Is Provillus a Scam?

[storm]

Has anyone tried provillus? They claim it is an FDA approved product. Is it dangerous to take?

[SpencerKobren]

Has anyone tried provillus? They claim it is an FDA approved product. Is it dangerous to take?

Hi Storm,

Below is an AHLA blog article originally published last December.

We all know just how treacherous the internet can be when researching hair loss products and services. Unsuspecting hair loss sufferers have enough trouble trying to navigate through the incredible maze of misinformation presented by hair loss marketers who promote their bogus products and services as “miracle breakthroughs.” Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, in walks “Balding Tony.” We’re not sure if this guy actually exists, but we can tell you that in our opinion his blog is nothing more than an pathetic attempt to mislead the hair loss consumer into thinking that the questionable product Provillus is some sort of miracle hair growth product.

In his blog “Balding Tony” writes that he has tried just about every hair loss product available including the ONLY two FDA approved products Minoxidil and Propecia. Tony complains about Propecia’s sexual side effects, which actually occur in less than 2% of those who used the drug during clinical trials. He also claimed that Minoxidi was too difficult and messy to use…it just didn’t fit into his lifestyle he writes. We found that funny since the only clinically proven ingredient in Provillus is minoxidil and in order for the Provillus product to work it has to be applied to the scalp exactly like all minoxidil based products.
Balding Tony might be fooling some of the more vulnerable, unsuspecting hair loss consumers online, but he’s certainly not fooling us. Provillus is nothing more than an overpriced dietary supplement along with repackaged generic minoxidil and azelaic acid.

Remember this rule of thumb, no matter what “Balding Tony” says, there are only two products proven to stop the progression of hair loss and to regrow hair, minoxidil and propecia. If an advertised product is not approved by the FDA or does not carry the AHLA certification seal, do not waist your time or money on it…sorry Tony.

[SpencerKobren]

Hey Storm,

The sad truth is that that the hair loss industry is a 3.5 billion dollar a year business, yet 99% off all products and services being sold to hair loss sufferers are either a complete scam or questionable at best.
It’s important to understand that there have only been two FDA approved medical treatments for hair loss. They are Minoxidil and Propecia (Finasteride).
There is no other product on the market that has been approved by the FDA to treat hair loss!
Provillus claims to be a proprietary blend of herbal, mineral, and vitamin components which include:
Saw Palmetto Berries, Gotu Kola, Nettles, Magnesium, Zinc Sulfate, Siberian Ginseng, Vitamin B-6, Pumpkin Seed Meal, and Mura Puma Root. These are all considered to be nutritional supplements none of which are approved by the Food & Drug Administration for any medical purpose let alone the prevention and treatment of hair loss.
The topical formulation included in with the Provillus package contains the FDA approved drug Minoxidil which can be purchased over the counter at any drug store in the country for a fraction of what Provillus charges vulnerable hair loss consumers. So in short consumers are paying an arm and a leg for generic minoxidil.
There are several companies currently hawking repackaged Minoxidil along with magical dietary supplements as “miracle breakthroughs” in the fight against hair loss.
Here’s simple rule of thumb: If a hair loss product or service is being advertised on late night television, on the radio, in the back of men’s magazines or on the internet, and is not FDA approved or does not carry the American Hair Loss Association certification seal, avoid it!
Provillus itself is NOT FDA approved to our knowledge, and is definitely NOT recommended by The American Hair Loss Association.

[WomensHairLossProject]

Has anyone tried provillus? They claim it is an FDA approved product. Is it dangerous to take?

I was alerted yesterday to the fact that a Provillus affiliated website has ripped off the pictures on my site and reposted them on theirs as before and afters. I am beyond shocked and extremely pissed off. Those images are of a woman who sent them to me and gave me permission to post them. The girl's name is Julie and she is actually wearing a Reprieve Hair System. The site is claiming her name is "Stacy" and are clearly inferring the images are are from the use of Provillus. WRONG!! Next to her stolen images they write "In her case we used Provillus, the only FDA approved hair regrowth product for women on the market and as you can see her results are nothing short of stunning." Stunning indeed, but certainly no credit to Provillus whatsoever.

I won't post a link to the site because I don't even want to give them one site visitor and reward them for their low life acts of deception. I took a snap shot of it and will post it below. The original photos of Julie are on my website here: http://www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-loss/hair-loss-photos-before-after/

Here is a snapshot (click on the image to enlarge it) of the provillus site lying to the public:
38

And here is where they sole it from on my site:
39

If Provillus works so wonderfully why not post REAL photos instead ripping off photos of women who have hair loss and exploiting them for their own financial gain. :mad:

Scam seems like a good word for it to me

[Laserhead]

Great, another scam. I can't believe that they would stoop that low to steel that girls photos and claim that she grew her hair back using their crap product. This is really a shame! How is this allowed to go on?

