WO2006137081A1

WO2006137081A1 - A hair tonic of plant origin for the prevention of hair loss and/or for the growth of new hair on the bald

Info

Publication number: WO2006137081A1
Application number: PCT/IN2006/000171
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ratnendu Bikash Tripathi; Anupama Tripathi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-06-24
Filing date: 2006-05-22
Publication date: 2006-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2007-12-24

Abstract

Described herein is a medicine/hair tonic of plant origin for prevention of hair loss and/or growth of new hair on the bald for all types of Alopecia irrespective of sex comprising a mixture of essential oils of THYME (THYMUS VULGARIS), ROSEMARY (ROSEMARINAS OFFICINALIS), LAVENDER (LAVENDULA OFFICINALIS), LEMON (CITRUS LIMONUM), CEDARWOOD (CEDRUS ATLANTICA), and JATAMANSI (NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI) and a process for preparing the same.

Description

A hair tonic of plant origin for the prevention of hair loss and/or for the growth of new hair on the bald.

This invention relates to a remedy for preventing/curing hair loss and a medicine/hair tonic of plant origin for prevention of hair loss and/or for growth of new hair on the bald irrespective of sex and a process for preparing the same. The medicine/tonic has also the property of removing/controlling dandruff. It also helps increase blood circulation of the, scalp by which the nutrients we get from food supplied properly to the hair papilla increasing its capacity to generate the cell, follicle regeneration. It is immuno stimulant and also very relaxing which helps to generate sleep. It is also found to be memory stimulating. The invention also relates to the method of application of the medicine/tonic for curing/preventing baldness. The hairfall in medical term is called Alopecia. This medicine of the invention has been found to be effective in curing all types of Alopecia of wide age groups.

It is normal that a healthy person either male or female to have sufficiently thick hair on his/her scalp. A good formation of hair and its maintenance is a sign of good health_, and adds beauty, charm and personality of a person. It is hot uncommon to find people of either sex having sufficiently good/healthy hair even at advanced age. However, often it is seen that at least 30-40% of people of either sex particularly males to experience premature surprising hairfall without any apparent reason leading to near baldness to full baldness. '^■

To understand the hairfall one has to know what exactly is hair:

1) Mammalian Hair - Typical mammalian hair consists of the shaft, protruding above the skin; and the root, which is sunk in a follicle,, or pit, beneath the skin surface. Except for a few growing cells at the base of the root, the hair is dead tissue and is composed of keratin and related proteins. The hair follicle is a tubelike pocket of the epidermis, that encloses a small section of the dermis at its base: Human hair is formed by rapid divisions of cells at the base of the follicle. As the cells are pushed upward from the follicle's base, they harden and undergo pigmentation.

2) Origin - By week 22 a developing fetus has all of its hair follicles formed. At this stage of life there are approximately 5 million hair follicles on the body. There are a total of 1 million on the head, with one hundred thousand of those follicles residing on the scalp. This is the largest number of hair follicles a human will ever have, we do not generate new hair follicles anytime in life. Most people will notice that the density of scalp hair will become less as they grow from childhood to adulthood by virtue of the fact that our scalps expand as we grow.

3) Anatomy - Hair has two separate structures - the follicle in the skin and the shaft we see.

Follicle - The follicle is a stocking-like structure that contains several layers with different jobs. At the base of the follicle is a projection formed like sticking a finger in the bottom of a stocking and pushing it in a small amount. This projection is called a papilla and it contains capillaries, or tiny blood vessels, that feed the cells. The living part of the hair is bottom part of the stocking surrounding the papilla called the bulb. This bottom part is the only part fed by the capillaries. The cells in the bulb divide every 23 to 72 hours, faster than any other cells in the body.

The follicle is surrounded by two sheaths - an inner and outer sheath. These sheaths protect and mold the growing hair shaft. The inner sheath follows the hair shaft and ends below the opening of a sebaceous (oil) gland, and sometimes an apocrine (scent) gland. The outer sheath continues all the way up to the gland. A muscle called an erector pili muscle attaches below the gland to a fibrous layer around the outer sheath. When this muscle contracts, it causes the hair to stand up.

