sci-fi author, beatmaker

Hair Regrowth Update and FAQ

Family portrait 2011 -- the

Family portrait 2011 — the “before” shot

Top of head July 2015

Top of head July 2015

In April I wrote about how I’ve been using a scalp massage technique to thicken my hair and advance my hairline, and shared progress pictures. Understandably the post generated a great deal of interest. Rub your head and grow your hair back? Get your hair back without drugs or surgery? Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Another hair regrowth scam?

I was skeptical too. Rob from perfecthairhealth.com introduced me to the technique, and it took a few email exchanges to convince me to try it. The basics of the system are as follows:

  1. Twice a day, morning and evening, massage your scalp using deep, intense pinching, pressing, and squeezing, for about twenty minutes. Your scalp should feel a little sore at the end of the massage, but you don’t want to break the skin.
  2. Adopt (or continue) a highly nutritious anti-inflammatory diet (low grain and sugar, plenty of vegetables, fruit, fish, poultry, meat, etc.) — more or less a paleo diet.

Why does it work? Is there any science to back it up?

  1. Rob was inspired to try this technique after reviewing this study by Henry Choy (Hong Kong University). Though the study has not yet been replicated (as far as I know), Choy’s results were impressive. 100% of the subjects regrew 90%+ of their hair. Choy describes the technique as “detumescence therapy.” According to Choy, bald and balding people have more “dome shaped” heads due to thickening of the scalp on the top of the head. The massage therapy thins and reshapes the scalp, expels trapped sebum, increases blood flow to hair follicles, and releases trapped DHT (which causes the hair follicle to miniaturize and become inactive).
  2. Rob has written an eBook which expands on Choy’s theory, and adds his own ideas about scalp calcification and diet. Soft tissue calcification (which is implicated in many diseases of aging, including heart disease) can occur in the scalp, and the intense massage process can help break up tissue calcification (which blocks nutrient supply to the hair follicles). In terms of diet, Rob recommends paleo both because such a diet tends to push to immune system towards a less inflammatory state (chronic levels of skin inflammation can contribute to hair loss), and also because foods like organ meats and bone broths provide high levels of certain amino acids which may encourage hair growth. He also discussed the role of thyroid health in relation to hair loss.

Personal Hair Regrowth Update

In my earlier post I detailed my own hair loss chronicles, and shared my experience using the massage technique described in Rob’s eBook. Since then I’ve been continuing the massage technique, but not as strictly. On average I probably do the head massage about five minutes in the morning and ten minutes in the evening. My hair is continuing to thicken and advance, slowly but noticeably.

My scalp no longer gets “greasy” after the massage sessions — I believe that I expelled any excess sebum within the first few months. My scalp feels much thinner, looser, and more flexible than it did when I first started. I am still experiencing what can best be described as “adult cradle cap” — excess dead skin accumulating on the top of my head that needs to be scraped off. I assume this is in reaction to the intense stimulation of the scalp skin, but it could also be a side effect of increased blood flow, old material deep in the scalp being expelled, or even some kind of stem cell activity or other hair growth factor related to the reactivation of the hair follicles. I don’t have dandruff as long as I “scrape off the gunk” and keep my hair and scalp clean (I use just water or a very gentle, “no bad stuff” shampoo).

In my earlier post some readers were critical because my “before” and “after” pictures were taken from different angles, with the “after” shot taken from further back and thereby making my hair look fuller. I’ve tried to correct that with the following “same angle” comparison:

July 2014 vs. July 2015

July 2014 vs. July 2015

Overall I would say at this point I’ve regrown about 80% of my lost hair (if you include thickening on top of my head), and about 50% of the previously totally bald areas grown in at least partially. Much of the regrowth is hard to see, but I feel it when I run my fingers through my hair (verified by my wife and a few curious friends).

This isn’t as dramatic as the results of Choy’s study, but I’ve definitely regrown a lot of my hair! Frankly I’m amazed it works at all.

Readers of my earlier post have been curious about various aspects of the technique. I’ve tried to condense some of the frequently asked questions below.

F.A.Q.

1. Did your fingertips get numb?

At times they did. Using my nails more (trimmed short, just long enough to dig into my scalp a little) helped relieve pressure on the fingertips. So did using altering the angle so that I was using the finger pads more than the fingertips.

2. Did you use any special oils, like emu oil?

No — too messy for me personally. Emu oil may have a mild anti-inflammatory effect, but there isn’t much evidence that it helps regrow hair. It probably can’t hurt though!

