Shadowing Practice: The Perfect Hair Health Protocol (According To Science) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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In this video, I'm going to show you how to get perfect dense and healthy hair in five levels,

starting from how to improve your hair quality to protocols which will grow back your hair when nothing else works.

My mom's side of the family is completely bald, which means the bald genes are in my DNA.

But luckily, I haven't lost it yet, and I want to keep it that way.

So naturally, I spent years going through a lot of studies figuring out

which one works before my genes catch up to me.

So by the end of this video, you'll know how to grow your hair back and keep it healthy where it never gets frizzy.

So let's start with level 1, how to get shiny healthy hair.

There are 11 things you can fix today to protect your hair, get rid of damage, and add shine to it.

None of these cost more than $30 and you can start all of them tonight.

First is checking your shampoo.

If your hair feels dry or frizzy within hours of washing, the shampoo is probably the reason.

Most shampoos contain sulfates, and sulfates are detergents that strip the natural oil on your hair called sebum.

And sebum is what coats your hair shaft and makes it look shiny.

Ultimately, you want to use a shampoo that's sulfate -free, paraben -free, valley -free, and fragrance -free with acidic ingredients to keep your hair smooth.

Check the label and avoid shampoos that contain sodium lauryl sulfate or anything ending with paraben, valleys, or fragrances.

If possible, look for ingredients that contain apple cider vinegar, citric acid, or lactic acid in ingredients.

The one I'd personally recommend is Philip Adams Fragrance -Free Shampoo.

Okay, so the second factor to consider is going to be your wash frequency.

When you shampoo every day, you're also stripping the sebum off your hair faster than your scalp can replace it.

That leaves the strand exposed without its protective oil layer, which is why people who shampoo every day end up with dry and frizzy hair.

That said, this will only apply if your shampoo is harsh, and if you're using gentle sulfate -free shampoo like the one I mentioned,

daily washing is perfectly fine.

I shampoo every day and my hair texture is in good shape.

But the real signal you want to look for is how your hair feels like 12 hours after you wash.

If it feels oily, greasy, or your scalp itches, you need to wash more often.

If your hair feels dry, brittle, or your scalp flakes, you're washing way too much.

So adjust your shampoo volume depending on your hair condition.

Okay, third is gonna be your shower water.

If your water is hard, meaning it's high in calcium and magnesium, you're depositing minerals on your head every single wash.

Over time, this builds into a film that makes your hair feel like straw.

So if your water is above 120 parts per million, get a shower filter.

Okay, so the fourth factor is going to be finish every shower with cold water.

The outer layer of each hair strand has tiny scales that can lie flat or stick up.

Hot water makes them stick up, which is why your hair feels rough and looks dull after a hot shower.

Cold water, on the other hand, flattens them down, which makes the strand smoother and more reflective.

Therefore, at the end of every shower, do a 10 -second cold rinse.

Fifth is going to be how you dry your hair.

If you're rubbing your hair with a regular towel after a shower, you definitely need to stop.

Wet hair is at its most fragile so the friction between them will break the cuticles.

Okay, so definitely use a microfiber towel or use a hair dryer at cooler temperatures.

Okay, so seventh is going to be heat.

If you're using a blow dryer above medium heat, you're definitely cooking your hair.

The protein bonds that hold your hair together starts breaking down at around 175 degrees Celsius.

Most blow dryers on high heat go way past that,

so keep the temperature on medium and make sure to hold your blow dryer 15cm from your scalp,

and make sure to finish with a 30 second cool blow to lock the cuticles back down.

Okay, so the 8th factor is going to be your heat styling tools.

If you use a hair straightener or a curling iron, never use them on wet hair, and always apply heat protectant first.

One pass with a hair straightener at 230 degrees on unprotected hair will do more damage than a month of bad shampoo.

Okay, so the ninth factor is going to be sun.

UV will definitely break down character the same way it breaks down skin collagen.

And if you spend more than two hours a day in direct sun, your hair is going to get damaged on top of everything else.

