Epi soft by Bubbly Hair Inhibitor (3)

Product Information

Derma Nude – which has this crazy scientific explanation: it suppresses hair regrowth 5 ways: “(1)Unwind keratin, (2) break keratin apart and separate it from the matrix (3) perforate the cystine, (4) work below the growth plate at the double sulfa helix bond. (5) prevent cystine to cystine bonding at the active phase of hair growth.” Dihydromyricetin

Lauryl isoquinolinium bromide is less benign in my opinion – although the MSDS for a beard-slowing product that contains it is somewhat reassuring, there really isn’t enough info on it out there to made me feel like its safety profile is well established, and that it’s targeting just the hair, and not the skin around it. It’s not in any of the Inhibitif products in the Australian market though. Remember that you have hundreds of thousands of hairs on your body and at any given time some of those hairs are in each of these phases. The chemistry of hair growth inhibitionAnnoyingly, there isn’t much toxicological or hair-reduction data available on dihydromyricetin or lauryl isoquinolinium bromide, so it’s difficult to work out exactly what their mechanisms of action are. When the hair grows, the fourth step of the process is to repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the hair permanently stops growing. After 3 sessions, hair growth will be stopped permanently.

I know that Gail asked specifically about the Inhibitif product but we’ll approach this by discussing the different “so callled” active ingredients used to inhibit hair growth and then we’ll discuss products along the way. So here’s how this will work: we’ll explain what the ingredient is, how it works, we’ll review the evidence for it and then give some example products. And by the way there are a TON of these products on the market. Most from very small companies that fly under the radar, by the way. Which is a red flag: Don’t you think it was really safe and effective, you’d see products from the major, reptuable cosmetic companies? Why would manufacturers, expecially those who are in the hair removal business, like makers of Nair (which is made by Church and Dwight) just ignore this market? Probably because these ingredients don’t really work or their safety hasn’t been established! Yes, that’s sort of circumstantial evidence but my point is that these shave minimizing products are not such a sure thing. It mimics the process of male pattern baldness, in that it reduces the concentration of nutrients inside the follicle required for hair growth and forms a barrier between the sides of the follicle and the hair. That leads to follicular miniaturization, where the hair shaft width is progressively decreased until the hair becomes softer, lighter in color, and eventually resembles “peach fuzz”. Each session should be applied immediately after your regular way or epilation. Do not use Episoft serum without removing your hair. Do not use RAZOR !!, so to get the best results please use wax. Yes, it’s clinically proven. However, it’s only approved for use around the face and under the chin and you need to use it with another method like shaving. It’s only been studied for use on the face if you start using it over your entire body that’s a much larger surface area and a much higher dosage. Even then it doesn’t help everyone. 42% saw no improvement. About 55% saw improvement or marked improvement. 5% were “almost clear” of facial hair. And 8 weeks after you stop using it, hair growth is likely to return to the same level. And more bad news – one of its side effects is acne. http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/vaniqa_pi.pdf Of course all that doesn’t deter companies from selling enzyme based shave minimizing products – there a number of these on the market:

Buy it with

We couldn’t find a clear mechanism described anywhere in the technical literature. Based on the product sheet for one product and the understanding that isoquinoline can be cytotoxic, it appears that it kills hair follicles that are in the anagen phase. One patent described it’s action as “choking” the hair root. Do those hair growth inhibitor products (the ones that say they let you shave less often) really work? This week Randy and I explain what to look for when shopping for a shave minimizing lotion. Show notes Strange beauty science search terms