I have always had a persistent personality, and since I started noticing my hair thinning, I have made it my sole mission to find an effective treatment for my hair loss. I have spent countless hours researching the topic of male pattern baldness, in the hope of finding a treatment that could halt the shedding, and even promote hair regrowth. 

During my journey, I have tried and tested dozens of anti-hair loss formulas and treatments, most of which did not work. I have been scammed a few times, but on the flip side, I have also found some good products that have worked quite well for my hair. 

As things currently stand, there is still no cure for hair loss. However, all is not lost, because there are products and treatments out there that can halt the hair loss process, and inject a new density of life into the hair - it just takes a little digging and searching to find them. 

I know how devastating going bald can be, and I definitely know what impact it can have on your emotions. Seeing my hair fall out, strand-by-strand, made me miserable and depressed. My confidence was low, and I just felt like I was losing something that helped define my identity. 

My Battle with Hair Loss

Going bald wasn't something that concerned me until the day I discovered a ridiculous amount of hair clogging up the bath plug hole. I remember getting out of the bath and ploughing on with my well-drilled grooming routine as the water drained, and as I was about to give the bath a rinse, it was then I noticed a rather large clunk of my hair clogging up the plug hole. 

To say I was horrified is an understatement. I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. I mean, I'd never before experienced hair loss of any kind, and so this was a massive shock to the system.

Losing my hair

I have always been very proud of my long, thick locks, and I've always received great compliments about my hair from friends, family and even strangers over the years. I guess you could say my hair has become a bit of an asset to me. The mere thought of losing my locks is terrifying.

So, after the horrifying 'clogged up plug hole' episode, I got myself straight on the internet to find out the reasons why this was suddenly happening to me. 'Brief spells of major hair shedding were perfectly normal', so I was told on the countless hair loss advice forums and discussion boards. 'Shedding hair at my age (26 at the time) was just a maturing hairline and scalp development process that would soon slow down and go back to normal', I read on another hair loss specialist website. 

There were perfectly good reasons as to why this sudden hair fall was happening to me, so it seemed, therefore it could have been a number of different factors causing my hair to fall out. After reading all this, I must admit that I did feel a little better about the situation, and I constantly told myself it was just a hair maturing process that most men, who don't go bald, would inevitably go through at some point in their twenties. But who was I kidding? Only myself, it seemed.

A few weeks went by and still I continued to see my hair falling out in the shower, strand-by-strand. I'd even find between 30-50 hairs on my pillow every morning, which terrified me even more. But I still convinced myself that this was the 'maturing hair process' and that everything would be ok in good time. How could I be?! 

Weeks then turned to months and I found myself still losing clunks of hair every morning on my pillow, and after my baths and showers. Could this really be happening to me? Was I really going bald? My dad still has a great head of hair, and so does my grandfather, therefore going bald couldn't possibly be happening to me, could it?

After coming to terms with the harsh reality of losing my hair, I became mildly depressed. I was too embarrassed to speak to any of my friends and family about my hair loss, so I constantly turned to the internet with my head buried in my laptop seeking advice and solutions. 

I have always been a very sceptical person, especially with 'miracle formulas' for the skin, body and hair, therefore I trawled through the internet trying to find something, anything, that would be of benefit to my thinning hair. I seemed to be suffering from very early stages of hair loss (Norwood Hamilton 1-2) and so I only wanted a solution that could potentially halt the hair loss, or at least slow the process down somewhat. Even at that stage, I was being realistic, rather than too hopeful.  

Regaine - no gain!

The first hair loss treatment that I discovered was Regaine - a medically approved topical solution that treats hair loss in men (and women). I was hoping that the FDA approved formula was the solution I was looking for, and with an 8 out of 10 success rate, I figured Regaine would at least give me a great chance to stop hair loss, and maybe even help regrow some hair. 

Without another moments thought, I jumped online and purchased a six month supply of Regaine topical foam from Chemist Direct (the cheapest place I could find it) and waited in anticipation for my parcel to arrive. Two days later and there they were, sitting on my kitchen table staring straight at me, just waiting to be used. I was ready to try my first ever hair loss treatment. 

I don't think I am a vain person as such, but the thought of going bald did scare me immensely. I guess with my hair being such an asset and a pride of joy for me over the years, I really couldn't, and still can't, ever imagine myself without hair. 

Frankly, I'd look ridiculous. Losing your hair, especially at such a young age, is hugely devastating, and I don't care who tries to deny it - if someone who has experienced hair loss says they aren't bothered about going bald, then it is unlikely that they are telling the truth.