Okay, so wear a hat when you can and apply a UV protectant spray if you can't.

Okay, so the tenth factor is going to be mechanical stress.

So if you wear a tight ponytail, you're pulling your hair follicles at the root every single day.

This is called traction alopecia and it's one of the few types of hair loss that's 100 % preventable.

If you want to prevent this further, change your part positioning every week so the same follicles aren't getting pulled

and you never want to tie your hair while it's wet.

This is because wet hair stretches and snaps under tension.

So the 11th factor is going to be your pillowcase.

This is very minimal, but cotton pillowcases create friction every time you move your head around.

So basically over 8 hours of sleep, you're sanding your hair against fabric for a third of your life.

So swap the silk or satin fabrics that have the same effect with zero friction.

You can get a silk pillowcase for $15 on Amazon, so I would definitely go for that.

Okay, so level 2 is what you eat.

There are 7 nutrients that matter for hair, and if you're low on even one of them, every other protocol won't be as effective.

So first is iron.

Your hair follicles are some of the fastest growing cells in your body, which means they need a steady supply of oxygen.

Iron is what carries oxygen in your blood.

And when your iron is low, your scalp gets less oxygen and your follicles start shutting down before hair grows and sheds the hair early.

A good rule is 1 -2 servings of iron -rich foods with a combination of vitamin C for better absorption.

Red meat is the best source for iron

and you can easily pair this with kiwis or bell peppers to help with absorption.

Second important nutrient is going to be your vitamin D.

Hair follicles cycle through three phases, growth, rest, and shedding.

Vitamin D is what signals the follicles to leave the resting phase and start growing again.

When your vitamin D levels are low, your follicles stay stuck in the resting phase

and your hair gets thinner over time because new strands aren't replacing old ones fast enough.

The cheapest source is going to be morning sunlight.

A good rule is 15 -20 minutes of morning sun when the UV is low.

And if you live somewhere without the sun, eat fatty fish like salmon,

sardines, or mackerels twice a week and use egg yolks and fortified dairy as a backup plan.

Okay, so the third nutrient is going to be zinc.

Zinc is a cofactor in enzymes that actually build the hair.

So a good rule is to get at least 30 milligrams of zinc per day.

The best sources are oyster, beef, and pumpkin seeds.

But if you don't eat those on a regular basis, supplementing with 15 milligrams of zinc picolinate is the best way.

Picolinate has the highest absorption rate of any zinc form,

so you get more usable zinc per dose than cheaper versions like zinc oxide or zinc sulfate.

Okay, so the fourth nutrient is going to be vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 supports oxygen delivery to your scalp, and lower vitamin B12 means your follicle growth is going to be shorter and more shedding will happen.

Vegetarians and vegans are almost always low because vitamin B12 only comes from animal products.

The best sources are going to be beef, salmon, eggs, and dairy.

Okay, so the fifth nutrient is going to be protein.

Hair is made of keratin, which is built from amino acids.

So if you're not eating enough protein, your body deprioritizes hair because it isn't essential for survival.

So eat at least 0 .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight every single day.

I use eggs, chicken, beef, Greek yogurt, and whey protein to get my proteins in.

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Okay, so the sixth is going to be a little different, which is going to be cutting sugar and sweetened drinks.

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Every soda, sweetened coffee, or energy drink raises your insulin, and high insulin increases the activity of enzymes that converts testosterone into DHT.

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And high DHT level is what causes hair loss.

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Therefore, cut sugar, sweetened drinks, and if you want something sweet, use monk fruit instead.

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Okay, so the seventh nutrient factor is going to be skipping the following supplements.

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First, it's going to be biotin.

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Biotin will only work if you're deficient on it, and less than 10 % of adults are actually deficient.

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If you're healthy, it does nothing, so don't waste your money on biotin.

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Second, it's going to be supplementing vitamin A.

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Too much of vitamin A actually causes hair loss,

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and hair growth gummies and beauty supplements often contain 5 ,000 to 25 ,000 IUs of vitamin A, which is enough to trigger shedding by itself.

