[Tom Dennison]

Tom Dennison  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi Chris / Naked Scientists
 
I am 35 years old and along with so many other men my age am starting to really notice my receding hairline.  Whilst it does not bother me that badly (and is relatively not that bad), I would love nothing more than to have my old hairline back. 

From what I can see from the limited research I've done, there aren't any conventional methods that actually work, without paying a lot of money and having to continue to use products for the rest of my life - something I am not willing to consider.
 
However, I have been told by two people, both of whom I trust implicitly, that drinking ones own urine can work. 

They both know someone intimately, who has done it and swear on their life that after 3 months of drinking ALL (except maybe the first and last squirt) of their morning wee, they both grew back a full head of hair.  And they started with a lot less than me.
 
My dilemma is that whilst I would be willing to carry out this stomach-turning procedure, I would hate to do it and find it didn't have any effect whatsoever.
 
I was wondering if there was any scientific research or know-how on this subject.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Tom

What do you think?

[SeanB]

I would rather keep my thinning scalp, than willingly recycle what my body considers toxic waste, with a small amount of excess salt and water to make it dilute enough to flow!

However if you want to do so..............

Placebo effect would be a big effect here, difficult to do a double blind study where it is rather difficult to provide a totally harmless substance that has the same taste and smell.

[RD]

I have been told by two people, both of whom I trust implicitly, that drinking ones own urine can work. 

What do you think?

When they say they're "taking the piss" it means they're "pulling your leg".   []

[JnA]

Here's the rub..  male pattern baldness has been around for centuries.. almost as many cures, preventatives and regenerations have been invented. But yet, male pattern baldness doesn't seem to be stopping.. I still see bald people.

I'm not saying that your friends are fibbing.. or even that they don't believe.. but..


1. your sample size is small
2. there are many reasons for going bald.. what might work for one reason may not work for another
3. even if drinking your own urine was a cure.. I'm figuring the science boffins would have found a way to make it more palatable by now...
and 4. my initial reaction is to say "do the experiment, document everything, you tube it and make yourself a fortune if it works"  but I cannot in good conscience encourage someone to drink their own urine (or anyone else's for that matter)
Urine has a reputation of being 'sterile'  however, the tube it uses to reach the outside world is not sterile and falls prey to any number of bacteria.. which one cannot avoid...

trust your friend implicitly..  just trust your own sense of self preservation more.


My FIL says.. God only made a few perfect heads... and on the rest he put hair.

[doppler1]

Dude, this is a first...in my world, drinking ones own urine is usually an option that you file away in the back of your mind only to be called upon after being stranded in the desert for a few days and after drinking the sweat from your socks certainly not an option to be considered as a preventative measure for hair loss. I am very pleased to see that your friends specified your own urine and not theirs

[Lor]

i was watching a medical show recently regarding this new experimental drug treatment, for leukemia i belive, and they mentioned  a side effect of it after you had been treated for 6 months or more was your hair color was restored-if youre hair was gray it was restored to its original color

[LeeE]

People have drunk urine since the rise of civilisation, and continue to do so for various reasons.  Have a read of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urophagia

[Don_1]

It might not stop hair loss, but it would sure as hell take your mind off it!!!

[mlandri]

God, I hope not. However, it does whiten ones teeth! Oh no. Joe Biden, what have you been doing all these years?!

[Daerana]

It might not stop hair loss, but it would sure as hell take your mind off it!!!

Nice one