3. What is the “correct” massage technique?

Choy’s paper describes “pressing and kneading.” Rob’s eBook focuses on “squeezing and pinching.” My guess is that the exact technique probably doesn’t matter a great deal as long as you are going really deep, almost to the point of pain, to loosen the scalp, break up calcification, and stimulate blood flow. Really get in there! What you don’t want is friction on the surface of the scalp; go deep instead.

4. When will I see the first regrowth?

Probably after about four months, though you’ll notice your scalp feels looser after only a few weeks. Readers who have been using the technique from Rob’s eBook for more than four months — when did you first start to see results?

5. Will I lose more hair before regrowing new hair?

Possibly. I didn’t experience this, but others have. Shedding may occur from follicles that are already undernourished and partially miniaturized. For some, this possibility might pose enough risk to want to avoid this technique. You could always wait until you’re completely bald — then try the technique risk-free!

6. What about supplements?

I take some supplements on an ongoing basis, including vitamin D, vitamin K2, cod liver oil, and chelated magnesium. I didn’t add anything new when starting the massage technique.

7. What if my scalp is too tight to pinch?

Try pressing and kneading, using both hands if necessary, until your scalp gets looser.

8. Would a wooden massager, brush, or electric contraption work just as well?

I doubt it. To generate enough force and really remodel your scalp tissue, direct pressure from strong hands and fingers are your best bet (and your hands and fingers WILL get stronger if you practice the massage technique daily).

9. Can the massage cause headaches?

This didn’t happen to me, but it’s conceivable that increased blood flow and vasodilation could cause a headache. Since the massage is generally relaxing, a vasoconstriction headache (the type brought on by stress) seems unlikely. To prevent a vasodilation headache, adequate hydration, salt intake, and possibly coffee could be helpful.

10. If the scalp calcification theory is correct, why do hair transplants work?

A reader wrote to both myself and Rob with this question. I didn’t know anything about hair transplants, but here is Rob’s response:

Many years ago, a big research paper came out about hair transplants. Scientists took thick healthy hairs from non-bald regions in the back of the scalp and transplanted them to balding regions. These hairs continued to grow normally for the duration of the study, and so scientists concluded that these hairs would continue to grow in perpetuity because they were protected, for reasons unknown, from MPB.

This paper became the basis of support for all hair transplant surgeries, but there were significant flaws with it. The problem: the study wasn’t long enough.

Transplanted hairs weren’t tracked over a series of hair cycles, but rather for relatively short periods of time. During this time, it was concluded that these hairs weren’t miniaturizing at the same rate of other hairs in the same region, so these hairs must be protected from MPB. This turns out to be a false conclusion. In actuality, the transplanted hairs begin to miniaturize and eventually fall out, but the process takes a long time because the transplanted hairs are so healthy to begin with.

The reason why is just as the book argues: they’re transplanted into regions of the scalp suffering from fibrosis, calcification, excess sebum/dandruff build-up, plus a host of other epigenetic changes to collagen structures. As you know, the conditions for MPB are present years before the symptoms (hair loss) begin to show. So, we can assume that if these conditions precede hair loss, then it must also take time for thick healthy transplanted hairs to miniaturize after being moved to a relatively more calcified region in the scalp.

Anecdotally, I’ve worked with a lot of people with hair transplants. Of the group who received them 5-10 years ago, almost all of them claim that most of their transplanted hair is already gone. I have a friend with a hair transplant who’s experiencing the same problem right now. It’s one of those weird cases where the science doesn’t add up with the anecdotal evidence.

To make matters worse, all hair transplant surgeons are aware of this. It’s why they ask you to go on finasteride and minoxidil after a transplant (in hopes that some of the conditions to the scalp will be addressed). They also ask you to join a hair club, and some now even mandate massages to promote elasticity (you can find YouTube videos of doctor demonstrations on this).

In regards to hair transplant surgeons being aware of these issues, Rob followed up with a link to this article, which includes the following passage.

“Micrograft survival rates in hair transplantation have been frequently described in private conversations by hair transplant doctors as variable at best. References in medical literature may grossly underestimate the prevalence and magnitude of poor growth. This is probably because most hair transplant surgeons arc concerned that publication of a significant incidence of poor growth would reflect negatively on their practice.”

