"You have no idea what it's like," says Joe Rice, a 60-year-old professional from Fort Wayne, Indiana. "I started losing my hair in my twenties. It's miserable. It has a way of shaping your whole life."

Joe's worn a toupee for years. No one sees him without it, not even his closest friends. He's tried "just about everything" to stop hair loss, including Rogaine and Propecia, without success. But deep down, he still holds out hope.

"I know the drugs work for some people, but they didn't work for me," he sighs. "Just show me one new hair, and I'm a customer for life."

A Serious Problem

Joe is not alone. Millions of men and women suffer in silence from alopecia, baldness and thinning hair. And while hair loss isn't fatal, it is a serious condition with profound psychological effects. For many, hair loss brings feelings of shame, despair, and crippled self-esteem.

New Hope from the Orient

Since 1999, a group of scientists in Japan, led by researcher T. Takahashi, has been studying botanical extracts looking for a safe, effective solution for hair growth. After testing over a thousand different extracts, they found three promising natural chemicals. One was from barley. One from Chardonnay grapes. And one- by far the most potent- was an extract from ordinary apples.

Move Over Minoxidil

One year later, the scientists announced even more striking findings to the international community. They compared the apple extract, known as procyanidin B-2, to the proven hair growth drug minoxidil in cell cultures.

Their results seemed almost impossible: in head-to-head tests, the apple chemical proved to be twice as effective as minoxidil in stimulating new hair growth.

In further experiments on mice, the apple procyanidins, as well as minoxidil, repeatedly produced "extensive hair growth."

Proven in Double-Blind Clinical Trials

In clinical trials on humans, the results were even more exciting. The procyanidins from apples consistently grew new hair in men with male pattern baldness, the most stubborn form of unwanted hair loss- and without any of the side effects of hair loss drugs.

Scientists are normally conservative when it comes to conclusions. But the statements from the Takahashi group were unequivocal. "Procyanidin B-2 therapy," they wrote, "shows potential as a promising cure for male pattern baldness."

For Joe, and 60 million other men and women, this research means new hope. "Of course I'll try it," he says. "Just show me one new hair..."