The sebaceous gland is important because it produces sebum which is a natural conditioner. More sebum is produced after puberty. The sebum production decreases in women throughout their lives. The production also decreases in men, but not as much as in women.

Shaft - The hair shaft is made up of dead, hard protein called keratin in three layers. The inner layer is called the medulla and may not be present. The next layer is the cortex and the outer layer is the cuticle. The cortex makes up the majority of the hair shaft. The cuticle is formed by tightly packed scales in an overlapping structure similar to roof shingles. Most hair conditioning products attempt to affect the cuticle. There are pigment cells that are distributed throughout the cortex and medulla giving the hair it's characteristic color.

4) Hair Growth Cycle - Hair on the scalp grows about .3-.4 mm/day or about 6 inches per year. Unlike other mammals, hair growth and loss is random and not seasonal or cyclic. At any given time, a random number of hairs will be in various stages of growth and shedding. There are three stages of hair growth: catagen, telogen, and anagen.

Catagen - The catagen phase is a transitional stage and 3% of all hairs are in this phase at any time. This phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks. During this time growth stops and the outer root sheath shrinks and attaches to the root of the hair. This is the formation of what is known as a club hair.

Telogen - Telogen is the resting phase and accounts for 10-15% of all hairs. This phase lasts for about 100 days for hairs on the scalp and much longer for hairs on the eyebrow, eyelash, arm and leg. During this phase the hair follicle is completely at rest and the club hair is completely formed. Pulling out a hair in this phase will reveal a solid, hard, dry, white material at the root. About 25-100 telogen hairs are shed normally each day.

Anagen - Anagen is the active phase of the hair. The cells in the root of the hair are dividing rapidly. A new hair is formed and pushes the club hair up the follicle and eventually out. During this phase the hair grows about 1 cm every 28 days. Scalp hair stays in this active phase of growth for 2-6 years. Some people have difficulty growing their hair beyond a certain length because they have a short active phase of growth. On the other hand, people with very long hair have a long active phase of growth. The hair on the arms, legs, eyelashes, and eyebrows have a very short active growth phase of about 30-45 days explaining why they are so much shorter than scalp hair.

5) Hair Shape - The amount of natural curl a hair has is determined by its cross- sectional shape. Hair that is most similar to a circle is straight and hair that is flattened and elliptical is curly or kinky. The more circular the shaft is, the straighter it is. The more elliptical the shaft is, the curlier or kinkier the hair. The cross-sectional shape also determines the amount of shine the hair has. Straighter hair is shinier because sebum from the sebaceous gland can travel down the hair more easily. The kinkier the hair, the more difficulty the sebum has traveling down the hair, therefore the more dry or dull the hair looks.

REASONS FOR HAIR LOSS:

The general reasons for hair loss are as follows, probably in descending order.

1) NORMAL HAIR LOSS

2) HEREDITY FACTORS

3) POSTSURGERYALOPECIA

4) HORMONAL IMBALANCE

5) DRUG INDUCED HAIR LOSS

6) PATCHYHAIR LOSS

7) DELA YED LOSS FROM STRESS

8) SUDDEN HAIR LOSS

9) BROKENHAIRS

10) NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES

11) SELFINDUCED EFFLUVIUM OR TRICHOTILOMANIA

12) CONGENITAL ALOPECIA

13) OTHER HAIR LOSSES

1) Normal Hair Loss - We all lose hair everyday. Hair grows for a period of time, usually 2 to 6 years, and then the follicles shed the hair and go into a resting stage for approximately 3 months, then a new hair growth cycle begins. It is normal to lose between 50 to 150 hairs per day from normal shedding.

2) Heredity Factors - Androgenetic Alopecia is the scientific name for the genetic predisposition in both men and women for pattern baldness. Pattern hair loss in men is often referred to as male pattern baldness (MPB). Androgenetic alopecia is the cause of over 95% of all pattern hair loss, including baldness in men and thinning hair in women. Pattern hair loss occurs in somewhat predictable stages, and is relentlessly progressive. Usually the earlier in life pattern hair loss begins the more advanced the pattern will ultimately become. Studies have shown that pattern loss is increasingly evident and advanced as people age.

