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Squaric acid treatments
I am looking for some opinions and insite...
A new Derm that I went to see this week at Hershey Medical center here in PA who is a Scalp and skin specialist has suggested I try squaric acid treatment.
Has anyone used this treatment and what is your opinion or outcome? I know everyone reacts differently but just trying to see if this is something I want to try.
Thanks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by griambau on
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It took 15 days after the firs sensitization. we applied it on a small area , linch a squared inch. Waited 15 days. then it got itchy. then a week later we started with the 0.001% on all scalp. Itchiness is much smaller after sensitization, that for sure
keep it up!
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Permalink Reply by Jason on
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I mean does your scalp keep getting red after you apply it or does it just occur from the sensitization? I'm not sure if I should expect my head to become read after a day or 2 or a week. It did become red after sensitization with 2%. Sorry for all the questions u have made me feel much better about the treatment and I am pursuing it because of your success so thank you again.
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hi Jason
no worries! glad I can help.
It got red only 15 days after the sensitization, and only after sensitization. It stayed red for a week or so (so, say, since 15 until 20 days after the very first application). But when I started the treatment, on the whole scalp, it was itchy, but never read (only red close to the neck). I guess everyone's body reacts in a different way.
I'd check out though with the dermatologist on starting with 0.001% and not 0.2%. I know we are all eager to get a stronger dose, so it is more likely it will work. but at the end of the day, we're putting some aggressive acid on our skin, so if you test it with a milder version and it works, then the better. Worst case scenario you will get back to 0.2% if 0.01% and 0.001% do not work, and you'll have lost 4/6 weeks.
Cheers,
g
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Awesome, thanks G. I have hair loss on other places besides my scalp. Does the SADBE work on whole body or should I apply it to my legs, arms, etc too? Did u have any hair loss besides scalp? I also noticed I haven;t been that itchy, just here and there. Nothing extreme like others have mentioned. will have to wait and see :) appreciate the guidance
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Hi Jason,
I do have some patches, but I never bothered about them. As long as I have eyebrows and hair, I don't really care about the rest. My patches in arms and legs come and go. I would say that the skin there is very sensitive, but that is my personal guess, as I never asked my dermatologist to apply it anywhere else. I asked about the face, and they gave a big NO NO
Don't worry too much about the itchiness. As I said, i never got much, so it may vary a lot.
Hope it works!
cheers,
G
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Thanks G. My doc said to reach out to him in a week if no redness/itchness occur. I actually have a very light redness close to my neck. Last question for a while lol... when did you first experience regrowth? Did it occur rapidly all over? From white hairs to dark? I hear 6-8 weeks is a good gauge but just want to hear from someone I trust.. thanks G. Keep u posted in a month.
J
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Hi Jason,
I did my first sensitization on June 3rd or 4th, and I started having hair all over in early September. But I did not grow hair at full until mid-October. For a while, I had hair all over, but in many areas it was not white but quite thin. So overall, 4 months - that is, 16 weeks. 6-8 weeks sounds like a miracle, but who knows!
G
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Permalink Reply by chris for hair on
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I am no expert with squaric acid treatment, but do have extensive experience with medical treatments and clinical trails, and would suggest that each person does his/her research, then decide if they feel this is a safe treatment for them. It has been my experience that many doctors do not really know if the treatment prescribed works or not, they just want to fill the bill with offering something. Whether it works or not is irrelevant. According to Medscape ( professional only side) only 15% of the treatments doctors prescribe across all specialties are known to be effective. 47%n of all research papers published in the past 10 years have been disproved. This is serious stuff.
These treatments are based on the theory that dermatitis or irritation of the follicles causes the hair to regenerate. I do know that if the irritation goes too far, scarring can occur, and hair does not grow in scarred tissue. So to me, keeping the balance between a simple irritation and a scarring irritation would be critical.
If I were to consider trying one of these treatments, I would want to be sure that my doctor had previous experience and successes with the treatment, and that our communication would be excellent. Just because a Dr. is personable does not mean he is successfully treating this condition. The ramifications of over-irritating the skin can be very serious and create lifelong issues.
Think about how you might feel if the treatment failed and you were left with scarred tissues that never could grow hair again. If that is acceptable, then maybe this is a treatment to try. If not, I would move on, keep learning, and look for the safest possible treatments.
Everything I read still tells me there is no treatment that guarantees the hair will grow back. There are a few things still in the experimental stages, but that all takes a great deal of time to be proved. Even after a treatment is considered acceptable it can be refuted. Unfortunately today the standard of care is very limited in the case of hair loss.
Had a client that was able to get an appointment with a prominent researcher in this field. I was very excited for her and hoped that we could learn something useful. Unfortunately, nothing was offered, they just wanted to use her as more research. This tells me that maybe someday something will come out of this, but today, don't get your hopes up...
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Thanks Chris but please let people make their own decision whether a treatment is right for them or not. No one is persuading anyone to do anything, it's an informal discussion about a treatment that has worked for certain people. No one said it was a cure or anything like that, it is a treatment that has shown signs of success. Being pro-active is better than doing nothing at all. Best of luck to you.
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Ok Jason, I do not think I was telling anyone what to do, just to be aware that sometimes being "pro-active" can result in a much worse situation. Sorry you took offense.
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Hi Becca! I actually just started squaric acid treatments. It starts with a sensitization test where they put a 2% solution of the stuff in a little two by two inch area on your head. This is so that your body recognizes it and reacts to it. After about two weeks you are supposed to have seen a reaction and at exactly two weeks after my sensitization the area got really red and itchy. After that you are supposed to start application of a lower percentage (.01 or .1%) all over your affected areas once a week. You get red and itchy but it's not too bad honestly. It's normally just red and itchy the day after you apply it. After about a month you go up to 2 x a week application. I am only at 6 weeks but everything I have read has said that you won't see any results typically until about 2 months. Right now Ihave noticed I have a ton of peach fuzz growth. I guess I'll see within the next few weeks if I get any terminal hair. You are supposed to stay on it for about 6 months at least to giv eit a fair shot though. I have also eliminated gluten, dairy, corn, sugar and any artificial and processed food.
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My daughter is also doing a type of immuno-therapy (we don't live in the U.S.), not sure what it's called but I can find out for you if you like. She's been doing the treatments once a week for five months now. She lost all her hair nine months ago and just recently has had 50% regrowth, peach fuzz stage with a few areas turning darker. We're hopeful this will work. Good luck to you too!
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