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ChloeDharma
April 15th, 2015, 05:49 PM
I keep seeing this mentioned in google searches on honey for hair. Does anybody know more about this?

Here is an article about it

http://www.stylishwalks.com/benefits-honey-hair-growth-review/

swearnsue
April 15th, 2015, 06:08 PM
LOL, when I read the title I read "Honey" like it was your DH or SO! I'm thinking, Wow what a kiss that was! *snicker snort snort*

MINAKO
April 15th, 2015, 06:18 PM
LOL, when I read the title I read "Honey" like it was your DH or SO! I'm thinking, Wow what a kiss that was! *snicker snort snort*
:rolling::rolling::rolling:

I never heard of honey being beneficial to dormant folicles, but in any case i have tried it many times for conditioning, it never worked for me and i gave up once i noticed what i imagine to be the lightening effect. Not for me :/

Glynis72
April 15th, 2015, 06:49 PM
Never heard of this. I have had much panic over hair loss in the past, but now I am doing alright. I love honey as a conditioner and my scalp loves anything moisturizing so I will try this out, probably tomorrow since that is wash night.

ChloeDharma
April 15th, 2015, 07:12 PM
LOL, when I read the title I read "Honey" like it was your DH or SO! I'm thinking, Wow what a kiss that was! *snicker snort snort*

Haha! I love this reply! :D

Swan Maiden
April 15th, 2015, 08:32 PM
An actual scientific article came out a few months back that bee propolis helps hair grow back.I dont think its too far fetched that other bee related products might have the same potential.

divinedobbie
April 15th, 2015, 09:07 PM
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


LOL, when I read the title I read "Honey" like it was your DH or SO! I'm thinking, Wow what a kiss that was! *snicker snort snort*

Nique1202
April 16th, 2015, 05:46 AM
I think if it worked effectively, there'd be a lot fewer people with bald heads walking around. People have been using honey for various things for thousands of years, I'm sure if it had worked consistently it would have caught on.

Arctic
April 16th, 2015, 06:45 AM
Lol at the intensive kiss theory!

Here is a link to a document at google patents, called Mixing active ingredients of honey with a base carrier at a temperature not more than forty degrees celsius. It seems to suggest what ChloeDarma wrote about.

http://www.google.com/patents/US5980875

ChloeDharma
April 16th, 2015, 08:06 AM
Lol at the intensive kiss theory!

Here is a link to a document at google patents, called Mixing active ingredients of honey with a base carrier at a temperature not more than forty degrees celsius. It seems to suggest what ChloeDarma wrote about.

http://www.google.com/patents/US5980875

Wow! Thank you so much for that link it has so much information in it! I knew about honey for wound healing and have used it when I was younger to treat acne but if you scroll down it shows the results of studies done to treat hair loss. This is definitely motivating me to use honey regularly, I used to when I was a new member here and my hair was thicker back then, though I also did other things that could contribute to that.
I'll paste a bit from that link here as you do need to get through a lot of information before getting to the juicy hair stuff.


Hair Treatment

About 216 individuals (males and females, ages 18 and older) used the present preparation to treat abnormal hair loss, to grow new hair and to relieve hair and scalp disorders. All subjects topically applied about 0.5-2.0 grams (about 0.5 to 2 cubic centimeters) of the present preparation to their scalps once or twice a day. Smaller and larger dosages are also acceptable and equally effective. All subjects were advised to use the present preparation twice daily or more by rubbing the preparation into the scalp. More frequent application is preferred but less frequent application is still effective.

