Society in general continues to attach a stigma to hair loss. Men and women suffer from hair loss, often resulting in self-consciousness relating to the hair loss. Domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, also suffer from hair loss. While the animal is not likely to be emotionally affected by such hair loss, its owner may be, particularly if such an animal is to be shown in various competitions. Additionally, increased hair growth in livestock such as sheep, thereby resulting in increased wool production, is also desirable. The desire for a healthy full head (or body, in the case of animals) of hair has resulted in a variety of approaches to the "curing" of hair loss.
One such approach involves the much publicized use of minoxidil (6-(1-piperidinyl)-2,4-pyrimidinediamine 3-oxide), a potent antihypertensive agent, as a hair growth promoting agent (see U.S. Pat. Nos., 3,461,461; 3,973,061; 3,464,987; and 4,139,619). Unfortunately, not all people respond to minoxidil and the efficacy level is limited in those individuals exhibiting a response.
Another approach for "curing" hair loss involves a procedure of weaving synthetic or natural hair strands into the remaining hair strands of the subject. Such a procedure is time consuming, expensive and requires follow-up re-weavings as the weaves loosen and/or the subject's existing hair strands grow. Furthermore, such a procedure does not cure hair loss, but merely masks the condition.
Another approach for treating hair loss is the use of hair plugs. This procedure involves the transplantation of terminal hair follicles from regions of normal hair growth on the subject's scalp to regions of thinning or no hair growth on the scalp. The procedure is time consuming, expensive and can be painful. Furthermore, the transplanted plugs, at least in the early stages following transplantation, produce an unnatural look to the scalp.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an easily administered, efficacious agent for treating hair loss in a mammal having little or no undesirable side effects. It is an object of the subject invention to provide topical compositions for promoting hair growth and/or treating hair loss in mammalian skin or scalp. It is a further object of the subject invention to provide such compositions which are gentler and less irritating to the skin than existing compositions. It is also an object of the subject invention to provide methods for promoting hair growth and/or treating hair loss in mammalian skin or scalp.