The Hair Loss Industry Is Broken | Evidence Quality Masterclass

2025 UPDATE: We just launched the telehealth brand, Ulo. Get 15% off all of our best-in-class hair growth products, forever: https://go.ulo.co/fkvwZY For more information about Ulo, watch our announcement video:    • Introducing Ulo: A New Era in Hair Loss Te...   -- In the hair loss industry, the phrase “science-backed” no longer means anything. Marketers have uncovered a repeatable formula to manipulate clinical trials – all by taking advantage of the broad legal definition of "hair loss" and "hair growth". First, they design their studies in such a way to all but guarantees good results – and for any pill, supplement, topical, device, or shampoo they want to sell. They do this by: -Starting a study in September to produce false-positive hair regrowth due to hair cycle seasonality -Jam-packing people who just quit minoxidil into a placebo group, so they shed lots of hair -Grouping vellus and terminal hairs together to force statistically significant hair count results ...and more. The end-result: consumers buy these products, their "real-world" results almost never match the study's "clinical results", and then they blame themselves. In actuality, the blame should be shifted to the companies who knowingly engage in these practices – at the expense of consumers and to the benefit of their bottom line. In this video, we’ll expose these practices. We’ll feature dozens of examples from big brands – companies with study designs so deceptive that their "clinical findings" should not – in our opinion – be trusted. Then, we’ll reveal a step-by-step framework you can employ to protect you from deceptive marketing practices: a framework for evaluating evidence quality. With this framework, you'll be able to evaluate the real evidence on any hair growth product before you even buy it. We hope this video helps you make better treatment choices, avoid bad product purchases, and save you years of wasted time, money, and hair. If you want access to any of the studies or references in this video, here's our full write-up on the video: https://perfecthairhealth.com/evidenc... -- About Rob English: -Editorial board member of Dermatology and Therapy -Consumer advocate, medical editor specializing in hair loss disorders -Peer-reviewed publications: https://perfecthairhealth.com/publica... -- 00:00:00 –Intro: "Clinical Studied" = Meaningless 00:06:34 – Study Types: Nonclinical, Observational, Interventional 00:06:47 – 1. NONCLINICAL STUDIES (i.e., "MECHANISTIC") 00:07:10 – Example: Safety Testing A New Drug 00:07:59 – Problems: Poor Translatability To Humans 00:08:26 – Ex #1: Selenium + Vitamin E Supplements 00:09:10 – Ex #2: 18% Of Human Studies Contradict Mouse Studies 00:09:44 – Ex#3: Reishi Mushroom For Hair Growth (Reddit) 00:10:39 – Ex #4: Carbon 60 + Copper Peptides (Auxano Grow) 00:11:29 – 2. OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES (HUMAN) 00:12:18 – Ex: Genetic Mutations On Type II 5-Alpha Reductase 00:13:30 – Problems: Cannot Infer Causality 00:13:42 – Ex #1: Shark Attacks & Ice Cream Sales 00:14:16 – Ex #2: "Dairy Causes Hair Loss" (Pantene) 00:16:34 – 3. INTERVENTIONAL STUDIES (HUMAN) 00:17:30 – Hierarchy Of Evidence: A Tool To Predict Treatment Success 00:18:36 – Ex #1: MDhair 00:19:05 – 4. RANDOMIZED, BLINDED, CONTROLLED CLINICAL STUDIES 00:20:10 – RANDOMIZED 00:20:37 – Problems If Absent 00:20:49 – Example #1: L-Carnitine For Hair Growth (Oxford Biolabs) 00:23:34 – BLINDED 00:23:46 – Problems If Absent 00:23:47 – Ex #1 (Participants): Placebo Effect 00:24:11 – Ex #2 (Researchers): Biased Analysis (Multiple Sclerosis) 00:25:20 – CONTROLLED 00:26:04 – Ex: Setipiprant Study (PGD2) 00:26:19 – Problems If Absent 00:26:20 – Problem #1: Placebo Effect 00:27:12 – Ex: Scalp Massage Study 00:28:43 – Problem #2: Hair Cycle Seasonality 00:30:32 – Ex: Brotzu Lotion Study (Trinov) 00:31:26 – Summary (So Far) 00:31:38 – RANDOMIZED, BLINDED, CONTROLLED: PROBLEMS 00:32:35 – Problem #1: Participants Of Study ≠ Consumers Of Product 00:32:52 – Androgenic Alopecia (AGA) Vs. Telogen Effluvium (TE) 00:34:42 – Ex #1 & #2: Nutrafol & Viviscal 00:36:56 – Ex #3: Vitamin E 00:38:37 – Problem #2: Study Timeframes 00:38:42 – Hair Regrowth Takes Time Due To Hair Cycling 00:40:09 – Ex #1: ProCelinyl White Paper (Revela) 00:41:38 – Problem #3: Measurement Endpoints 00:41:56 – Hair Assessment Tools 00:43:32 – Issue #1: Subjective Endpoints Aren't Paired With Objective Endpoints 00:44:19 – Issue #2: Reporting Total Vs. Terminal Hair Count Changes 00:45:13 – Ex #1: Copper Peptides Study (ALAVAX) 00:46:00 – Problem #4: Product-Study Fit 00:46:18 – Issue #1: Product Studied ≠ Product Sold 00:46:21 – Ex #1: Laser Caps (Capillus) 00:47:07 – Issue #2: Ingredients On Label ≠ Ingredients Inside Product 00:47:17 – Ex #2: 80% Of OTC Products Fail Labeling Claims 00:47:55 – Issue #3: Product Delivery Vehicle ≠ Study Delivery Vehicle 00:48:11 – Ex #3: Caffeine Shampoo (Alpecin) 00:49:18 – Final Thoughts