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Some people are more sensitive and prone to experiencing negative side effects of viviscal than other people are. This sensitivity can be diagnosed in some cases, but most simply know from experience that they must consider the potential side effects of anything they use.
Those with allergies to certain foods especially have to look at everything they consume. Depending on the seriousness of the allergy, they probably won’t be able to handle even a small amount of whatever they are allergic to being on them topically.
However, allergies are far from the only thing that requires combing through labels. Immune-boosting ingredients don’t pair well with autoimmune diseases either. Also, sensitive stomachs are much more likely to be upset by ingredients that wouldn’t have any effect on someone else.
Those using any of Viviscal’s products should always look at the ingredients first for these and other reasons. So, let’s examine the ingredients of each Viviscal hair growth tablets side effects to see what you should be looking for.
The Viviscal Special Ingredients
Viviscal has two special ingredients they produce specifically for their products: the AminoMar complex and the Ana:Tel complex. Unfortunately, Viviscal doesn’t share what is in their Ana:Tel complex beyond mentioning that pea sprouts are one of the ingredients. This makes it impossible to tell if you would have viviscal side effects of weight gain due to it.
Fortunately, their AminoMar says that it contains shark cartilage and oyster extract powder. The latter ingredient is one of the kinds of seafood that people are most commonly allergic to. Otherwise, oyster supplements are often taken to boost testosterone.
This could have the side effect of interfering with hormone therapies. More testosterone also means more likelihood of DHT forming. This is something those with male pattern baldness caused by DHT obviously want to avoid.
As for the shark cartilage, the most common of its potential side effects includes: a bad taste that lingers in your mouth, nausea (possibly partially from the lingering taste), vomiting, and an upset stomach.
Since one of shark cartilage’s benefits is boosting your immune system, WebMD advises those with autoimmune diseases to avoid using it. WebMD also includes lowered blood pressure, fatigue, and increased calcium levels among its potential side effects.
However, it is necessary to note that those Viviscal pro side effects are from taking the shark cartilage as a supplement by itself. As it mixes with the oyster extract powder, and then with a number of other ingredients in their hair loss supplements, the chances you will be affected by any of these are reduced.
The Supplement’s Vitamins
Viviscal has three different supplements, all of which share some ingredients, with each one having one or two that are unique to it. Each Viviscal supplement has less than ten ingredients, though this doesn’t include the capsule ingredients or those the supplement has less than 2% of.
To start, Vitamin C in too high of a dose can cause things like diarrhea, nausea, abdominal discomfort, flushing, dizziness, and headache, according to the National Library of Medicine. That said, there is only between 22% and 65% of a daily dose in Viviscal, so you aren’t likely to experience any problem with these negative side effects of viviscal.
Likewise, though calcium excess can have negative effects, 5% of your daily amount of calcium (the amount all three supplements have) is not likely to cause you any problems. The zinc that two of the Viviscal supplements have is slightly more concerning, being a metal that can cause toxicity.
Also, only two supplements contain biotin, which can cause redness, dry skin and eyes, and even hair loss. Unfortunately, Viviscal has over 3x the daily recommended amount, making one of these side effects quite possible.
Niacin can cause a “flush” reaction in high enough of a dose. This is a temporary reddening and heating of the surface of your skin, especially on your face and neck.
Mayo Clinic says niacin treatments can cause dizziness, interfere with your blood sugar, affect your cholesterol levels, and cause stomach pains or urine discoloration.
Both niacin and the next ingredient, iron, are only in the Viviscal Woman. Iron can cause stools to change to green, diarrhea or constipation, and iron toxicity. With iron toxicity, the iron can build up around your internal organs, causing even more problems. Because Viviscal contains only 55% of your daily amount of iron, this is unlikely.
Viviscal Side Effects on the Heart: The Supplement’s Plant Ingredients
Viviscal contains fewer plant ingredients than vitamins. Horsetail plants may cause allergic reactions for those allergic to carrots or the carrot family. This plant is in Viviscal Man and Viviscal Woman. Besides that effect, WebMD says horsetail may lower thiamine and potassium levels.
Millet seed extract, only in the women’s hair supplement, may reduce the iodine in your blood, which is something your body needs. It can also reduce other things like your thiamin and potassium levels due to the fiber in it pushing your food through your digestive system too fast for your body to absorb these nutrients.
L-Cysteine can cause side effects like light-headedness, dizziness, chest pains, and drowsiness and can also affect immune-suppressing medications. As for the last ingredient, L-Methionine, WebMD says some people may get headaches, heartburn, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, or drowsiness.
The Viviscal Shampoos
Viviscal may have three lines of products, but they have four different shampoos. This is one for each line with two for their Viviscal Pro line. As with the supplements, many ingredients are the same, with a handful of differences.