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Instead of supplementation, get your vitamin A from foods like eggs, salmon, and sweet potatoes.

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Okay, so the third is going to be too much selenium.

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The hair supplement industry hides the one in formulas because deficiency actually causes hair loss.

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But too much selenium also causes hair loss,

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and a 30 ,000 -person study linked supplementation in selenium caused 90 % increase in prostate cancer as well.

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A good rule is going to be one

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Brazil nut a day, which covers your full requirement without overshooting it.

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Okay, Let's go to level 3 now.

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In this level, we'll go through natural things we can do to grow back our hair without using any drugs.

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And what's good about this level is you can stack these up with drug treatments where we'll cover in level 4.

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So there are 4 natural things we can do to actually grow back our hair.

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First is going to be microneedling.

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Microneedling solves the problem of stalled follicles.

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The needle causes tiny wounds that wake up dormant follicles and forces your hair to grow back.

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A good rule is to use it once a week with a 1mm to 1 .5mm derma roller.

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You want to roll this in 3 directions, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal for 5 -10 minutes.

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After the process, your scalp should look pink, but that's a sign you've actually done it correctly.

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Don't roll more than once a week though, because you actually need enough time to let it heal.

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And if you're also using minoxidil, you can apply the topical and apply microneedling on top of it.

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The wound lets the drug penetrate up to 4 times deeper, and this combination outperforms any type of minoxidil alone by a wide margin.

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Okay, so the second thing you can do is a scalp massage.

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This sounds like it won't be as effective, but a 2019 study followed people doing 10 minutes a day

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for 8 months found 75 % of people reported them experiencing a stop in hair loss.

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This is because by massaging your scalp, you restrict blood flow to your follicles and the muscles around your skull get chronically tight,

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which compresses the vessels feeding your hair.

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By doing a scalp massage, it releases tension and the blood comes back.

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And what I personally do is do a 10 minute scalp massage whenever I'm feeling tired after a work session

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but when you do it though, use your fingertips and not your nails.

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You want to press

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and rotate in small circles around your scalp with extra time on the crown and temples since those areas fall at first.

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Okay, the third method is going to be using a saw palmetto.

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Saw palmetto solves the problem of not wanting to take finasterides because of side effects.

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It blocks the same enzymes finasteride does, but it's weaker and has almost zero side effects.

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The major trade -off is going to be it's going to help you maintain your hairline,

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but it won't really grow back your hair the same way drug does.

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If you're in a hair maintenance phase, use 160mg in the morning and 160mg at night for better absorption.

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And look for a brand with at least 85 % fatty acid content on the labels.

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Okay, so fourth is going to be rosemary oil.

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Rosemary oil solves the problem of wanting more hair growth without paying for another prescription.

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A 2015 study put it head -to -head against 2 % monocytol over 6 months and found similar hair count improvements.

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There needs to be a little more evidence to be more conclusive, but it's cheap and basically has no side effects so it's worth trying out.

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A good rule is to use 1 or 2 drops of rosemary oil when you massage your scalp during your rest times.

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Okay, so these are ways to prevent hair loss without any drugs, but if you actually want to grow back your hair,

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you do need some kind of drugs and we'll cover this in level 4.

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To purely grow back our hair, we first need to understand what DHT is.

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DHT is a hormone made from testosterone that strings your hair follicles until they stop producing hair.

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This is why men tend to go bald more than women, and this is why men who have higher testosterone tend to go balder faster.

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Now, there are three ways to lower DHT.

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First is going to be using finasteride.

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Finasteride blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT by up to 60 -70%.

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In studies of thousands of men, it stopped hair loss in 80 -9%.

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90 % of users and actually increased hair count by around 10 % over 2 years.

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That said, in the largest study on drugs, 1 .8 % of men on finasteride reported side effects like reduced libido,

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erectile dysfunction, and even brain fog.

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And in October of 2025, the FDA added a possible link to depression that needs a little more research.