Natural hair loss in a man, or male pattern baldness, as it is normally called is basically due to male hormones, (collectively known as Androgens). The most relevant of these hormones with regards to hair loss is called testosterone. In the case of a man who has inherited the necessary genes for hair loss, a little of this testosterone is formed by some of the hair roots into a derivative called Dihydrotestosterone. It is Dihydrotestosterone that is actually responsible for hair loss.

When anyone washes their hair there are always a few hairs left in the basin afterwards. This does not necessarily mean that the person is thinning. All that is happening is that some of the hair roots are shedding their old hairs and, in time, these will be replaced. The new hairs are as strong as the previous hairs were. The small white bobble on the end of the hair is not the hair root; it is in fact, formed from degenerated cells from within the hair root and is called the club. If it were possible for a hair to be pulled from the scalp bringing a hair root with it then the scalp would actually bleed. If dihydrotestosterone has been produced it will be present in the surface sebum (grease) which is secreted by everyone from the sebum glands present through their skin tissue. Under these circumstances, when a hair is shed the dihydrotestosterone will enter the follicle (the hole in the scalp from which the hair has come) and inside there it reacts chemically. What it actually does is to miniaturise the hair root and follicle. This means that the new hair growing through will be finer. When this new fine hair is later shed the Dihydrotestosterone again miniaturises the follicle and hair root even further and hence the next hair will be finer still. This process will continue until the hair is so fine that it may as well not be there at all and if this happens over an area, then the man will obviously thin over that area and hence baldness occurs.

3) Post Surgery Alopecia - A number of things can cause excessive hair loss. For example, about 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery, you may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of the illness and is temporary.

4) Hormonal Imbalance - Hormonal problems may cause hair loss. If your thyroid gland is overactive or underactive, your hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment of the thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones, known as androgens and estrogens, are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop your hair loss.

Many women notice hair loss about 3 months after they've had a baby. This loss is also related to hormones. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall out. When the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and loss starts again.

5) Drug Induced Hair Loss - Some medicines can cause hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine. Medicines that can cause hair loss include blood thinners (also called anticoagulants), medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A (if too much is taken), birth control pills and antidepressants.

Certain infections can cause hair loss. Children may have hair loss caused by a fungal infection of the scalp. Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes.

6) Patchy Hair Loss - Alopecia Areata is an immune system disorder, which causes hair follicles to stop producing hairs. Sudden loss of hair from small patches on the head is a common symptom. Advanced forms of the disorder include Alopecia Totalis, where all hair on the head is lost, and Alopecia Universalis, which results in the absence of all body hair.

7) Delayed Loss from Stress - Telogen Effluvium is a slowing of new hair growth resulting from sudden severe stress, followed by a delayed shedding of hair. The stress induces a high proportion of follicles to enter the resting stage, and a few months after the stressful event, all of the resting follicles begin to shed hairs at about the same time.

8) Sudden Hair Loss - Anagen Effluvium is the sudden loss of growing hairs as a result of chemicals or radiation. Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy halt the growth phase of hair follicles, and result in the sudden shedding of hair. Some medications (i.e.; diuretics, blood thinners, acne medications and birth control pills.) can also cause hair loss as a side effect.

9) Broken Hairs - Hair shaft breakage is when part of a hair breaks off, but the growing end remains in the follicle and continues to grow. Hair shaft breakage results in thinner hair, and can be caused by excessive styling, chemicals, sun, and chlorine in swimming pools.

10) Nutritional Deficiencies - Nutritional deficiencies are rarely a cause of hair loss. In rare cases certain nutritional deficiencies can cause weak hair shafts that tend to break off.

11) Self Induced Effluvium or Trichotilomania - Self induced effluvium occurs due to some irritation on the scalp on that affected area and he or she is unaware of pulling. This happens due to some irritation in the nerve endings of hair follicle. In some cases patients are also with psychiatric problem.

12) Congenital Alopecia - This type of alopecia occurs at the time of birth.