11. Do headstands help?

I’ve been doing headstands for years, partially because I thought it might prevent hair loss. It may have helped, but headstands on their own didn’t help regrow my hair. I still do headstands for general health, and in addition I also twist and rub my head on the floor (or mat) while inverted, to make my scalp more flexible and to apply more pressure. No idea if it helps, but it feels good and may be synergistic with the massage technique.

12. Has this technique worked for many people outside of Choy’s study?

Many of Rob’s eBook readers have sent in before-and-after pictures, and Rob (with their permission) has forwarded some of those pictures to me. The results are impressive: significant regrowth with several men regrowing all of their lost hair (at least as much as you can tell from a picture). I hope that some of these gentlemen will grant Rob permission to use their pictures in the next edition of his eBook.

Still, we’re far from this being a “proven” technique. Anyone who is trying it now is an early adopter/experimenter. I salute you — together we are forging the way for potentially thousands of people who can use this simple technique (along with patience and persistence) to regrow lost hair!

If you’ve been using the technique for five or more months, please write in and share your results (with or without pictures).

13. How important are diet and general health to the hair regrowth process?

Since Choy’s study doesn’t mention diet or nutrition at all, and all of his subjects experienced hair regrowth, I can only assume any dietary changes are less important than the massage process. Personally I did not modify my diet at all, but I was already eating a low-grain, low-sugar, high-nutrient diet before I started.

Still, why not take the step of improving your diet if you choose to embark on the hair regrowth journey? It can’t hurt, and it may help other issues related to poor diet and/or chronic systemic inflammation, including asthma, insulin resistance, and heart disease. Even if you don’t go paleo, or maybe don’t eat meat at all, you can still take steps like cutting out baked goods (like bread), sweet drinks (too much fructose), and more than one drink a day, while at the same time increasing omega-3 intake, water, and nutrient dense foods.

14. Are you planning any video tutorials, eBooks, or other hair regrowth products?

Not at the moment. Rob and I have discussed working together on something (in very vague terms), but for the moment I think Rob’s current eBook is a great product.

If you are already experimenting with the massage technique, let us know how it’s going. I’m especially interested in people who have been using the massage technique for five or more months. Is it working for you? Did you get discouraged and give up? Do you look like Fabio now? Please share below, and as always please be polite and respectful towards other commenters.

Update:

Some readers have requested more pictures. Here are my most recent progress pictures from August 15, 2015, right after I cut my hair.

Hair regrowth progress as of August 2015.

Hair regrowth progress as of August 2015.

Update Sep. 2015: Rob has recently taken his eBook offline because the amount of time he was responding to email became unmanageable. I proposed that he make it available as a free download, but he felt that would be unfair to his customers who had paid large amounts on the sliding scale (so please don’t ask me to send it to you). While the eBook is no longer available, the “how-to” is all contained in this post, the original post, and in my responses in the comments.

Update Oct. 2016: Good news — Rob has updated and relaunched his eBook. The new version includes a number of before/after pictures (my own included) as well as the most recent research studies in regards to scalp massage and hair regrowth. The new video is extremely comprehensive and includes examples of pinching, pressing, and stretching the scalp. You can purchase the new edition of Rob’s book at http://perfecthairhealth.com/

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73 Comments

  1. elhoov

    Thanks for a very interesting article series. I think it is best for you to have no business ties to Rob if you want to get this across to as many people as possible. In my opinion your articles will get a lot more attention and credibility if you don’t make any money out of people trying the technique.

  2. cip

    Thanks a lot JD for your posts.

    I have started this 3 weeks ago and, although it’s too early to tell I think my existing hair is a little stronger and it even seems that my vellus hairs are a little stronger too.

    The part that worries me is that I don’t get out the grease you are talking about, on the contrary, my scalp feels very dry at this moment.

    I do think that I am applying the enough pressure ( I even have some small scars on my scars to prove it).
    I am mostly pressing together the fingertips of both of my hands on my scalp to create the two hands pinch.

  3. superlaff

    Interesting?

    I love this guy’s blog- never the same topic!

  4. superlaff

    Sorry…. that last comment was to my husband. I do love your blog!

  5. k

    been massaging twice a day (not necessarily morning and night though) whenever I get the chance. a lot of sebum on the first day (i could smell it), i typically wash my hair once a week or so anyway so I definitely noticed the sebum. Next was the dandruff. i could feel the skin flaking off and if I messed up my hair they would fall. but the great part was when I was messing up my hair, it felt thicker! And it’s only been a week. Could be my eyes playing tricks on me, but the sebum and dandruff are definitely there. thanks for sharing.