Cream preparations of the present invention are preferably applied as follows. Pea-sized (1-2 grams) amounts of the preparation are rubbed into the scalp using fingertips. Rubbing should continue for about one minute. It is important that the preparation be applied to the scalp and not just the hair. Multiple doses should be applied to ensure the homogeneity of distribution. The scalp may be wetted with very little water using wet fingers prior to application. Wetting makes application easier for patients having long or dense hair. Once the preparation is applied, the hair should be combed to prevent stickiness. To stimulate hair growth, the preparation should be applied twice a day. To prevent abnormal hair loss and to maintain healthier hair and scalp, the present preparation should be applied once a day. Less frequent applications are equally effective. It is preferred that hair not be washed after application. If hair must be washed, it is recommended that the hair be washed no sooner than two hours after treatment. Shorter periods are still acceptable, but longer periods are preferred. The present invention can also be applied and left for a few minutes before showering.

Among the group of 216 subjects, 41 male subjects were at the initial stages of male type baldness and 56 male subjects were completely bald. All 97 of those subjects observed thickening and darkening of the very thin and weak hair within 1-3 days of using the present invention. After 6-8 weeks of applying the present preparation once or twice a day, new thin hairs resembling peach fuzz appeared in the thinning or bald spots, particularly at the peripheries. That new hair became thicker and darker within three to four weeks when use of the present preparation was continued. All subjects demonstrated new hair growth within two to three months of using the present preparation.

Twenty-eight subjects suffering from substantial hair loss applied the present preparation as described in the previous examples once or twice a day. Reduction of hair loss to normal or less than normal levels were reported after three applications. Only one subject still observed hair loss during the first three weeks of applying the present preparation. That subject also realized considerable increase in newly grown hair.

All seventy-three female participants reported improvements in hair thickness and general hair quality after three to five applications. Hair loss was significantly reduced after the third application when the present preparation was applied once or twice a day.

When four females suffering from hair loss with female type alopecia applied the present preparation to their scalps, new hair growth was observed within 2-3 months. New hair growth increased significantly as application of the present preparation continued. Patients (males and females) who stopped applying the present preparation also observed new hair growth subsequent to terminating application.

Fifteen males and females suffering from dandruff observed disappearance of the condition within one to two weeks when the present preparation was applied once or twice a day.

Three subjects were suffering from alopecia areata on the head, beard and mustache. When the present preparation was applied once or twice a day, considerable hair growth occurred and the affected areas were reduced in size within 2-3 months.

In all treated cases, newly grown hair and existing hair became conditioned, thicker, stronger and more attractive. Gradual original hair color restoration was observed in almost all subjects whose hair was graying including patients older than sixty within two to eight months. All individuals seeking new hair growth observed new hair growth before three months. Individuals suffering from hair loss or dandruff observed considerable improvement within a few days to two weeks.

Male and female subjects suffering from excessive hair loss observed significant reduction in hair loss after applying the present preparation two to three times. When individuals with hair apply the present preparation once or twice a week, healthier, more attractive hair results and the number of falling hair was kept below the normal level of hair loss. Other hair and scalp conditions that are treatable using the present preparation include, but are not limited to, seborrheic dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis of the scalp.

Arctic
April 16th, 2015, 08:17 AM
You are welcome, ChloeDarma! Ha ha, I somehow thought the text wouldn't be copyable and the document would be an image rather than text file, so I didn't even try to copy juicy pieces.

Reading it did make me want to use honey in my scalp daily, lol! I wonder how it would work mixed with aloe gel and essential oils?

ChloeDharma
April 16th, 2015, 08:34 AM
I think that would be a great idea Arctic, aloe vera is also said to help hair growth and EO's like rosemary are well known for that too. I'm so pleased to have found this out as honey used to make my hair look really nice when I used it regularly years ago, I actually was just looking up conditioning qualities and came across the follicle stimulation by chance. I'm willing to increase my washing frequency to do this as I've recently decided to do that anyway as my scalp likes more frequent washing.

Do you think you are going to give this honey thing a go?

Yarrow
April 16th, 2015, 10:02 AM
I was going to going to give this a try after I finally got my roots only bottle.
I hope it makes it easier to spread it on the scalp.