13) Other Hair Losses - Certain chronic illnesses can result in hair loss. Hormone- related irregularities can include hair loss among other symptoms. Skin infections can also result in hair loss that is usually not permanent. Trauma, such as burns and jury to hair follicles however, can cause permanent hair loss.

It is the long experience of the inventors and also a common knowledge that many people have been suffering from hair loss at different ages particularly women at young ages due to disease or patchy hair losses which not only refrain them from their marriage but they experience social rejection, humiliation etc. leading to depression/frustration. Similar are the cases also for men. Thus, there is a genuine need for an effective remedy for curing such baldness or Alopecia.

Prior art:

The existing available remedies are:- i) Wig: It is a cover on the scalp with artificial hair. But looks odd and generation of sweat can develop growth of fungus on the scalp leading to various skin problems. ii) Hair transplantation: Hair from the back of the scalp with hair plug transplanted to the affected area. Patients not only look odd but the treatment is also painful and is very expensive. iii) Hydrocortisone injection: Steroid application on the affected area which is also painful as well as having adverse side effects on the human body. iv) Minoxidyl: It is a topical application of a synthetic chemical, a powerful vasodilator only for men preferably between 18 to 46 years of age. The efficacy is very limited. The regained hair will be lost within a year if not continued. This does not cover all types of Alopecia. No dandruff remedy. The treatment is also quite expensive. v) Finasteride: This is an application of also a synthetic active ingredient Finasteride which interacts with hormone decease libido in 2% cases and regained after stopping. This is also recommended for only men of between 18-42 years with slight hair loss. Regain of hair is about 30% in normal to moderate hair loss. Regained hair can be lost within a year if not used continuously. There is no proof of dandruff remedy also. This is also very expensive.

From the above it can be seen that there is no effective remedy available in the art on the problem of hair loss/baldness in general.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to find a suitable medicine/tonic which can permanently prevent/cure baldness of either sex of long age groups which is cost effective, harmless and easy to use so that difficulties and sufferings of the people get alleviated or totally removed.

The inventors having deep interest and long experience in the field of essential oils with their different amazing properties have successfully come out astonishingly with a remedy for treating the Alopecia or hair loss. They have so far treated more than 6,000 patients of different conditions of Alopecia or hair loss and have evidence of very high success rate even in otherwise impossible cases.

According to this invention there is provided a medicine/hair tonic of plant origin for prevention of hair loss and/or for growth of new hair on the bald for all types of Alopecia irrespective of sex comprising a mixture of essential oils of THYME (THYMUS VULGARIS), ROSEMARY (ROSEMARINAS OFFICINALIS), LAVENDER (LAVENDULA OFFICINALIS), LEMON (CITRUS LlMONUM), CEDARWOOD (CEDRUS ATLANTICA), and JATAMANSI (NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI).

The medicine should be used preferably with a carrier such as an oil, a gel or a shampoo. The carrier is preferably of plant origin and is selected from but not restricted to sunflower oil, olive oil, almond oil and jajoba oil or mixture thereof and also a gel like aloevera gel or a shampoo. The carrier oils can be alone or a mixture. The essential oils in the mixture are present in the following proportions:- 1 :0.5-2:0.5-2:0.3-2:0.3-1.5:0.2- 1.5 v/v respectively.

The carrier and its proportion used for dilution of the main concentrated mixture of essential oils to be used as the medicine/hair tonic and the final dose are dependent on various factors including the condition of baldness, age, sex, background etc. of the patient. The ingredients used in this invention are readily available and are affordable.

Preparation method:

The medicine/hair tonic of the invention can be prepared by mixing the concentrate of essential oils of THYME (THYMUS VULGARIS), ROSEMARY (ROSEMARINAS OFFICINALIS), LAVENDER (LAVENDULA OFFICINALIS), LEMON (CITRUS LIMONUM)₁ CEDARWOOD (CEDRUS ATLANTICA), and JATAMANSI (NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI) in the proportion of 1:0.5-2:0.5-2:0.3-2:0.3-1.5:0.2-1.5 v/v respectively. The mixture then optionally diluted with the carrier as herein described the proportion of which can vary from 1 to 100 times depending upon the requirement of the patient.

