and a synthetic sandalwood odorant are able to interact with OR2AT4 receptors, promoting hair growth by decreasing apoptosis and increasing production of IGF-1 in the outer root sheath. The use of natural sandalwood oil for the same purpose is still controversial, as its efficacy has not yet been demonstrated in-vivo. Santalum album (sandalwood) oil is the essential oil obtained by steam distillation of Santalum album L., fam. Santalaceae. With more than 200 constituents, the essential oil of sandalwood is emerging as an interesting active source of phytochemicals with promising health and personal care applications. One limit to its expanded applications is the cost of the active principle. The aim of our study is to investigate the anti-hair loss property of sandalwood oil through an in-vivo test on volunteers.
Experimental design
The pure sandalwood oil was introduced into a hydro-alcoholic lotion to be daily applied to the scalp, at two different levels: 0.10 and 0.50% w/w. The study is carried out on 10 + 10 subjects suffering from androgenic alopecia: II–IV stage of Norwood-Hamilton’s scale for males and I–II stage of Ludwig’s scale for females. Volunteers use the products for 3 months (2ml/die). The most important evaluation and quantification of results was performed by the photo-trichogram method, the best non-invasive and reproducible way to quantify changes of hair density and hair growth parameters. The efficacy is proven by statistically significant improvements in percentage of anagen hair (increase) and percentage of telogen hair (decrease). Furthermore, volunteers express their perceptions on the performance of the formulae by filling in a questionnaire on the efficacy and pleasantness of the treatment.
Results
The instrumental and clinical analysis performed at the end of the treatment showed very surprising results. Even if the statistical evaluation of results is still in progress, we observed a statistically relevant increase in the percentage of anagen hair and a decrease in the percentage of telogen hair. The formulae were very well tolerated. Concerning the results of the subjective evaluation after 16 weeks of treatment, the majority of volunteers judged the treatments very or fairly effective in diminishing the hair loss. This might be due also to the olfactory pleasantness of the formulae and the evident improvement of scalp conditions.
Conclusions
Vegetal molecules characterized by high functionality according to folk medicine and ethnic tradition deserve a scientific approach to enter the field of objectively reliable active principles. Sandalwood essential oil is naturally derived from western australian plantations, masterfully managed by skillful experts. Despite the remarkable cost due to its unique preciousness, Sandalum album essential oil seems a very promising material for reestablishing the scalp equilibrium.
Heavy hair loss and reduced hair density represent for all humans problematic and impacting conditions on daily life. It is estimated that about two-thirds of men start to perceive hair thinning as early as the age of 35. Hair thinning is commonly associated with men, but also women can suffer from this condition; indeed, about 40% of all individuals suffering with hair loss are female.
By the age of 50, approximately 85% of men will have significantly thinner hair, while nearly a half of all women will show some degree of hair loss. Genetic factors play a key role in these kinds of disorder, however other causes are to be found in hormone imbalance (high testosterone, high cortisol, high or low thyroid hormone), stress (childbirth, illness, fever, surgery, emotional stress, significant weight loss) and exogenous factors causing inflammation (pollution, sun exposure, excessive use of hair bleaching or dyeing products). From the literature, it is known that the epithelium of human hair follicles express the olfactory receptors OR2AT4, whose stimulation mediates an increase in hair growth. Some specific molecules derived from sandalwood oil and a synthetic sandalwood odorant are able to interact with OR2AT4 receptors, promoting hair growth by decreasing apoptosis and increasing production of IGF-1 in the outer root sheath. The use of natural sandalwood oil for the same purpose is still controversial, as its efficacy has not yet been demonstrated in-vivo. Santalum album (sandalwood) oil is the essential oil obtained by steam distillation of Santalum album L., fam. Santalaceae. With more than 200 constituents, the essential oil of sandalwood is emerging as an interesting active source of phytochemicals with promising health and personal care applications. One limit to its expanded applications is the cost of the active principle. The aim of our study is to investigate the anti-hair loss property of sandalwood oil through an in-vivo test on volunteers.
Experimental design
The pure sandalwood oil was introduced into a hydro-alcoholic lotion to be daily applied to the scalp, at two different levels: 0.10 and 0.50% w/w. The study is carried out on 10 + 10 subjects suffering from androgenic alopecia: II–IV stage of Norwood-Hamilton’s scale for males and I–II stage of Ludwig’s scale for females. Volunteers use the products for 3 months (2ml/die). The most important evaluation and quantification of results was performed by the photo-trichogram method, the best non-invasive and reproducible way to quantify changes of hair density and hair growth parameters. The efficacy is proven by statistically significant improvements in percentage of anagen hair (increase) and percentage of telogen hair (decrease). Furthermore, volunteers express their perceptions on the performance of the formulae by filling in a questionnaire on the efficacy and pleasantness of the treatment.
Results
The instrumental and clinical analysis performed at the end of the treatment showed very surprising results. Even if the statistical evaluation of results is still in progress, we observed a statistically relevant increase in the percentage of anagen hair and a decrease in the percentage of telogen hair. The formulae were very well tolerated. Concerning the results of the subjective evaluation after 16 weeks of treatment, the majority of volunteers judged the treatments very or fairly effective in diminishing the hair loss. This might be due also to the olfactory pleasantness of the formulae and the evident improvement of scalp conditions.
Conclusions
Vegetal molecules characterized by high functionality according to folk medicine and ethnic tradition deserve a scientific approach to enter the field of objectively reliable active principles. Sandalwood essential oil is naturally derived from western australian plantations, masterfully managed by skillful experts. Despite the remarkable cost due to its unique preciousness, Sandalum album essential oil seems a very promising material for reestablishing the scalp equilibrium.