It is no secret that many men dread the very thought of losing their hair. Even a slightly receding hairline is enough to make some men panic. Today many men choose to solve the problem of inevitable hairloss by shaving their heads entirely as soon as the first stages of male pattern baldness appear. However, such an extreme measure is not considered an option for the many men who cannot imagine a life without hair on their scalp. When considering the medical advancements that have taken place during the last few decades, such as stem cell therapy, it is hard to believe that humanity has yet to discover a cure for male pattern baldness. As it turns out, the fear of becoming bald is nothing new, as ancient medical practitioners resorted to a number of dubious remedies to cure baldness. Many of these remedies involved insects, hairy insects to be precise. It may seem absurd to consume hairy insects in order to regrow one’s own hair, but modern researchers have good reason to believe that insects may be the solution to the problem of male pattern baldness after all.
The prolific Roman writer, Pliny the Elder, described how insects were used to treat male pattern baldness in his famed text titled Historia Naturalis. According to Pliny, rubbing the heads of fresh flies, or the ashes of flies, over a bald spot can effectively regrow hair. Pliny also mentioned that other substances, such as breast milk, could be mixed with the fly heads in order to achieve optimal results. Nearly 1,800 years later, during the 1700s, Dr. Robert James described in his Medical Dictionary how bee salt ointment could be used to cure male pattern baldness and alopecia. This remedy entailed rubbing bee salt ointment over a bald spot in order to regrow hair. While Pliny and Dr. James may seem like quacks today, modern Japanese researchers have found that bees could, indeed, be useful for treating male pattern baldness and alopecia. The secret to this remedy lies in a bee product called propolis. Propolis is a substance that bees produce by mixing saliva, beeswax and resinous tree secretions. Bees use propolis as a glue for sealing the entrance to their hive. Propolis has long been known as an effective anti inflammatory agent and researchers recently demonstrated its effectiveness at promoting the development of keratinocytes. Keratinocytes are cells that make the hair shafts on scalps, including the production of its follicle. In order to test the effectiveness of propolis, the substance should be rubbed over a bald portion of the scalp. Propolis has long been sold as an alternative medicine and it can be purchased easily online or in health shops.
Would you entertain the idea of using propolis as a hair regrowth product?
