The landscape of hair‐loss treatment for women is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by innovation beyond classic pharmaceuticals. Serial entrepreneur and founder of Firmora, Joshua Onysko, explains.
Hair thinning and shedding among women are no longer what the industry casually dismisses as mere cosmetic blips. Instead, they are widespread realities with significant emotional and physical implications. According to the National Council on Aging, approximately one‐third of women will experience some form of hair loss during their lifetime.
More specifically, the American Academy of Dermatology reports that by age 50, up to 40 percent of women will see noticeable hair loss — often triggered by hormonal shifts, aging, or stress — and often, a combination of the three. One recent analysis of over a million users found that 46.8 percent of women reported mild hair thinning versus 34.1 percent of men; by contrast, 10.7 percent of women reported severe hair loss (versus 12.5 percent of men).
These numbers highlight the scale and urgency of the issue — but they also spotlight a market long frustrated by inadequate treatments. Joshua Onysko, founder of the new hair growth supplement brand Firmora Labs, says he has identified what is missing. “For years I watched women navigate shedding, thinning, and texture changes with very few options that were both effective and truly clean,” he told Ethos via email.
“The gap was twofold: formulas weren’t built for the hormonal realities women face (postpartum, perimenopause, prevention), and extraction quality was an afterthought,” Onysko says. “I wanted a line grounded in nutrient-dense botanicals and sea vegetables, clinically responsible dosing, and extraction tech that preserves bioactives — without endocrine gray areas or fairy-dusting.”
The hair-loss treatment gap
Much of the traditional conversation about hair loss still revolves around men, but as the data show, women face distinct physiological, psychological, and hormonal challenges. For example, while male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia, or AGA) is responsible for up to 95 percent of male cases, women’s hair-loss etiology is often multifactorial.
Women in one recent survey were found to be one-and-a-half times more likely than men to say their hair was thinning (23 percent of women vs. 16 percent of men). On top of that, the emotional stakes for women may be even higher. As the American Hair Loss Association notes, “women constitute 40 percent of American hair‐loss sufferers…The consequences of hair loss for women extend well beyond the physical aspects, significantly impacting their self-image and emotional well‐being.”
Despite these profound realities, most treatments have remained rooted in male-centric models and pharmaceutical-first modalities. While medications such as minoxidil and finasteride are approved for many cases of AGA, their efficacy and suitability for women are less robust. According to Harvard Health, about one-third of women will experience hair loss at some point, and among postmenopausal women up to two-thirds may suffer noticeable thinning or bald spots. “Hair loss in women often has a greater impact than hair loss does on men,” the report states.
Products that work well for a mild-to-moderate male pattern case might not address the layered triggers affecting a woman navigating postpartum recovery plus shifting androgens. Add in the reality that many formulas use proprietary blends with undisclosed doses, and the result is a market where women often feel underserved or misled.
Onysko addressed this head-on: “We disclose every active and its exact dose — no proprietary blends, ever. Each production lot is tested by ISO/IEC 17025–accredited labs for identity, potency, microbiology, and elemental impurities. We provide plain-language summaries of results and full COAs via our website or by request so customers can see what ‘pass’ means.”
He points out that the supplement industry at large “often lacks rigorous heavy‐metal and purity screening.” Its failure to raise standards becomes a pain point for women looking for transparency and safety.
A clean science approach
Firmora’s DNA reflects Onysko’s prior entrepreneurial ventures, which include the clean skincare labels Pangea and Alpine Provisions. But this time, he has pointed his vision directly at women’s hair resilience.
“Our first evaluation was a nine-month prospective pilot with healthy women experiencing increased shedding or texture change,” Onysko explains. “We combined standardized photography and part-width scoring, combing/wash-test shed-hair counts, a validated consumer-perception questionnaire, compliance checks via count-backs and SMS touchpoints.”