[jjo229]

Provillus should be sued and reported to the better business bureau. I am working on it.

[jjo229]

Has anyone tried provillus? They claim it is an FDA approved product. Is it dangerous to take?

How many times do you need to hear it? Provillus will damage your hair. I took it and my hair came out in lumpy chunks. I gave it to my mom who has a beatiful short hair to take as dietary supplement. The poor lady's hair started ripping off. I had to take her to her doctor to check her bone density to make sure there is no cancer of any kind. When her test came back, the doctor said she has just introduced something new to her body that is clearly ripping her hair out. It was freaking "hair killer PROVILLUS". This is a woman that her hair hardly breaks or shed on any comb. They came out in chunks in the tub. You cannot imagine the stress this caused. DO NOT BUY PROVILLUS!!!!

[KeepTheHair]

Yeah. What I don't understand is this thread: http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1392

Kevin Nalts posting a blog. In this blog he advertises for Provillus.


Provillus is just a load of crap. Expensive crap. Unlike propecia this crap is way more effective in...giving you side effects since it's just a bunch of crap thrown together.

Provillus is a scam, and a ripoff. And I bet people go on that Nalts blog and think hey im gonna try this for a few months.

Shesh. Atleast make him remove the blog link on this forums if he doesn't want to remove the ads from his site.

People are just money hungry.

[kostasgreece]

Has anyone tried provillus? They claim it is an FDA approved product. Is it dangerous to take?

I have ordered and used Provillus for six months... Since I am from Europe, I only got the pills, which I have to say did not work at all... I have stopped my Rogaine treatment just to see the effects of Provillus and after six months I can say I am disappointed.. Not only I didn't have any improvement, the situation got even worst. I am sharing this with you so you can all know... I guess now we should be looking for stem cell treatments as they will be introduced hopefully in the not so far future.

[UK_]

How many times do you need to hear it? Provillus will damage your hair. I took it and my hair came out in lumpy chunks. I gave it to my mom who has a beatiful short hair to take as dietary supplement. The poor lady's hair started ripping off. I had to take her to her doctor to check her bone density to make sure there is no cancer of any kind. When her test came back, the doctor said she has just introduced something new to her body that is clearly ripping her hair out. It was freaking "hair killer PROVILLUS". This is a woman that her hair hardly breaks or shed on any comb. They came out in chunks in the tub. You cannot imagine the stress this caused. DO NOT BUY PROVILLUS!!!!

Isnt Provillus just Saw Palmetto and some vitamins? It works on the basis of Saw Palmettos ability to block the 5AR enzyme which converts testosterone to DHT, obviously no such studies have been done regarding its effectiveness in the treatment of MPB. Its action however is very similiar to that of Proscar, which in turn may take up to 12 months to view the full benefits, that said I believe the product is seriously overpriced as its ingredients can be purchased stand-alone for a fraction of the cost of Provillus.

[crowningglory]

Wow these are a lot of testimonials against Provillus, doesn't sound too good for them!

[Tracy C]

Provillus is nothing more than over priced vitamins and herbs that might be helpful and generic Minoxidil. So yes, Provillus is a scam.

[Jcm800]

And so is TRX2 - steer clear.

[StressedToTheBald]

The sad truth is that that the hair loss industry is a 3.5 billion dollar a year business, yet 99% off all products and services being sold to hair loss sufferers are either a complete scam or questionable at best.


The very same industry also includes the 'proven 2'..
Proven in the sense that they : 1.) can cause serious and permanent side effects 2.) do not work with everyone 3.) take lifetime usage + costs etc.

There are natural DHT blocking alternatives. The fact that FDA doesn't regulate natural DHT blockers doesn't mean that they do not work. There are a number of positive studies. These studies are unpopular with doctors, promoters and manufacturers of 'proven 2' who earn billions each year.

[Tracy C]

There are natural DHT blocking alternatives.

For the benefit of everyone reading this, do not waste your time listening to this person. This person is too blinded with misinformation to take seriously.

Natural DHT blocking does not work to treat hereditary hair loss. It never has and it likely never will. No one has ever been able to slow down, stop or reverse hereditary hair loss with natural treatments. It is not at all likely that anyone ever will be able to slow down, stop or reverse hereditary hair loss with natural treatments. Hereditary hair loss is a natural thing. Attempting to slow down, stop or reverse hereditary hair loss is not natural.




The very same industry also includes the 'proven 2'..
Proven in the sense that they : 1.) can cause serious and permanent side effects.

The frequency of occurrence for the possible side effects is very rare. There is no evidence that they are permanent. There is strong evidence that for many the possibility of experiencing these possible side effects is the result of fear mongering. There is strong evidence that the persistence of these possible side effects are also the result of fear mongering.


2.) do not work with everyone.

Nothing works for everyone. These proven treatment work for most people who use them. Most people who use them do not experience any side effects at all.



3.) take lifetime usage + costs etc.