Related Reading
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The Less Serious Ones
Even in the worst cases, negative side effects of Viviscal only cause mild reactions, because of the presence of very few ingredients in it. For example, though glycerin is generally soothing, some people find it irritating to their skin and upsetting to the stomach only if they take it internally.
The same exact thing goes for citric acid, zinc PCA, juniper, cinnamon, linalool, and even lavender. Panthenol only potentially causes skin irritation and not stomach problems, though this could be because it isn’t meant to be digested at all. Tocopheryl acetate, also meant only to be used externally, may also be a skin irritant.
Coriander and eucalyptus have side effects that involve upset stomach and one or two other mild things if they are ingested in too large an amount. However, I didn’t see any sign that they would cause them when used topically.
Hydrolyzed keratin comes in two types. Viviscal doesn’t say which type they use, but one of these can be irritating and can cause skin rashes. As for all the citrus ingredients, though citrus has lots of benefits, it is also very acidic.
Some people are sensitive to acidity and have skin irritation. As for using it on your hair, citrus is sometimes used to remove hair dyes, which is something you will not want if you want to keep your hair dyed. It can also lighten your hair color.
Nutmeg might be better discussed with the more serious side effects considering its potential effects of irregular heartbeat, nausea, dry mouth, and hallucinations are quite serious. However, it is primarily only by internal use that you’ll have a reaction.
Similarly, rosemary potentially causes seizures, toxicity, or vomiting if too much gets in your system. But that is only if it gets in your bloodstream in a large amount, which is unlikely with topical use.
The More Serious Ones
All the Viviscal shampoos contain some type of sulfate, which The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics recommends avoiding due to its potential side effects.
Negative Side effects from Viviscal include headaches, vertigo, irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, and more. Many people try to stay away from any type of sulfates, which is why some shampoos specifically mention they are sulfate-free.
As for cocamidopropyl betaine, it was named an Allergen of the Year in 2004 because of how frequently it irritates skin, according to the National Library of Medicine. Sodium benzoate can cause irritation and prevent blood clotting, resulting in continuous bleeding.
Phenoxyethanol is a strong chemical that can cause a more severe reaction of inflammation, redness, and there is some concern that it may contribute to cancer.
Camphor bark oil may be considered a medicinal plant, but unfortunately, it is very easily absorbed into the bloodstream. So, even just using it topically can cause negative side effects of Viviscal such as seizures, respiratory problems, and can worsen Parkinson’s disease.
Patchouli is a plant that is hazardous if ingested. It has a high likelihood of bonding with any pesticides that are used on it, carrying those directly to you.
Potassium sorbate definitely belongs here, as two studies have proven it can damage your red blood cells and could potentially lead to cancer. It is often listed in listicles going over the top common yet harmful chemicals.
Hydroxycitronellal is often on these lists as well, potentially causing vision impairment, ringing ears or hearing loss, rapid swelling, trouble breathing, sore throat, unusual bleeding, and more. It is also bad for the environment.
The hydrolyzed wheat protein will certainly cause at least a mild reaction in those with wheat allergies. This ingredient in the Viviscal Pro shampoo is further down in the list, so you may not notice an immediate negative result. However, some types of allergic reactions build up toxicity in your system instead of causing immediate swelling, which is worse.
The Viviscal Conditioners
The negative side effects of Viviscal conditioners are in many cases identical to the negative effects of the shampoos because the ingredients are similar. Stearamidopropyl dimethylamine is an ingredient only in the Viviscal conditioners.
This chemical has the potential to cause rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and an increased risk of stroke or even heart attack, according to the WebMD site. Cetrimonium chloride is supposedly safe topically, but internally can cause rapid heartbeats, shortness of breath, rashes, swelling, and more, according to Mayo Clinic.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel is a group responsible for evaluating the safety of skincare and cosmetic ingredients. They have reviewed ceteareth ingredients and decided that it should not be used on damaged skin.
This was based on research that kidney damage resulted when a molecule that makes up ceteareth was applied to the damaged skin of burn patients, ceteareth-25 being an ingredient in the Viviscal conditioners. This chemical is also considered a toxic ingredient elsewhere.
Final Thoughts on Negative Side Effects of Viviscal
While knowing what potential Viviscal side effects are is necessary for allergies and medical conditions, there are other situations that might make it important as well. How can you keep an eye out for a reaction if you don’t even know what type of reaction you are looking for?
Some Viviscal Ingredients aren’t likely to cause any Viviscal professional side effects at all. There were a few like polyquaternium-7 and Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate that said there were concerns but no evidence yet of any side effects.
Likewise, litsea cubeba, dipterocarpus turbinatus balsam oil, commiphora erythraea glabrescens gum oil, and canarium luzonicum are plants so little known about that it is uncertain whether they have them and, if so, what these might be.
Overall, the ingredients don’t have any that are as bad as those of other products. As examples in the area of shampoos, Dove, L’Oréal, Pantene, and other common brands on store shelves are often put in lists as shampoos most likely to cause them.