  6. TB

    thanks JD, great article. I’ve been applying Rob’s technique for 3 months now. I have never experienced the excess sebum but I believe that is because I’ve continued to shampoo my hair daily. I do get the dandruff mainly in the areas where my scalp is thickened. My scalp is definitely changing, it is becoming more pliable and easier to pinch. I have experienced hair loss from the massages, not alot, but definitely have hair fall on my clothes after each massage. They are short fine hairs that still have the bulb intact I believe they might be the miniaturized hairs you mentioned above. I have not noticed any improvement yet, however, I am hopeful in another month or two that new thicker hair will start to grow. So far, everything you and Rob said will happen, has been true, so I have no doubt the hair growth will also come to fruition. Thank you so much for sharing your experience 🙂

  7. I’ve been doing the technique for almost four months. If anything it had only has only gotten thinner. 🙁 I wonder if it only works for dudes. I’m going to stick with it and hope for the best.

  8. BTW your daughter is adorable…

  9. Boo

    Since your first post, I’ve been using my Panasonic scalp massage machine, but for only a few minutes in the evening. Even that has helped, although not as dramatically as in your case.

  10. altamisal

    sierraschwartz. I see from your profile that you love coffee…my hair always thins when I drink coffee regularly. In fact, for my hair to look its best, I have to stay away from sugar, coffee and alcohol–those are the Big 3 No-No’s,
    for me. btw, I don’t agree with Rob that brushing doesn’t work, but the technique is to bend from the waist and give hair 100 strokes with a good hairbrush (natural bristle), following each stroke
    with the palm of your hand. This does get results 🙂

    • Roy

      Didnt help the guy in the video much 🙂 when he bends, you can see the helipad on his crown

      • altamisal

        Roy, in response to your comment about the bald spot on the crown of Anthony Morocco’s head, in the video I posted. I think he (and his hair) looks great for 72!

    • Thanks, I’ve actually been trying to cut back on coffee to see if it would help. Sugar too. I think caffeine can mess up hormones and that is probably part of my problem.

      • altamisal

        hi sierraschwarts, yes, coffee does mess up hormones for us gals. It contributes to estrogen dominance, which is linked with many disease conditions, including hair loss. And drinking decaf won’t do the trick, because it’s the acids in coffee that are the problem. Low acid coffee would probably be better, but it is still coffee. And yes, sugar is another hair baddie along with alcohol (they have many of the same effects on the body). I love the taste of organic coffee with cream and sweetener, but I’ve concluded it’s not worth it. I am enjoying fresh squeezed juices instead, these days. Fresh carrot juice is a great hair food! 🙂

        • I am so bummed, such a coffee junkie 🙁 🙁 I’m going to try to scale it back to a cup of half-caff a day. I do love fresh juice but it is so much work and clean up. Maybe once a week…

          • altamisal

            The Omega 8004 model that I have is easy to setup and clean, takes minutes 🙂 A lot less trouble than most recipes!

  11. Request noted!

  12. Desensitize me

    Hi J.D.

    Right when you placed that first post in April I bought the E-book and started massaging my scalp. Two times a day for about twenty minutes. Massages were quite intense in the first month. I saw improvements after (I guess) only a week or two! Very tiny new hairs filled up the gaps between the rest. This was visible as I have a very short haircut. My wife noticed it as well. Now after 4 months my hair is substantially thicker. The hairline doesn’t seem to move back forward however.

    At the moment it feels as if progression has stalled. Maybe this is because I have decreased the intensity of the massage due to pain in my forearm and general tiredness (not related to massaging 🙂 ).

    I’m under the strong impression that my hair is also getting a darker colour. I was using the amino acid L-tyrosine for tanning. This may be the reason. Another reason may be that the darker colour is the colour of the new hair (+ effect of tyrosine?).

    Recently I started massaging parts of the scalp where my hair isn’t thin but is getting grey. I was hoping that the massage may work for adding some colour there as well. This does cost more time which results in less time invested in the ‘thin spots’. I think I’ll go back to spending more time and energy on the parts where hair is thin.

    Regarding supplements. I think K2 is a good choice!! I read that men who go bald early tend to have more problems with their prostate. Prostate problems could be related to calcification and K2 helps with that. Also K2 seesm to counter prostate problems. Just thinking…
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3767046/

    Regards from Europe.