Panth
April 16th, 2015, 10:54 AM
I would be inclined to suggest it doesn't work. The text ChloeDharma links is lacking two major points that are needed for an intervention study.

1) There is no blinding (not even single blind - i.e. the users knew they were getting "magic honey treatment" - and certainly not double-blind - i.e. the people doing the study and taking the measurements also knew the patients were getting the treatment). So, we don't know if the effects are due to wishful thinking or not.
2) There is no control. In particular, with any topical scalp treatment, you need a control because scalp massage helps hair grow by improving blood flow. Without an inert substance as a control, applied identically to the honey treatment, there is no way of knowing whether any effects are the result of placebo and/or scalp massage.

A patent doesn't mean anything. The only requirements for a US patent are that the invention is statutory, new, useful (i.e. "has a use", not "works") and non-obvious. You can file a patent on something with no demonstration that it actually works.

I agree with Nique1202. If it worked, people would have been using it for years.

I'd also note that, with male pattern baldness there's nothing wrong with the follicles per se - they are not dormant. They just undergo a form of minaturisation, resulting in a follicle like you find on the rest of your body rather than a scalp-hair type follicle. Likewise, you wouldn't actually want to ~~reawaken your dormant follicles~~ if you had no hair issues. That kinda implies that you're forcing follicles in catagen/telogen into anagen, to make more follicles "awake" (i.e. in the active, growing phase) ... except the net result of that would be a massive shed when your follicles all reached the end of their anagen. Um... not that I think the writer of the original article actually knows anything about either hair or science...

divinedobbie
April 16th, 2015, 11:01 AM
I would be inclined to suggest it doesn't work. The text ChloeDharma links is lacking two major points that are needed for an intervention study.

1) There is no blinding (not even single blind - i.e. the users knew they were getting "magic honey treatment" - and certainly not double-blind - i.e. the people doing the study and taking the measurements also knew the patients were getting the treatment). So, we don't know if the effects are due to wishful thinking or not.
2) There is no control. In particular, with any topical scalp treatment, you need a control because scalp massage helps hair grow by improving blood flow. Without an inert substance as a control, applied identically to the honey treatment, there is no way of knowing whether any effects are the result of placebo and/or scalp massage.

A patent doesn't mean anything. The only requirements for a US patent are that the invention is statutory, new, useful (i.e. "has a use", not "works") and non-obvious. You can file a patent on something with no demonstration that it actually works.

I agree with Nique1202. If it worked, people would have been using it for years.

I'd also note that, with male pattern baldness there's nothing wrong with the follicles per se - they are not dormant. They just undergo a form of minaturisation, resulting in a follicle like you find on the rest of your body rather than a scalp-hair type follicle. Likewise, you wouldn't actually want to ~~reawaken your dormant follicles~~ if you had no hair issues. That kinda implies that you're forcing follicles in catagen/telogen into anagen, to make more follicles "awake" (i.e. in the active, growing phase) ... except the net result of that would be a massive shed when your follicles all reached the end of their anagen. Um... not that I think the writer of the original article actually knows anything about either hair or science...

100% this. Thank you for explaining this so well.

ChloeDharma
April 16th, 2015, 11:11 AM
Part of the reason I started this thread was because I kept reading about honey "waking up" follicles but couldn't find any studies that confirmed this so I was curious to see if anybody here knew of any. My main reason for looking into honey was really that I wanted to do something to promote shine and my hair loved honey treatments in the past. The article I linked was just meant as an example of what was being said about it. Arctic then found that patent application that looked really promising so really I was just hoping to get more information if it exists.
It does make sense that it would be good for keeping the scalp healthy as it has been researched for treating wounds and skin conditions and I have experienced it helping my acne when I was younger so thinking of it that way if it helps keep the scalp skin healthy that must be at least not hurt hair growth. I know when my scalp is neglected I shed a lot more and my hair doesn't grow as nicely as it does when I look after my scalp.