Example: Add 1-5ml of the concentrated form of the medicine prepared in the above manner in 100ml of carrier oil like sunflower oil, olive oil, almond oil, jajoba oil or a gel like aloevera gel or a shampoo. The same is thoroughly mixed to obtain a form of the medicine which is mostly found to have been very effective.

Treatment method:

As stated before, the medicine is to be applied externally over the scalp. 20 to 40 drops of the medicine are usually required by the patient once daily. The scalp is massaged gently for five minutes and then combed properly. Slight variation of dose will not create any problem. There is no side effect. The patients feel relaxed. After application of about 1 month, definitive improvement in the growth of hair and restriction in the loss of hair can be noticed. The remedy is found most effective upto the age of about 72 years. Duration of the treatment can be of 1 month to upto 3 years. The medicine in the diluted form is to be applied on the scalp as an external use only.

Case studies:

As stated before, the applicants/inventors have treated more than 6,000 patients with excellent results. They have still been continuing the same. The success rate is 100%. Encouraging results after the treatment have attracted the media attention. The applicants/inventors have been periodically shown in live telecast in a local TV channel including the presence of the cured patients explaining the happy experience of the patients of the amazing treatment methods and the cure of their diseases. By these live TV programmes the applicants/inventors have also had interactions with various persons who became their patients and are getting treatment.

Some of the results of the treatment are described herein:

Having now described the invention as above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention can be performed within a variety of conditions, formulations and other parameters as may be required on case to case basis without affecting the scope of the invention or any embodiment thereof which is claimed hereafter.

Claims

We claim:

1) A medicine/hair tonic of plant origin for prevention of hair loss and/or for growth of new hair on the bald for all types of Alopecia irrespective of sex comprising a mixture of essential oils of THYME (THYMUS VULGARIS), ROSEMARY (ROSEMARINAS OFFICINALIS), LAVENDER (LAVENDULA OFFICINALIS), LEMON (CITRUS LlMONUM), CEDARWOOD (CEDRUS ATLANTICA), and JATAMANSI (NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI).

2) A medicine/hair tonic as claimed in claim 1 wherein the essential oils are mixed therein in the proportion of 1:0.5-2:0.5-2:0.3-2:0.3-1.5:0.2-1.5 v/v.

3) A medicine/hair tonic as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the same is in diluted form in a carrier either an oil, a gel or a shampoo.

4) A medicine/hair tonic as claimed in claim 3 wherein the carrier is preferably selected from oils of plant origin.

5) A medicine/hair tonic as claimed in claims 3 and 4 wherein the carrier is more preferably selected from sunflower oil, olive oil, almond oil, jajoba oil or a mixture thereof.

6) A process for the preparation of a medicine/hair tonic of plant origin for prevention of hair loss and/or for growth of new hair on the bald for all types of Alopecia irrespective of sex comprising mixing of essential oils of THYME (THYMUS VULGARIS), ROSEMARY (ROSEMARINAS OFFICINALIS), LAVENDER (LAVENDULA OFFICINALIS), LEMON (CITRUS LIMONUM), CEDARWOOD (CEDRUS ATLANTICA), and JATAMANSI (NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI).

7) A process as claimed in claim 6 wherein the essential oils are thoroughly mixed in the proportion of 1:0.5-2:0.5-2:0.3-2:0.3-1.5:0.2-1.5 v/v.

8) A process as claimed in claims 6 or 7 wherein the mixture of essential oils is diluted with a carrier either an oil, a gel or a shampoo.

9) A process as claimed in claim 8 wherein the carrier is of plant origin.

10) A process as claimed in claim 9 wherein the carrier is preferably selected from sunflower oil, olive oil, almond oil, jajoba oil or a mixture thereof.

11) A method of treating baldness or related hair diseases comprising subjecting a patient suffering from any of the above diseases to a medicine/hair tonic composition as claimed in any of the claims 1-5.

12) A medicine/hair tonic of plant origin for prevention of hair loss and/or for growth of new hair on the bald substantially as herein described and exemplified.