    P.S. I appreciate your blog. I’m on an information diet. But your blog is precious positive input for me 🙂

    • Glad the massage is working for you! My hair thickened on top faster than my hairline advanced as well.

      I’m also curious about L-tyrosine and gray hair reversal. Here’s one anecdotal post I came across recently:

      http://criticalmas.com/2013/09/reversing-gray-hair-part-2/

      • altamisal

        btw Roy, Anthony Morocco recommends scalp massage also and I’m sure he does it himself. Again, not bad for over 70.

        J.D. Moyer, your hair improvement is impressive. How about a new photo for your header? 🙂

  13. Markus

    Hey,
    thx for the post – but I cannot share the hype.
    Its a useless image. The hair is longer, but you can still guess that the temples and vertex are NOT regrown but the hair is covering the spots.
    Thats something most ppl with hair loss are perfect in – trying to cover the balding areas with the remaining hair.
    Why dont you take it serious and realy take proof pictures that show the progress? Is that a problem, to make close ups once a week from the temple part for example? Or once a month?
    I mean, you wrote an article about a probably working technique, many ppl follow that and you just have an image thats not showing obviously progress? 80%…? Pls ^^

    Greetings,
    Markus

    • Hi Markus — I did try to take a better comparison picture from the same angle and address some of the criticisms from the first post.

      I don’t have any bald spots I’m trying to cover up. I suppose if my hair were 1/4″ short I could “prove” that — if I cut my hair that short I’ll take some more pictures and post them.

      Re: temples, that is the 20% (my rough approximation — I haven’t been using calipers) of my lost hair that has not yet grown in. My hairline in front is still a “V” shape, not straight across. I am growing my hair a little longer these days (because it no longer looks like a comb-over when I do) but next time I cut my hair as short as in the very top picture, I’ll post a picture from the same front angle. It still looks like I have a receding hairline from the front, but in fact it’s advancing (albeit slowly — no quick fix here).

      To some extent this is a game I can never win. No matter how many pictures I post, some people will never be convinced that I have regrown a lot of hair with this technique. But I will take your criticisms in good faith and post more pictures down the road.

      I assume you are interested, if skeptical, in this technique if you are still reading and commenting. Have you tried it yourself? For how long?

      I don’t think this technique is for everyone. It’s a big time commitment, there’s very little research to back it up, and progress is very slow. Consider the above statement “anti-hype”!

      My guess is that in a few years time we’ll have a better idea of how effective this technique across the board. Maybe someone will try to replicate Choy’s initial study. If not, we’ll know more from anecdotal posts and shares like mine and those on the immortalhair forum (including comments from folks who have tried the technique with NO results).

      • Markus

        Hi,
        I know that you are just running a little blog and not a big pharma study that should proof the progress exactly.
        But I was hoping that you can give some real proofs.

        As long as there are no close ups or any images that proof new hair, I think its just a clever marketing.
        Also that instant some comments share products, recieps, etc.

        Its not about my progress or if I massage my scalp – its about some true facts that show, its working…!
        Sure there will always be ppl who dont belive that, but how with that images without any proof? ^^

  14. Hey J.D. –
    Thanks for sharing all this information. It’s an intriguing idea and one I’m on the fence about trying. I’ve shaved my head for 10 years and it doesn’t look bad that way but, well, it’d be nice to have the option of hair up there!

    My concern is the time management aspect of the commitment. I’m looking for a way to maximize that ~40 min/day commitment so it doesn’t feel like “lost time” and thus too easily abandoned. Could you speak a little about how you stick to it and what else you like to do during that time to maximize the usage of it since your hands are out of commission for other things? Do you listen to podcasts? meditate?

    • In the morning: a few minutes after I shower, a couple more minutes during computer startup (or waiting for tasks to finish), more while taking short work breaks and thinking.

      Evening: while watching TV, reading (one-hand massage), etc.

      Almost all multi-tasking. During the first ten months I would sometimes do a few intensive minutes at a time in front of a mirror, focusing on areas that were just growing in.

      Rarely did I get in two exact twenty minute blocks. During that first ten month period it was usually ten minutes in the morning (divided into several chunks) and maybe 25-30 minutes at night.

      Now I’m in “Phase 2” of the experiment … can I continue to regrow significant amounts of hair while only doing the massage only 5-10 minutes a day? I don’t think I’ll have a definitive answer for months, but I’ll check in with my results down the road.