This is a moot point made by a person who obviously does not have the wealth of knowledge he thinks he has. He doesn't even have a reasonable understanding of what he is talking about. Hereditary hair loss is a progressive condition that continues throughout ones life. It does not stop. Therefore it should be obvious that any treatment used to slow down, stop or reverse hereditary hair loss would need to be continued for the rest of ones life. This is the way it is going to be any and all hair loss treatments until medical science figures out how to immunize hair follicles from the effects of DHT.

Hereditary hair loss is a natural thing. Attempting to slow down, stop or reverse hereditary hair loss is not natural.

[UK_]

Nothin' like a good ol' post for quote argument eh?:D

[khan]

The thing that bothers me most is when people claim Natural DHT blockers, stop hair loss using the same mechanism as Finasteride (i.e they block DHT), but they have no sides.
If this natural works in the same way as Finasteride, how can it not have side similar to Finasteride?
I wasted 9months of my life on this stuff. Went all the way up till 640mg of Saw Palmetto extract and some other random natural stuff. To the point where I was nauseous and had terrible headaches from time to time.

[StressedToTheBald]

The thing that bothers me most is when people claim Natural DHT blockers, stop hair loss using the same mechanism as Finasteride (i.e they block DHT), but they have no sides.
If this natural works in the same way as Finasteride, how can it not have side similar to Finasteride?
I wasted 9months of my life on this stuff. Went all the way up till 640mg of Saw Palmetto extract and some other random natural stuff. To the point where I was nauseous and had terrible headaches from time to time.

Although there are descriptions with beta sitosterol and saw palmetto, naming the very similar side effects as with finasteride, in reality these are natural compounds and also the studies performed compared the side effects of these natural inhibitors vs. finasteride - and no serious side effects were shown with natural inhibitors.

While natural inhibitors work against DHT, I wouldn't bet that the mechanisms are exactly the same as with finasteride and I believe finasteride is more dangerous because it might block DHT in a different way or do something else besides blocking DHT.

It is reported that beta sitosterol is 1k to 3k times more potent than saw palmetto. I have no side effects whatsoever. I also use saw palmetto 300mg daily. The only 'side effect' I had in the past was when I was using saw palmetto in tea form, as it was for some reason leaving bad breath.

[Tracy C]

Provillus is a scam. The junk StressedToTheBald is pushing is also a scam.

[khan]

the studies performed compared the side effects of these natural inhibitors vs. finasteride - and no serious side effects were shown with natural inhibitors.

This is news to me. I am not aware of any clinical studies that you are claiming. That is these studies which campare sides effects and efficacy of natural stuff to finasteride.

Can you please link these studies. I am interested in reading them.

[StressedToTheBald]

This is news to me. I am not aware of any clinical studies that you are claiming. That is these studies which campare sides effects and efficacy of natural stuff to finasteride.

Can you please link these studies. I am interested in reading them.

For example

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12006122
http://www.hairgenesis.com/hairstudy02.pdf

"Since AGA shares similar hormonal pathways with BPH, it was previously recognized that the pharmaceutical agents useful against BPH may offer some potential benefit in the treatment of AGA. The modification of Proscar (finasteride 5mg initially indicated for BPH), to Propecia (finasteride 1mg new indication AGA) serves as a paradigm for this rationale (Kaufmann 1999). Like finasteride, several botanically derived substances have also demonstrated the ability to inhibit key hormonal processes associated with BPH. Importantly, these botanicals have not been linked with the spectrum of negative side effects, adverse reactions, or teratogenicity, associated with the pharmaceutically derived alternatives (Klepser and Klepser, 1999).

Recently, several clinical trials have been reported demonstrating the efficacy of botanical compounds in the treatment of a number of androgen dependent conditions, and, specifically, BPH. For example, among 1,098 BPH patients tested in one recent study, the general safety profile of the lipsterolic extract of Serenoa repens (LSESr 320 mg/day), or saw palmetto berry extract, compared favorably with that of finasteride, and sexual side effects were less common with the extract than with the drug. In particular the use of this extract has not been associated with erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory disturbance, or altered libido (Wilt et al. 2000a). Remarkably, in another biochemical study, it was found that LSESr was a 3-fold more effective inhibitor than finasteride (5 mg/day) at concentrations adjusted to the recommended doses for BPH treatment. It should be noted that finasteride as indicated for AGA is dosed significantly lower (1 mg/day), suggesting, a 15-fold more potent level of inhibition at the recommended daily dose of LSESr (320 mg/day) (Delos et al. 1994)."

[Tracy C]

This is news to me. I am not aware of any clinical studies that you are claiming. That is these studies which campare sides effects and efficacy of natural stuff to finasteride.

Can you please link these studies. I am interested in reading them.

The studies he keeps pushing do not stand up to legitimate medical scrutiny. StressedToTheBald is up to his ears full of misinformation and he wants to share it with everyone.