Ancient medical wisdom and modern hair loss: why a new approach is needed

As an Oriental medicine practitioner, I respect the wisdom of ancient medical books accumulated over hundreds and thousands of years, and constantly explore them to find clues to treatment. But at the same time, I think we need to ask one important question: “If we apply the hair loss prescriptions and herbs recorded in the great medical books of the past to today’s patients, can we really expect them to be effective?”

I think we need to carefully put a 'question mark' on this question. This is because true development is possible when we face the changes of the times and inherit them critically rather than blindly following tradition.

1. Past and present patients are different

When you imagine the ‘hair loss patients’ in ancient medical books, what kind of people were they? People who visited doctors for hair loss hundreds of years ago would certainly have looked different from those in their 20s and 30s today. I think it is highly likely that they were middle-aged or upper-class with significant social and economic status.

In fact, it has only been in the past 20 to 30 years that hair loss has been actively recognized as a ‘disease that needs to be treated.’ In the past, hair loss was more likely to be considered a natural aging phenomenon rather than a disease. The cases recorded in medical books may have been cosmetic concerns of a very wealthy few, or treatment experiences and theories for special cases such as severe impetigo folliculitis or alopecia areata that occurred in the noble class.

But what about now? It is not uncommon for hair loss to begin in the teenage years, and as many female patients as male suffer from hair loss. The patient's age of onset, gender, and progression pattern are completely different from the past.

2. Past and present environments are different

It's not just the patients who have changed. Our lifestyle, environment, food, and culture have all changed incomparably compared to the past. People in the past lived in accordance with the rhythms of nature and ate food that was close to organic. However, modern people are exposed to numerous processed foods, instant foods, and chemicals, and fight every day against numerous 'enemies of health' that did not exist in the past, such as extreme school and work stress, irregular sleep, and environmental hormones.

These changes in lifestyle habits have changed our physical conditions and even the appearance of diseases. In the past, nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases were the main problems, but now chronic imbalances such as excessive stress, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome have become major health problems. I think hair loss is also following this trend of modern diseases.

3. Past prescriptions are ‘reference books’, not ‘correct answers’.

In a situation where patient characteristics and environmental causes of disease have changed so much, it may be unreasonable to expect that a few herbs or herbs that were effective in the past can treat complex hair loss in modern people.

Of course, the fundamental health theories of Oriental medicine, which understand the physiology of the human body and identify the root cause of disease, transcend time and are still valid today. I believe that the big principle that ‘the state of the blood affects the hair’ has not changed. However, the specific prescriptions and use of medicinal ingredients that embody the principle must be reinterpreted and developed according to the times.

Past prescriptions can be great 'reference books' that show us the way, but they cannot be the 'correct answer' that fits all problems.

Conclusion: Towards critical succession and continuous innovation

Under this critical awareness, I have consistently conducted experiments to scientifically verify the effectiveness of the prescriptions and herbs used in ancient medical books and whether they are effective for modern people. In the process, some herbs still showed excellent effects, but others did not meet expectations or were not suitable for the constitution of modern people.

Through this process of various verifications and experiments, the prescriptions I use with my patients today were created. In some cases, past experiences have been modified to suit the characteristics of modern people, and in many cases, new herbs that were not used in traditional methods but have been proven to improve hair loss through modern science have been discovered and combined.

To deeply understand tradition, but not blindly believe in it, to constantly ask questions, and to scientifically verify and develop it. This is the path of treatment I pursue. I will continue to strive to become a bridge between past wisdom and current science and provide the most effective and safe treatment to today's patients.