A supplement for concern

So, after the failed attempt at beating hair loss with Regaine, and trying a few other ineffective anti-hair loss shampoos, such as the highly caffeine charged Alpecin, I decided to keep searching for alternative options. 

I kind of figured this was a serious wake up call for me, as I'd not really done my homework on the topic of hair loss and just ended up buying the obvious choice of product. So, I decided to step up my search and go down the avenue of hair health supplements.



The thought of swallowing potent treatment pills of which I had no idea or knowledge about, made me a little nervous, if I'm honest. I've always been reluctant to take pills of any kind, but at this point, I was getting desperate, so I was willing to try anything. 

So, after pondering over the subject, I eventually researched a few hair health supplements and came across Procerin. Procerin was dubbed the best selling non-prescription hair supplement in the USA. The reviews looked great and it claimed to have a success rate of over 8 out of 10 men. 

Procerin also offered a money back guarantee, so there was nothing for me to lose, apart from my hair, right? Price wise, Procerin was a pretty affordable option, coming to just £30 per month for the tablets, but as low as just £16 per month when purchased in multi-pack deals. It's pretty much the same cost as the prescription drug Propecia (finasteride), which is not something I'd ever contemplate trying, due to the reported negative side-effects.

Trying to block DHT

I decided to give Procerin a try, so I bought myself a six months supply from Peak Nutrition, which came to around £16 per bottle. This was far cheaper than the Regaine foams that I was previously using, so already I saw this as a major plus. 

After reading about Procerin, I started to learn more about one of its main ingredients, saw palmetto. Tests had apparently shown tsaw palmetto to be a DHT blocker. DHT - full name Dihydrotestosterone - is the cause of hair loss, and so the potent addition of saw palmetto was one factor that filled me with a lot of hope for Procerin.

I remember being slightly nervous about taking these tablets, but hugely excited at the same time. I'd read all about this supplement and couldn't wait to give it a try. After about a week of taking Procerin, I did notice slight stomach discomfort, but this went away pretty quickly, and no further side-effects occurred during my whole treatment period. 

I ended up taking Procerin for the full six months straight, and believe me, I didn't miss a single serving. I diligently downed three tablets a day, as stated on the bottle, for six whole months, and I suppose the overall feeling about Procerin was a mixed bag. 

On the plus side, I think I noticed less hair fall after three months, but then an increase in hair fall from month four to month six. I didn't grow any new hairs on my receding hairline and thinning crown, so I guess you could say I was more disappointed than happy. 

By this point, I was seriously heading into Norwood Hamilton 3 territory, so I needed to act fast and find something that would stand a better chance of working for me.


It had been a gruelling 18 months since my worst nightmare began, and I was no nearer to finding a solution for my rapidly thinning hair. I was losing confidence at the same rate I was losing my hair, and so I guess you could say I was beginning to panic at this point. I was really starting to lose hope, however, I wasn't about to give up just yet... 

The saw palmetto factor

If there was one thing that gave me some encouragement from using Procerin, it was the saw palmetto factor. I strongly believed that every positive aspect I experienced from Procerin was due to the addition of saw palmetto. 

So, I continued to research saw palmetto in order to build a better understanding of it, dissecting every part of its properties and growth factors. My confidence in saw palmetto grew, and it was at this point I started to look into supplements that contained a pure and high dosage of this potent ingredient. 

My task at this point was to also find other hair beneficiary ingredients that could be taken in conjunction with saw palmetto for the most positive hair growth effect. Along my long line of research I discovered excellent ingredients such as Biotin (Vitamin B7), Zinc and Green Tea Extract, along with some other reputable hair health essentials. 

Unfortunately for me, though, I couldn't find a supplement that contained all the ingredients that I had researched, and so I had no choice but to source out each and every ingredient in order to take them all separately. I wasn't sure how effective this would be, but I was so set on this theory that I went to my local Holland & Barrett health and beauty store and purchased eight different supplements that have been associated with hair health and growth. 

Financially, this was definitely my most costly move yet, spending in the region of £120 per month on all these individual supplements, in the desperate hope my system would react positively to them and pave the way for a stoppage in hair fall and good maintenance of healthy hair growth.

For six months I was buying pills like a madman. I was popping herbal pills and vitamins left, right and centre, with no real idea of how accurate my dosages would be. I was rather foolish, and looing back, to save time and money, I'd have been better off taking multivitamins, rather than taking them all separately. 

Stimulating potassium ion channels

It had been two painful years of searching for something that could potentially work for me, and all of a sudden a new hair loss treatment pill came my way and smacked me right in the face. 