      Hope that helps!

  15. Laara Dalen

    Thank you for this information!  I have sent it to some male relatives – man oh man, I am so tired of their……”if its off the internet – he must be a quack”…., response.  I have noticed that I frequently have head rubbing sessions, I don’t have any hair loss, but I thought I had a scalp condition. Also I often have granules of serous crystals on my scalp.  After your info. – I believe that even people with hair need to massage their scalps.  Never could understand hair brushing – you don’t brush your fur coat -…….now  it all makes sense. I wonder what a pathologist would say about this whole process – like what is the science behind it all. 

  16. Sylvain

    Hello and thanks for your nice blog 🙂

    I have a question for you :

    Did you focus more on the vertex or on the hairline?

    I have a receded hairline but my vertex is very good. I wonder if I should focus more on the vertex to clear up the calcification there instead of focusing on the hairline area.

    The reason is I believe the calcification in the vertex area would make a dome shape head that could maybe pull back the hairline and make it recede…

    Thank a lot for your opinion on that 🙂

  17. I had “full coverage” on my vertex before I started, but I was surprised at how much thicker my hair got on top of my head after about six months of the massage. I didn’t focus on any particular area for the first ten months.

    • cip

      Hi JD, sorry to point some inconsistencies but you first said, that you regrew 80% if the hair you lost ( temples being the 20 % you didn’t regrow) and now you are saying that:
      “I had “full coverage” on my vertex before I started. ”

      So where is the actual 80% regrowth ?

      Another thing:

      “During the first ten months I would sometimes do a few intensive minutes at a time in front of a mirror, focusing on areas that were just growing in.”

      Later:

      ” I didn’t focus on any particular area for the first ten months.”

      • Hi cip. To clarify, I meant that I didn’t have any bald spots on my vertex when I started, but was hair was still thinning in that area. Most of my regrowth has been on parts of my head where I had hair, but it has filled in thicker. Some, but not all, of the areas that were totally bald have grown in too, with varying degrees of thickness.

        In the second statement above that seems inconsistent, I wanted to let the questioner know that I was massaging my entire head and not skipping any areas. But yes — there were subsets of the massage areas where I would “hone in” on a particular area.

    • cip

      Please don’t get me wrong I am doing the massage and I think it is working but I just want it to be as clear as possible for everybody.

  18. Filip

    I have a question. Isn’t such aggressive massage actually destroying the roots? I’ve started doing this today but I still have ‘much’ hair and only have NW2 kind of receding hairline and thinner hair in the middle and front. I’m 17 and I’m worried about losing too much hair when I’m older so starting sooner seems like a good idea, although this technique isn’t exactly proven and I’m a bit afraid

    • Whiitteee

      Dont do this crap man. I was an nw2 with still a lot of density, now I’m an nw6 with no signs of regrowth….this fcking “study” is BS…

      • Whiitteee

        He’s only here to make money…you can clearly still see his bald spots in the pictures….his hairs just longer and he dyed it black to hide it.

        • Filip

          I’m not sure he makes any money of that, his website is really great and provides useful information about healthy living systems. Plus, people have been doing this and getting positive results, are you sure you have been doing this right?

        • Cip

          I don’t think he is here for the money. I read some of his posts and he seem like a very morale person ( he even quit reddit because there were racist comments 🙂 )

    • Hi Filip. If you’re more interested in simply preventing hair loss, you might stick with a more gentle massage — simply pressing with your palms and manipulating the scalp to keep it loose. That’s what I do for a “warm up.” You’re correct — this technique is unproven and there is very little evidence to back it up besides anecdotal accounts like mine, and one unreplicated study.

      • Filip

        I’m interested in not only preventing hair loss, but also thickening my hair on the top and the front, additionally regrowing my hair on the temples, which I was sure was impossible only couple of days ago. I think I’m going to try and do it less aggressively in the first month. I was always against pills, so this technique would be really lifesaving if it worked.

  19. Cip

    Hi JD, thanks for sharing your method, one more question please:

    When you are talking about growing zones, can you please tell us how do they manifest ? I was under the impression that hair should grow equally on the massaged zones. Are you saying that the hair starts to grow in random zones through your scalp ? I am asking this mainly because it seems to be that one zone (my frontal-right, above the temple) looks a little more dark than last week ( could be my imagination, I am in the 5th week),

    Thanks

    • For myself I noticed that the hair I lost most recently came back first (hair thickening around my crown and on the very top of my head), and areas of my hairline that have been receded since my twenties are coming back last, and very slowly.