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If you're worried about side effects, go with topical finasteride instead of the oral pill option.

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The topical option will localize the effect to your follicles and roughly cut your risk of side effects in half.

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A good rule is going to be to use a 0 .25 % concentration and apply 1ml of topical once a day.

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The hair regrowth is similar to oral finasteride, but the side effect profile is meaningfully lower.

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This is a version I'd start with if I had to treat my own hair loss.

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Okay, so if you want maximum effectiveness and don't mind the side effects, you can still go with the oral finasteride.

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A good rule is taking 1mg per day, and if you commit to this,

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make sure to stay consistent for 12 -24 months to see the actual results.

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Okay, so the second method to lowering DHT is using dutasteride.

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Dutasteride actually blocks two forms of the same enzymes instead of one,

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which drops your DHT by 90 -95 % and produces around 30 -40 % more hair growth than finasteride.

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A good rule is 0 .5mg per day, and the side effect profile is similar to finasteride in most studies.

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But it's important know the risk of getting gynecomastia is slightly higher because of how DHT is stripped out.

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You just want to grow back your hair without any health consideration, yes go for it, but in a pure health perspective,

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I would definitely not recommend this.

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Okay, so the third method is going to be using Minoxidil.

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Minoxidil works by widening your blood vessels at the follicles and extending the growth phase of the hair cycle.

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But I just have to put this here because you can actually stack this with every drug and amplify the effect.

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A good rule is to use 5 % topical minoxidil and 1ml twice a day.

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The thing to note is going to be 40 -60 % of people won't respond to topical versions

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because their scalp doesn't produce enough enzymes that activates it.

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So if you want faster results, switch to oral minoxidil at 2 .5 -5mg per day.

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Like we mentioned earlier in level 3, you can also combine minoxidil with microneedling.

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Just by doing microneedling, it will absorb a lot faster by penetrating 4 times deeper.

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Okay, so let's go to level 5.

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Level 5 is for people who've done all this but want something more.

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That said, there are also a lot of scammy protocols in this space, so before getting into what actually works at this level,

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here are three things to skip.

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First, it's going to be using a low -level laser therapy cap.

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The studies actually look promising at first, but they have two design problems.

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First, many of the studies that reported hair growth seems to start during fall and winter, which is when your hair actually naturally sheds the most.

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So when the device regrows hair by the end of the trial, some of that is just your hair cycle returning to its normal baseline.

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Second is that many of the studies

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that showed hair growth actually used terminal hair and tiny vellus hair in their hair counts,

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which makes the device look more effective than it actually is.

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Until there are better design trials, I don't think laser cap is effective as it sounds to be, and it's definitely not worth your money.

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Okay, so the second protocol that's not worth your money is PRP.

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Basically, you just draw your blood, spin it around in a centrifuge, and inject your blood into your scalp to trigger more wound healing.

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Your count improvement in a lot of studies is around 10 -30%, which is almost the same as microneedling.

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Microneedling only costs $15, and I mean, if PRP was cheap, I would say it's worth it,

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but because it's $1000 - $1500 per session and you need to repeat it 3 -4 times a year, I personally won't go for it.

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Okay, so the third is avoiding anything related with exosomes and stem cell injections.

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These treatments cost $5 ,000 to $12 ,000 per round, and the clinical results are no better than microneedling at hair regrowth.

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There are very limited evidence because it's very new, and we still need long -term data to actually prove that it actually grows your hair back.

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Now, what's actually worth considering?

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First, it's going to be a hair transplant.

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Hair transplant is going to be the closest thing you'll do to fix your hair loss.

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The procedure moves hair follicles from the back of your head, which are genetically more resistant to DHT,

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and then those hair gets inserted into your bald spots.

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But it's important to note that hair transplant is not a one -time -and -done procedure.

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One study followed transplant patients for 4 years and found

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that more than 90 % had visible hair loss of transplanted hair by year 4.

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So if you don't stay on finasteride, you might lose some of the hair, which will actually make it look worse.

