Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications, 2019, 9, 292-304 https://www.scirp.org/journal/jcdsa ISSN Online: 2161-4512 ISSN Print: 2161-4105 DOI: 10.4236/jcdsa.2019.94026 Nov. 28, 2019 292 J. Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications The Effect of a Food Supplement and a Hair Lotion on the Progression of Androgenetic Alopecia Michael Bayer 1 , Manfred Gahrtz 2* , Werner Voss 1 , Gerrit Schlippe 1 , Thomas Whitfield 3 1 Dermatest GmbH, Münster, Germany 2 Oxford Biolabs Deutschland GmbH, Regensburg, Germany 3 Oxford Biolabs Ltd., Oxford, UK Abstract Background: Progressing androgenetic alopecia (AGA), in both sexes, can result in severe distress. Treatments with the capacity to slow down the pro- gression of AGA, or even to bring it to a halt, and at the same time don’t come with side effects are consequently highly sought for. Therefore this study investigates the effect of an over-the-counter nutritional supplement and a similarly formulated topical hair lotion on the progression of AGA. Methods: Seventy-nine healthy study participants of both sexes, who were diagnosed with AGA were divided into 4 study groups. The subjects of the first group were treated with the nutritional supplement, the subjects of the second group with the topical hair lotion, the subjects of the third group with both products, and the subjects of the fourth group served as a no-treatment control. At the beginning and at the end of this nine-month study, the par- ticipants were evaluated for their hair loss status. They also answered a ques- tionnaire for self-assessment. A part of the subjects from each study group were further analysed by phototrichography, in order to measure the number of anagen and telogen hairs. Results: It turned out that the supplement, the lotion as well as the treatment with both products not only lead to a reduction in hair loss but also to an increased anagen to telogen hair ratio, whereas no such effects could be measured for the control group. Conclusion: The re- sults show that a systemic delivery via a nutritional supplement, as well as a follicular delivery via a topically applied lotion, both resulted in a reduced hair loss rate as well as in an increased anagen to telogen hair ratio. This de- monstrates that the tested formulation is effectively slowing down the pro- gression of AGA. How to cite this paper: Bayer, M., Gahrtz, M., Voss, W., Schlippe, G. and Whitfield, T. (2019) The Effect of a Food Supplement and a Hair Lotion on the Progression of Androgenetic Alopecia. Journal of Cos- metics, Dermatological Sciences and Ap- plications, 9, 292-304. https://doi.org/10.4236/jcdsa.2019.94026 Received: October 9, 2019 Accepted: November 25, 2019 Published: November 28, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Open Access