      Growth after only five weeks would be impressive! Please report back in a few months and let us know how it’s going for you.

  20. John Doe

    Hey JD, thanks a lot for this update, it further encourages me to keep up with this technique. However, for me, one of the biggest things to get me to continue is what happened after only about a week after starting DT; this disgusting, sticky, glue-like substance was released from a few areas of my scalp. It wasn’t sebum, and it just felt…Wrong. That got me thinking about what other garbage is stuck under my poor scalp, and encouraged me to massage the hell out of it and go 100% with this technique to take back my scalp health!

    Looking forward to any new info on this topic!

  21. Hello J.D.
    I meant to ask you this quite a while ago: may you please tell me which cod liver oil and K2 supplements do you take? Thanks!

    • Swanson’s brand … nothing fancy.

      • Thank you. There’s been quite a lot of controversy about this subject lately. Have you considered EVCLO ?

        • I haven’t been following it. I’m reluctant to spend money on any of the “special” cod liver oils (fermented, extra-virgin, etc.) until there is some kind of clear evidence (outside of company marketing and anecdotes) that these supplements provide any real benefit. I take cod liver oil as a source of Omega-3 and vitamin A. My only brand concerns are that it is what is says it is (cod liver oil), is free of toxins, and is fresh (I usually just bite a capsule from each bottle to make sure it doesn’t taste rancid). Also I look for a brand that doesn’t contain additional artificial vitamin A, as vitamin A toxicity is a potential concern.

          What are the supposed benefits of extra-virgin cod liver oil?

          Re: fermented cod liver oil, I’m unclear on exactly what this means. What is fermenting? There are no starches or sugars in cod liver oil. This article gets into that a little:
          http://davidgumpert.com/simmering-cod-liver-oil-imbroglio-heats-up-for-wapf-conference

          If I could convert beta-carotene into vitamin A more efficiently (I can’t — I checked the relevant SNPs on 23andMe … see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113863) then I wouldn’t even bother with a vitamin A supplement at all. I eat plenty of carrots. But vitamin A is extremely important for testosterone production so I do.

  22. C

    Congratulations JD with your impressive regrowth! Persistence sure paid off with this project! …Although I did notice you say there are some areas that are very slow to grow back (around the hairline), I guess you have enough hair elsewhere now for a transplant to fill in the still marginally bald areas if you have had enough of daily massages, haha (…And here’s a thought – maybe scalp massages a few times a week will help maintain peoples’ hair transplants??)
    In some ways it angers me that such a simple treatment (scalp massages twice a day) could finally be the answer to most of man’s hair loss issues and yet it has taken until 2014-15 for it to be noticed to a degree!! The medical community should hang their head in shame on this one… The current ‘conventional’ solutions are seemingly temporary band-aids and hair cloning probably won’t be available to the public for another 20 years… great.
    Anyway, after 6 weeks of scalp massages I am definitely seeing quite a few new hairs emerging in the hairline (this is truly encouraging), but whether this is mainly due to the scalp massage, or change in diet, or less stress on the hair since I cut it short for the first time in years is anyone’s guess. Suffice to say I will persist with the scalp massage and hopefully in another 4-5 months I will have more of an indication as to how this will work out in the long term or not.
    Finally, many thanks for posting your year-long journey with this process – it is literally an inspiration and a life-saver for many of us!!!

  23. JinK

    Am I the only one losing a lot of density? Going through a pretty bad shed here…is this expected?

    • It could be a good sign- of increased blood flow causing resting hairs (that were going to fall out anyways) to shed.

      • JinK

        Im hoping that’s the case. My frontal scalp is visible. Been going at it for 2 month now? How’s it going with you by the way? I read your earlier post saying your hair is getting thinner? Any positive results so far?

        • I haven’t seen much improvement but my scalp is still pretty tight because I haven’t been massaging as much as I probably need to. Plus I think the issue is more complicated with women. My hair loss has finally stabilized which I think was from cutting back on caffeine, intense workouts and taking viviscal vitamins.

          • *I meant that I’ve cut way back on workouts. I think my adrenal glands are way depleted and my intense workouts were contributing to hormone imbalance and hair loss.

          • JinK

            yeah I still need to work on the middle of my scalp it’s still a bit tight, scared to work through it though …especially the front x-x. I should probably cut off all my supps as well.