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Personally, if hair loss becomes an issue, I'm definitely flying myself to Turkey to get a hair transplant.

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But the second new method is going to be a Botox scalp tension.

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There's a theory in hair loss research that part of why balding happens is

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because of chronic tension in the muscle around the perimeter of the skull.

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Tight muscle compresses the blood vessels underneath, which restrict the supply of oxygen and nutrients reaching your follicles.

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The hypothesis came from Dr. Brian Frund, who noticed that patients getting Botox for tension headaches were also regrowing hair as a side effect.

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The data is interesting because in clinical trials, Botox injection into scalp muscles showed a 75 -80 % response rate

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and an 18 -21 % increase in their hair counts over 6 -10 months.

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Now the reason almost nobody talks about this is the cost and evidence base.

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A round scalp Botox is around $1 ,000 - $1 ,500 and lasts about 4 -6 months,

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so you're looking at $2 ,000 - $4 ,000 a year.

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And only a handful of studies exist and none of them have proper control groups, so this is still an experimental option to consider.

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My suggestion is follow level 4 first before considering this option.

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By the way, if you've ever wondered where your health actually stands, take the free assessment in the description.

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This assessment will score your weak spots and tell you exactly where to start.

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YouTube says you might like this video, so go check it out, and I'll see you in the next one.

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Peace.

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242 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Perfect Hair Health Protocol”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: hair, scalp, follicle. This video has 235 sentences and 3488 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:12. The speaker talks fast, about 203 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
shampoo noun	/ʃæmˈpuː/	A traditional Indian and Persian body massage given after pouring warm water over the body and rubbing it with extracts from herbs.
vitamin noun	/ˈvɪt.ə.mɪn/	Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth, metabolism, development, and body function. They are found…
zinc noun	/ˈzɪŋk/	A chemical element (symbol Zn) with an atomic number of 30, a blue-silvery metal that is slightly brittle at room temperature and tarnishes slightly in moist…
nutrient noun	/ˈnuː.tɹi.ənt/	A source of nourishment, such as food, that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue.
oxygen noun	/ˈɑksɪd͡ʒən/	The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Sometimes called elemental…
tension noun	/ˈtɛnʃən/	The condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other.
supplement noun	/ˈsʌp.lɪ.mənt/	Something added; especially, such an addition added to make up for a deficiency.
enzyme noun	/ˈɛn.zaɪm/	A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.
transplant verb	/tɹænzˈplænt/	To uproot (a growing plant), and plant it in another place.
muscle noun	/ˈmʌs.əl/	A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
oral adjective	/ˈɔː.ɹəl/	Relating to the mouth.
protocol noun	/ˈpɹoʊtəˌkɑl/	An amendment to an official treaty.
massage noun	/məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/	The action of rubbing, kneading or hitting someone's body, to help the person relax, prepare for muscular action (as in contact sports) or to relieve aches.
bald adjective	/bɔːld/	Having little or no hair, fur, or feathers.
absorption noun	/æbˈsɔɹp.ʃn̩/	The act or process of absorbing or of being absorbed as,

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
break down verb	To stop functioning.
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.
stick up verb	To rob at gunpoint.
back down verb	To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have.
come back verb	To return to a place.
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
shut down verb	To close, terminate, or end; to stop operating, either permanently or temporarily.
try out verb	To test (something) to see how it works or whether it is suitable.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	protocols which will · bald, which means · layer, which is
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	haven't lost · you've actually done · who've done
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is called · is made · is stripped

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 49 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, won't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: seventh /ˈsɛvənθ/, smooth /smuːð/, sixth /sɪksθ/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, ninth /naɪnθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shampoo /ʃæmˈpuː/, tension /ˈtɛnʃən/, massage /məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/, absorption /æbˈsɔɹp.ʃn̩/, wash /wɑʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: testosterone /tɛˈstɑ.stəˌɹoʊn/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, mechanical /məˈkænəkəl/, consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like shampoo, vitamin, zinc.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: The Perfect Hair Health Protocol (According To Science) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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