Is hair loss bothering you too much? Are you undergoing any therapy? Well, here's a warning. Before you take up any medicine or undergo any therapy, make sure they are scientifically proven and effective.

The Consumer Council yesterday said in a press conference that there are currently only two medicines in the world that have been scientifically tested to be effective in helping hair growth. They are finasteride and minoxidil. Any other medicines or therapies claiming success have yet to get scientific support, the council claimed.

The council studied various medicines, products and services that are used for the treatment of hair loss or hair growth, with the specialist advice of Western and Chinese medical practitioners.

As these products, unlike registered medicines, are not required to undergo double-bind clinical trials, some are found to be making false medical claims, the council said.

"A product for external use claims that the collagen in it can enter the hair follicle without the need of needle injection," said Larry Kwok, vice-chairman of the Consumer Council. "The fact is collagen is too large a molecule to easily pass the skin and enter the hair follicle."

The shampoos, massage liquids and health food products that claim to combat hair loss may be equally unreliable. Some of them, for example, claim to contain a substance called Saw Palmetto which can help reduce the concentration of the hormone DHT.

"Among substances that can suppress the activity of 5AR, only finasteride is recognized worldwide by medical professionals as a medicine for treating hair loss," said Connie Lau, Deputy Chief Executive of the Consumer Council.

The Consumer Council also warned people against using various hair growth services in the market, such as the use of light and pure oxygen in treatment. Kwok noted that few research had been done on soft laser, while there is no scientific data to support the use of pure oxygen in such treatment.

"Advertisements promoting hair growth treatment may contravene the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance," said Kwok. "Consumers should be cautious when seeking treatments on the basis of these claims."

In the Hong Kong market, there are currently only two medicines registered for alleviating hair loss, namely, minoxidil and finastderide. Minoxidil comes in the form of solution or gel for external use, while finasteride is administered orally in low dose. There are, however, certain side-effects to the drugs. Minoxidil is not suitable for people aged under 18 or over 65, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers, and it can cause skin irritation and dermatitis.

Finasteride can also reduce sexual desire and cause erectile problem in some male users. Pregnant women should avoid it completely.

Lipstick users

A joint study by the Hong Kong Consumer Council and Macau Consumer Council, however, brought good news to lipsticks users.

The two councils tested a total of 40 samples of lipsticks available to consumers in both markets, with a price range from MOP10 to HK$88.

While 11 of the samples were found to contain three heavy metals, namely, lead, cadmium and antimony, they are still within the limit stipulated in the standard for cosmetics in the mainland, Japan, Taiwan and the European Standard.

As regards the hygiene condition or microbial contents of lipsticks, the results were satisfactory. No colour additives were detected in the lipstick samples either, the study said.

"All these lipsticks we sampled are safe for every day use, though users should wipe the lipsticks off before eating and drinking," said Kwok.