          • Sorry, I meant that I started taking viviscal like two or three weeks ago. Supplements can be helpful-especially anti inflammatories like turmeric.

  24. TB

    So I think it’s working… I noticed my hair thinning 3 years ago, I’ve since traced it back to the BCP I was on at the time. I came across Rob’s technique 4 months ago and stumbled upon JD’s website a few weeks later. I started the head massages Mid May. I have not changed my diet at all and I do not have a good diet. I do supplement Zinc, VitD and Fish Oil. I have noticed increased shedding, not so much from the massages but more from me scratching the flakey skin (dandruff) off my head. I find it so satisfying getting rid of it, but yes it does cause a bit of hair fall when I do that. Over the last week or two I’ve noticed a whole heap of new hair growth, mainly in the top of my scalp where the thinning was the worse and where my scalp was quite tight and thickened. My scalp is a lot looser and thinner feeling. My hair does not feel or look thicker yet, but when I part it I can definitely see new growth, its sporadic, lots in some areas and not so much in others. However, I am sure it’s working and in another month I think I’ll start to notice my hair feeling thicker and looking thicker in the mirror.

    • Thanks for the comment! Please report back … would love to hear your results 4-6 months down the road (either positive or negative).

  25. Smrita

    Hi J.D.
    Would please make a video of the massage technique you used. It would be very helpful. 🙂

  26. Luc

    Hello JD and thank you for your blog,

    I have a question for you.

    If my goal is to keep what I have, do you think I should do 2 sessions of 20 minutes a day though? I really have trouble to make them and would prefer to do 15 min or 20 min divided in sessions of 5 minutes

    Thanks 🙂

    • I currently do less than that and I think my hairline is still advancing (though I won’t really know until I take more progress pictures in a few months and compare). In any case — yes — even 2 x 10 minutes a day should be plenty as long as you are massaging deeply and keeping your scalp loose.

  27. Oliver

    J.D., I’ve been watching this blog for a while now. What we’d all really love to see is a photo similar to the ‘before’ shot, preferably with a similar length of hair. That would be the ultimate comparison!

    As for me I’ve technically got a near perfect hairline but a noticeably large area on my right temple is quite sparse with some quite anaemic looking hairs on what is my original hairline. It’s this area that I really want to regrow! Do you think this technique is right for me? I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now and of course I haven’t noticed anything yet but will carry on. I do mostly a rotational motion pressing quite hard.

    • Hi Oliver — I just added some recent pictures above. Not a family portrait, and perhaps not at the exact same angle, but I tried to include a variety.

      For you, I don’t think there’s any harm in trying. Especially if you feel any stiffness or thickness in the scalp in that area.

  28. NB

    I’ll add my name to the list of those requesting a video.

    As someone who’s purchased Rob’s product — And continues to lose hair — I feel the video could be more in-depth.

    Interpretations of this technique vary wildly. Consequently, results are mixed and cynics rule — As evidenced by our friends on Immortal Hair.

    Investing 40 minutes a day for over 4 months based on your post is a serious commitment. We need more guidance.

  29. John Doe

    ^ Seconded, if not just for peace of mind

    • Mori

      Thirded 🙂

      • Making a free instructional video is not currently on my agenda — it would undercut Rob’s existing product. Rob helped me regrow my hair and I want to do right by the guy!

  30. John Doe

    Oh, I thought it wouldn’t be free though, didn’t you say you were working with him on something?

    • I did consider it but I decided I didn’t want to get into the business side of hair regrowth. The potential customer base is too cynical and angry (not everybody of course but there is a lot of snake oil for sale and some people — quite rightfully — feel burned). Also — I can’t guarantee that the technique that worked for me can work for everyone, so I wouldn’t feel right charging for it.

      I do want to help people regrow their hair. I understand a high-quality video would be helpful. But it’s a big project (to make anything of decent quality) and even if Rob’s product didn’t exist it’s not high on my list. Too much time and too much money. And if I just held my phone over my head and made a crappy video I would not be helping anyone.

      I have tried to describe the massage techniques I use, in detail, in my two hair regrowth posts in this blog and in the comments. That’s what I’m willing to contribute for the moment. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m a blogger, not a vlogger.

  31. Like the serpent Ouroboros, long comment threads begin to eat their own tail. For that reason I am closing comments on this post. I may revisit the hair regrowth topic sometime in 2016. Thank you to everybody who read and commented!

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