Back in October, Joe Buck, a famous sports broadcaster for Fox, told the public that he was addicted to hair plugs.  After a surgery to add hair to the front of his head, Joe Buck was unable to speak.  The exact reason for why his vocal cord was paralyzed, post-surgery, is unclear, but it was accepted that it was a result of the surgery.  His entire career is based on his ability to speak.  Surgery is most definitely scary, and if I was Joe Buck, I would have opted for a safer way.  This made me wonder, did Joe Buck try other hair growth treatments?  Are hair growth treatments even effective?

After researching multiple different studies, I have come to the conclusion that for the most part, hair growth treatments do promote hair growth.  Although the treatments do promote hair growth, no one treatment is one hundred percent effective.  I was surprised to find that more often than not, hair growth treatments do work, mainly because all the hair growth commercials on TV look so fake. The null hypothesis of this study is that hair growth treatments do not work.  The alternative hypothesis is that hair growth treatments do work.

According to this study, chemicals can be used to promote hair growth.  The chemical used in the study is called dendrobium candidum polysaccharides, which can be abbreviated into DCP.  The experimental, randomized control trial had 30 mice that were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group.  The only difference between the two was that the experimental group had been subjected to DCP.  The result was that the experimental group grew much more hair and even had a higher survival rate than the control group.  The DCP hair treatment worked and therefore is consistent with the alternative hypothesis.

This experimental study was not able to promote hair growth using their specific treatment.  The scientists from this experiment attempted to apply minoxidil, a synthetic drug used to promote hair growth, to the skin of newborn mice over a 25-day period.  Hair growth was not affected, at least recognizably.  Therefore, the result of this study is consistent with the null hypothesis.

The Columbia University Medical Center has published a paper, that claims to have found a treatment that successfully promotes hair growth.  They claim that this can be done by “blocking enzymes in hair follicles.”  The findings of the study were published here as well.  The study found that a type of enzymes can be used to rapidly promote hair growth.  The study was conducted on hairless mice, but would restore hair growth in men with pattern baldness.  This hair growth treatment was wildly successful and two of the enzymes have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  This hair growth treatment has been deemed safe and effective.  Essentially, this treatment works, and therefore the results of this study agree with the alternative hypothesis.

The same enzymes that were mentioned in the previous paragraph, were used to treat 12 individuals suffering from alopecia areata (a disease that causes hair loss).  This clinical trial was conducted over a period ranging from 3 to 6 months.  The participants’ average hair regrowth had risen to 92 percent at the end of the trial.  When the trial ended and the treatment stopped, some of the patients began to experience hair loss.  The results of this study are also in accordance with the alternative hypothesis.

Hair growth treatments do work, more often than not.  I don’t know if Joe Buck has plans to undergo anymore hair plug transplants, but if he did, I would urge him to look at different options of hair growth treatments.  Scientists are always performing experiments trying to perfect hair growth treatment, so it is just a matter of time until scientists find the treatment that is effective without fail.  Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about hair loss, but if I did I would find comfort knowing that hair growth treatments do in fact work.