Redensyl Scalp Spray, 5%

Redensyl 5%. Redensyl is a supplier-made blend of dihydroquercetin glucoside and a glucosylated form of epigallocatechin gallate, with glycine and zinc. The manufacturer's account of it is that it acts on the stem cells in the outer root sheath and on the cells of the dermal papilla, encouraging resting follicles back into a growth phase. The human evidence is a single manufacturer-run study of roughly 26 men over 84 days at 3%, which reported a modest shift in the ratio of growing to resting hairs against placebo. It is small, it was paid for by the company that sells the ingredient, and nobody independent has repeated it. Treat that as promising and unproven. The large hair-count figure quoted around Redensyl on other sites is an extrapolation from that study across a whole scalp. No one has counted that many hairs on a real head.

Our concentration is 5%, above the 3% that was actually tested. Read that as a generous inclusion of a cosmetic ingredient. It does not make this a stronger dose in the way 5% minoxidil is genuinely stronger than 2%. There is no study showing 5% does more than 3%.

Ginger root is here for the scalp rather than for growth, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. It is warming and lightly astringent, and it gives the spray a clean feel on a scalp that has been under a hat or a shampoo all day. The most direct laboratory work on 6-gingerol, the compound ginger is best known for, found that it suppressed hair shaft elongation in cultured human follicles rather than encouraging it. That is one study in a dish and it does not mean ginger harms your hair, though it is a good reason to keep ginger in a supporting role and to make no growth claim for it at all.

The formula is fragrance-free. That matters more than it sounds for a leave-on product you meet twice a day, because fragrance is one of the more common causes of a scalp that starts itching in week three.

This is the minoxidil-free option, and it is honest about what that costs you. Minoxidil is the only ingredient in this range with strong regrowth evidence behind it, and if you are able to use it, the Minoxidil Topical Solution USP, 5% is the product to start with. This spray is for the people that sentence leaves out: anyone who reacted badly to minoxidil, anyone who does not want a drug on their scalp twice a day, and anyone who has read the label and decided against it. It sits in the cosmetic category, which describes how it is regulated and says nothing about how well it works.

The format is the other reason to choose it. A pump mist suits diffuse thinning across the crown, where a dropper is slow and fiddly. If what you are treating has an edge to it, a receding hairline or a widening part, the Redensyl Complex Serum puts a lower dose of Redensyl into a dropper alongside Anagain, Baicapil and caffeine, and places it more precisely. There is no reason to use both. For the wash underneath it, the Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo is also fragrance-free, which keeps the total number of things irritating your scalp low while you are testing whether this works.

Twice a day, morning and evening, on a dry or towel-dried scalp.

1. Start with hair that is dry or close to it. A wet scalp dilutes the mist and carries it off the area you aimed at.
2. Part your hair into rows to expose the scalp across the thinning area.
3. Hold the nozzle four or five centimetres from the scalp and spray along each parting, moving as you go. Twelve to fifteen sprays, about 1.5 mL, covers a crown. Keep your eyes closed and do not spray towards your face.
4. Work it in with your fingertips for about thirty seconds, until the skin feels damp rather than wet.
5. Leave it in. Do not rinse it out, and give it fifteen to twenty minutes to dry before a hat, a pillow or any styling product.
6. Wash your hands afterwards.

The common mistake is spraying the hair instead of the scalp. Anything that lands on the lengths does nothing at all, so part the hair properly and aim at skin. If you also use a minoxidil topical, leave several hours between the two. Putting a second wet product onto a scalp that has not dried spreads both around and gives you less of each.

Nothing visible for the first two months. The one study behind this ingredient ran for 84 days, so three months of consistent twice-daily use is the minimum before there is anything to judge, and four to six months is a fairer window. Photograph the same patch in the same light every month, because day-to-day memory is useless for this and it is the reason most people conclude too early in either direction.

Be prepared for the honest answer, which is that a real share of people will see no change. This is a cosmetic active with one small manufacturer study behind it, and it has nothing resembling minoxidil's track record. If six months of steady use has changed nothing, stop rather than carrying on out of habit. What you should notice immediately is only cosmetic: the mist is light, it does not weigh hair down and it leaves no residue. Minoxidil has a well documented early shedding phase. Nothing in the small evidence base for Redensyl describes one, though that says more about how little the ingredient has been studied than about how it behaves. Either way, a sudden increase in hair on the pillow is worth a doctor's opinion and should not be written off as part of the process.

For external use only. This is a cosmetic product and it is not a medicine. It does not treat, cure or prevent hair loss as a medical condition, and nothing on this page should be read as saying it does.

Keep it away from your eyes. A fine mist travels further than you expect, so close your eyes while you spray and rinse with cool water if any reaches them. Do not inhale the spray, and use it in a ventilated room.

Patch test before the first full application. Put a little on the inside of your forearm or behind an ear and leave it for twenty-four hours, since ginger is warming and a small number of people react to it. Do not use it on a scalp that is broken, sunburnt, inflamed, infected or painful, and stop if you develop a rash or persistent itching.

If you use a Dermaroller, do not spray this onto a freshly rolled scalp. Published case reports describe granulomatous reactions where topical products were introduced through fresh microchannels into the dermis. Leave a full day between rolling and your next application.

There is no minoxidil in this product, so the transfer precautions that apply to the minoxidil products in this range, around cats and around small children, do not apply here.

If your hair loss is sudden, patchy, or you do not know the cause, see a doctor before reaching for anything cosmetic.

Store below 25 degrees Celsius, out of direct sunlight, with the over-cap on. Keep out of reach of children.