Epi soft by Bubbly Hair Inhibitor (3)

Product Information

Although not all products disclose their ingredients online, it appears that several of them use a protein-cleaving enzyme called papain which is cystine protease. It comes from papaya and other fruits. The number of Episoft Serum depends on the area that will be used. For example: if you want to use it only for the face or armpits one bottle will be enough. We recommend 2 bottles for legs and bikini areas and 6 bottles for the whole body. Despite this theoretical mechanism, there doesn’t seem to be any clear scientific evidience that papain-based products inhibit hair growth. The closest support we could find was one study showing that Trypsin, a similar enzyme, has shown to reduce hair growth in mice that had been waxed. This is another type of non-active active or at least a non-specified active. There are a couple of products on the market that simply claim to slow hair growth with “herbal extracts.”

Derma Nude – which has this crazy scientific explanation: it suppresses hair regrowth 5 ways: “(1)Unwind keratin, (2) break keratin apart and separate it from the matrix (3) perforate the cystine, (4) work below the growth plate at the double sulfa helix bond. (5) prevent cystine to cystine bonding at the active phase of hair growth.” DihydromyricetinWe couldn’t find a clear mechanism described anywhere in the technical literature. Based on the product sheet for one product and the understanding that isoquinoline can be cytotoxic, it appears that it kills hair follicles that are in the anagen phase. One patent described it’s action as “choking” the hair root. Another example of the herbal extract approach is Jergens Naturally Smooth Shave Minimizing Moisturizer and it DOES identify which extract is uses: it’s Sanguisorba Officinalis Root Extract. Strangely enough, the only scientific paper I could find saying that this extract affects hair growth states that it reduces hair LOSS by increasing the amount of time the hair shaft spends in the anagen or active growth phase. (Wouldn’t that make you shave more often?) Now, Jergens is owned by Kao which is a big company so at first glance this might appear to be a legitimate shave minimizing product but since there’s no apparent evidence that it works and considering that it’s been taken off the market, I don’t really think so. The bottom line here is that I would avoid any of these products that only tell you they work by “herbal extracts.” Fruit enzymes (Papain) Some enzymes of this type have been shown to cause apoptosis of follicular papillae. Essentially that means that they kill the cells before they can reproduce. If the ingredient kills off enough hair growth cells, you’ll have fewer hairs and the hairs that do grow out will most likely be thinner and less visible. Tremella fuciformis sporocarp extract is an easy one to deal with – it’s just a moisturiser, derived from a gooey white fungus that the Asian cuisine fans amongst my readers may find particularly familiar. The main active ingredients in Inhibitif are Tremella fuciformis sporocarp extract, dihydromyricetin and lauryl isoquinolinium bromide. Lauryl isoquinolinium bromide is only found in the Advanced Hair-Free Serum, which isn’t retailing in Australia at the moment.

Dihydromyricetin is an interesting molecule extracted from the oriental raisin tree, which has been used for a long time in traditional medicine. It’s been found to mitigate the effects of alcohol, and is being sold for human consumption already. One example is the product “Kalo” by Nism which claims that it’s “organic extracts” and sulphur inhibitors “prevent hair from regenerating.” The company does provide a link to a claims support study, but as far as I can tell, the study was done on waxed skin with no control. We know that waxing alone can reduce hair growth so this study does NOT prove that Kalo does anything http://www.nisim.com/Kalo-Hair-Inhibitor-Clinical-Study-s/53.htm Catagen: This is the transitional phase where the follicle renews itself. The hair becomes detached from the root but it continues to be pushed toward the surface. This phase lasts a few weeks. We mentioned there are 3 primary ways that hair growth inhibitors work – actually there’s a fourth: this drug irreversibly inhibits an enzyme that’s involved in controlling hair growth. Gail from Canada asks…How do hair growth inhibitors creams like Inhibitif work? The biology of hair and hair growthLauryl isoquinolinium bromide is less benign in my opinion – although the MSDS for a beard-slowing product that contains it is somewhat reassuring, there really isn’t enough info on it out there to made me feel like its safety profile is well established, and that it’s targeting just the hair, and not the skin around it. It’s not in any of the Inhibitif products in the Australian market though. Telogen: This is the resting phase where follicle is not producing any new hairs. The last hair to be produced by this follicle is pushed all the way out and will eventually fall out. This phase lasts up to a few months. Supposedly, according to the companies that sell this stuff, Dihydromyricetin inhibits the IGF-1 receptors in hair follicles. (IGF stands for Insulin-like Growth Factor.) IGF-1 is thought to prevent death of cells in the follicle, which would keep hair growing longer. So, if you can inhibit IGF-1, you can theoretically prevent hair from growing. Anagen: This is the active or growth phase. Lasts from 2 to 6 years. The more time a hair stays in this phase, the longer it will grow. Propylene Glycol: at low concentrations, propylene glycol acts like a humectant, which means it binds water and pulls in hydration to the outer skin layer.