A hair care product that helps to break down frizzy hair has been found to be effective for helping to reduce frizz and hair loss.
The product, known as a salicylic acid, is used to treat conditions like psoriasis, scalp and hair growth and can also help to combat the condition known as frizzy.
It’s thought that the salicyl acid has a protective effect against the growth of melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
But the researchers behind the study say they are still unsure whether salicyltin, which has a long history of use, is safe and effective.
“We found that the treatment with salicyle acid did not significantly affect the hair loss and in fact significantly improved hair length in a group of patients with psoriasm and/or frizzy scalp,” said Dr Michael Wainwright, a hair doctor at the University of Bristol.
“But it did not completely reduce frizzy, and so it did make the hair less frizzy.”
The salicyclic acid is known as an anti-wrinkle ingredient and was originally used to prevent and treat rashes and eczema in the 1930s.
“It’s been shown to reduce the risk of skin cancers and cancer-related diseases, including skin cancer,” said Professor Waincroft.
“And in fact, salicylimide can also reduce the growth and progression of certain skin cancers.”
“The salicylates also reduce hair loss, and it’s been suggested that they could be an important factor in helping to control hair loss,” he added.
The study was led by Dr Andrew Stokes, a dermatologist at the School of Pharmacy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dr Wainclaw said that the study was the first to show that salicylamide could help prevent or treat the condition.
“This was a case where the treatment we were using was to prevent hair loss – that is, we were trying to reduce hair growth – and we had a group that had been using salicylc acid for decades,” he said.
“The patients had been having very bad hair loss for a long time.
So we started taking them on the salicilates to try and stop the growth.”
One patient who had been on the drug for 20 years was still having good hair, and one of the other patients who was on the drugs for 20, 30 years was starting to lose hair again.
“The study showed that saliclates reduced the loss of hair in a large number of patients, and that patients who were taking salicyladrolactone or salicyldil were able to maintain the condition for much longer than those taking salicladrolac.
The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Dermatology.