I'm going to start using this regularly anyway as I want the conditioning benefits which I know I get from it. I won't be able to say if it helps growth as I am doing other things to improve that which have already had a positive effect but if the honey does contribute to that then so much the better, if not then hey ho, I still get the shine from it and lightening to help keep my henna brighter.

Panth
April 16th, 2015, 12:31 PM
I wasn't meaning anything against you, ChloeDharma. I just ... get irritated with pseudoscience and woo and crap scientific studies.

By all means, put it on your head. Lots of people like honey for hair. Be aware that a) it is a humectant and b) it contains natural peroxide. So, when using it for its moisturising purposes you need to be aware of the humidity / dew point in your local area at the time. When using it in general, be aware that it can bleach and that that bleaching is just as damaging as any other method (sunlight, sun-in, peroxide, etc.). IIRC, you can avoid the bleaching properties by heating your honey (e.g. microwaving it) then letting it cool then using it.

StarsandFire
April 16th, 2015, 12:38 PM
I worked in the skincare industry for sometime. Based on clinical trials for scalp treatments, I would recommend taking a spray bottle and filling it up with filtered water and little bit of vitamin C (key here being just a little bit, a few drops is enough for a small bottle). This is going to be more effective than any scalp treatment on the market currently.

ChloeDharma
April 16th, 2015, 01:12 PM
I wasn't meaning anything against you, ChloeDharma. I just ... get irritated with pseudoscience and woo and crap scientific studies.

By all means, put it on your head. Lots of people like honey for hair. Be aware that a) it is a humectant and b) it contains natural peroxide. So, when using it for its moisturising purposes you need to be aware of the humidity / dew point in your local area at the time. When using it in general, be aware that it can bleach and that that bleaching is just as damaging as any other method (sunlight, sun-in, peroxide, etc.). IIRC, you can avoid the bleaching properties by heating your honey (e.g. microwaving it) then letting it cool then using it.

Oh yes I realise that but thank you for clarifying :flower:. To be honest I'm not overly invested in the honey stimulating growth I just was surprised to see that waking up follicles thing mentioned so often. Funnily enough part of my reason for getting out the honey was to lighten my hair as I want to henna soon so want as bright a result as possible. Years ago I did it once a week and loved my colour with henna. I take on board the advice to be cautious about damage but for me I'm not too concerned as I am not growing my hair very long anymore plus I do use the coconut oil (and a ton of others!) before each wash which I understand helps prevent some of the damage from peroxide?

So yeah, really this is just a fun little experiment though my scalp does need some tlc so this works out well for sorting that out.

Anyway thank you for your input and advice on the bleaching effect :)

Panth
April 17th, 2015, 04:37 AM
Oh yes I realise that but thank you for clarifying :flower:. To be honest I'm not overly invested in the honey stimulating growth I just was surprised to see that waking up follicles thing mentioned so often. Funnily enough part of my reason for getting out the honey was to lighten my hair as I want to henna soon so want as bright a result as possible. Years ago I did it once a week and loved my colour with henna. I take on board the advice to be cautious about damage but for me I'm not too concerned as I am not growing my hair very long anymore plus I do use the coconut oil (and a ton of others!) before each wash which I understand helps prevent some of the damage from peroxide?

So yeah, really this is just a fun little experiment though my scalp does need some tlc so this works out well for sorting that out.

Anyway thank you for your input and advice on the bleaching effect :)

I know a heavy coconut oiling is supposed to help prevent damage when bleaching with peroxide. Whether normal coconut oil usage would affect other sorts of bleaching damage, I don't know.

As for the "waking up follicles" thing. I suspect it's similar to other pseudoscientific phrases, e.g. "detoxify". I.e. sounds impressive if you have no knowledge of the biology, actually doesn't mean anything.

Yarrow
April 17th, 2015, 10:07 PM
The vitamin C sounds interesting.
It is probably referring to honey's anti fungal properties, which would help with hair loss caused by an overgrowth of candida and such.