I remember being on a flight to Turkey, on my annual holiday getaway, and during my reading of the in-flight magazine, a new and unique hair growth supplement advertisement jumped out of the page and instantly got my full attention. 

Developed in Oxford, United Kingdom, and manufactured in Germany, TRX2™ molecular hair growth supplement claimed to synthesise the latest scientific knowledge on the molecular mechanisms behind hair loss into an elegant solution: The stimulation of potassium ion channels within hair follicles. 

I didn't know what this meant at the time, but it sounded impressive enough to investigate further. Throughout my whole two week stay in Turkey, I just couldn't stop thinking about this new discovery that I had made in the unlikeliest of sources. 

If truth be told, I just wanted to jump back on the plane, arrive back home and order the damn supplement. Maybe I had turned into a hair health supplement addict, for who else would have had a tiny white pill on their minds during a holiday filled with sun, sand and sea?



I ended up taking TRX2 for a two years, as part of their customer loyalty scheme - buy monthly and get a free bottle every 12 months. I was paying in the region of £50 per month, and if I'm honest, the whole 'potassium channel theory' didn't really work for me. 

I don't think I have ever been so disappointed in anything throughout my entire life. I had such high hopes for TRX2, and yet, during the whole period I was taking it, I didn't notice any improvement in my hair - none whatsoever!  You can imagine how upset I was. 

After over three years of hair loss, with no treatment, and no idea what my next step was, I was beginning to lose hope.  

That was until I accidentally came across a random retweet on Twitter, of all places, about a new hair restoration tablet that claimed to have a careful blend of effective ingredients that could help men and women that suffer from early stages of hair loss.

The breakthrough

By this point I remained sceptical after having my hopes raised and then dashed on so many occasions over the previous few years, so I guess you could say I was a little more cautious this time. 

Anyway, I clicked on the link from the tweet and it led me to the website of HR23+ Hair Health. And there it was, a beautifully branded supplement in all its glory. 

The brand oozed confidence, but there were no far-fetched-claims, no magical cures, and no promises. This, in a strange way, made me feel more at comfort with the product, and it intrigued me to learn more about it. 

As I read down the ingredients list, I was pleasantly surprised to see a generous dosage of saw palmetto, along with biotin and a whole host of hair loss preventers and hair growth promoters. The formula looked good, and the reviews were also positive, for the most part.

The result?

I took HR23+ for three months, without missing a single serving, and already I was beginning to see noticeable improvements in my hair. After just two weeks I noticed much less hair fall in the shower and on my pillow each morning. After one month the hair fall pretty much stopped, and my hair felt thicker and stronger. 

The formula seemed to be working at the root of the cause, helping prevent excessive shedding and thinning hair. Although, during the early stages of use, I didn't experience much in the way of hair regrowth, my existing hair was certainly growing faster and stronger than it had done in the years previously. Over a longer period of use, I started seeing new hairs sprouting in my hairline, and my hairs in the crown area seemed to be getting fuller. The results were minimal, but even so, at least I could see some fast improvements. This was encouraging. 

I'm not expecting full regrowth of hair, but that's ok, as my main objective was to stop hair loss and maintain the hair that I already had. The added thickness and texture of my hair was a welcome bonus.

I know that my hair will probably never be as thick as it was when I was 25, but then everyone experiences thinner hair as they age - it's a natural process. I think when it comes to hair loss, we all have to be realistic to some degree. 

If you suffer from early stages of hair loss, then the best thing you can do is to act as quickly as possible. The more time you waste, the more hair you'll lose. I spent over three years trying to find a solution for hair loss, and I regard myself as one of the lucky ones. Some products that I have used have worked better than others, and so will be the case for many men and women that suffer from hair loss.

I genuinely do believe that with each individual, cases will vary. In my case, as I suspected from my early research and testing, a formulation with the additives which HR23+ has, seems to work well for me. My body agrees with the formula and my hair feels and looks so much better after such a short space of time.

2022 Update

Some of you will remain sceptical, and that's fair enough, because I know I would be. HR23+ absolutely does work for me, and now, after using this supplement for nearly seven years, my hair is stabilised, and healthy. I have lowered my daily serving to just two capsules, which still seems to be working for me. 

One thing's for sure, I've not felt as good about my hair since I was 25, and now, with a good head of hair at the age of 37, the next decade of my life doesn't seem so daunting after all.

My confidence is up, my happiness is in tact and I truly feel I have found a hair health supplement that is working for me. My only regret is that I didn't discover HR23+ sooner!