Is Saw Palmetto Safe & Worth it?

[montreal6130]

Hi,

I saw a very well known hair surgeon (i'd consider one of the top) and he recommended that I get on Saw Palmetto (I am not interested in propecia). My questions for people out here.

(1) Is it a safe herbal supplement? Can side effects match propecia (i.e. just as potentially dangerous)?

(2) Will it actually do anything? Can anyone definitively say that they started taking it and that it actually helped improve the health of their hair and may have slowed hair loss?

Thanks.

[Scientalk56]

Hello,
I asked a well known dermatologist and that's what he answered:
tablets effects systematically like propecia so it can have the same risks/side effects.
But a topical saw palmetto will just affect the scalp, not the whole body, and it will have nearly zero sexual side effects (it's not based on research - just a theory/opinion!)

The problem with saw palmetto as any herbal product, is that no one really knows the correct dosage, because no know had done a research on it.

so you have to know that you can't really know how much it will affect your scalp and how the side effects will be.
herbal supplement is not always safe as we tend to think, it can be toxic, and it can be safe. the question is in what chemical way does the herbal work in the body.

Drugs are designed to be have maximum therapeutic benefit and have minimal side effect, while herbal supplements aren't. but we think they are safe because companies give those supplements in very very low dosages in a way that it won't harm the body, plus they earn a lot of money of those supplements without even proving it does work.

[StuckInARut]

Is Saw Palmetto safe? Yes. Is it worth it? That I am not so sure.

I took it for nearly 6 months trying different amounts and it didn't do anything worthwhile as far as I can tell. I shed the entire time on it and am currently in process of gradually weaning off. At my highest I was taking 520mg daily but am down to 200mg right now.

As for the side effects, I had a very subtle sensitivity in one testicle for a few days but absolutely nothing else.

[burtandernie]

Yeah I have my doubts its even close to as strong as propecia hence less sides and less effectiveness if it even is strong enough to do anything. Go topical or go propecia.

[montreal6130]

thx. I'm actually about one month now on Rogaine Foam & 5 months off propecia. I met with a member of Dr. Rahal's (hair restoration specialist) team who I have a tremendous amount of respect for and they recommended the following supplements; Saw Palmetto, Biotin & Green Tea Extract. Of course they offered that recommendation after I said I was not interested in getting back on fin and the rec was about improving hair quality and not necessarily slowing down hair loss. They did suggest that some clients reporting some hair loss slow down being on saw palmetto.