Onysko says that over 90 percent of Firmora users reported improved texture and less shedding, with objective reductions in shed counts from baseline (pilot; internal data on file). Next, he says, Firmora is launching a randomized, placebo-controlled trial with dermatologist-blinded phototrichogram endpoints (hair density, anagen/telogen ratio) and subgroup safety monitoring. “We’ll preregister the protocol and publish regardless of outcome.”
Key to this differentiation is the use of ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE). Onysko says traditional maceration relies on time and heat, both of which can degrade delicate compounds. “UAE uses high-frequency sound waves to create micro-cavitation in a solvent, rupturing plant cell walls so actives diffuse rapidly at low temperatures,” he says. The wins are notable: shorter run times, lower solvent use, and better preservation of heat- and oxidation-sensitive compounds.
“In our process validation, UAE delivered higher marker levels (e.g., polyphenols and sulfated polysaccharides) versus matched macerations, with tighter batch-to-batch variance (internal data on file),” Onysko says.
Those high markers, Onysko says, come from Firmora’s ingredients commitment. Like his sourcing for Pangea and Alpine Provisions, the label partners with small organic farms and coastal co-ops for hand-harvested sea vegetables, mapped by GPS plots and rotated beds, with the top third of the fronds cut to preserve regrowth. Each lot is identity-verified via HPTLC/UPLC fingerprinting, standardized to markers such as rosmarinic acid and fucoidan range, and screened for heavy metals via ICP-MS with arsenic speciation.
“Across all phases we set upper limits for iodine/iron, avoid lactation-contraindicated herbs, and test every lot for contaminants that disproportionately affect women (e.g., lead),” he says. In other words, what Firmora claims to deliver is not simply a botanical tincture but a science-engineered supplement system aimed at the specific hormonal and stem-cell realities of women’s hair.
Natural science in the spotlight
While Firmora is corporate genesis, it is part of a larger wave of botanical innovation for hair health. The brand Bomme markets a proprietary botanical complex BLH-308 comprised of persimmon leaf, green tea leaf, and sophora fruit extracts, which was developed by Korean scientist Jong-Moon Jeong.
In a 2023 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study published in Skin Research & Technology, BLH-308 significantly increased hair density and thickness compared to placebo — offering what Bomme calls a “safe, plant‐powered alternative to synthetic treatments.”
Bomme’s clinical trial highlights include participants taking the supplement over 24 weeks experienced increased density and thickness; a 4-week scalp-toner study reported a 71.6 percent reduction in hair shedding and up to 72 percent improvement in hair density and thickness. According to Bomme, the formulas are drug-free, free from silicones and parabens, and powered by plant-based antioxidants and scalp-soothing botanicals.
These studies are important because they signal a shift away from purely pharmaceutical interventions and toward clinical botanical innovation. That said, both Firmora and Bomme make clear they are dealing with hair as biology, not vanity. The distinction lies in addressing the hormonal, nutritional, and extraction parameters often ignored by conventional treatments.
Why conventional treatments fall short
Despite the advances, women’s hair-loss treatments still face headwinds. Typical options — topical minoxidil, hormonal anti-androgens, or hair transplant surgery — carry limitations. For example, research published in Dermatology Times noted that newer agents such as PP405 are only now achieving phase 2a success in adult patients with androgenetic alopecia, with 31 percent seeing more than 20 percent density increase — highlighting how much catch-up still remains in the hair-regrowth field. But with existing treatments male-pattern centric, women’s diffuse thinning, telogen shedding, and texture changes are underserved.
Furthermore, Harvard Health noted that hair loss in women often has a greater impact than hair loss does on men because it is “less socially acceptable” and more emotionally fraught. The supplement and wellness categories are crowded — nutrients, vitamins, peptides — but many lack regulatory clarity, transparency in dosing, or robust clinical data. As Onysko pointed out, the supplement industry often falls short of third-party testing or full ingredient disclosure.
And, critically, for many women, triggers like postpartum recovery, perimenopause, hormonal shifts, nutrient gaps (for example, deficiencies in iron, vitamin D, zinc, and biotin), and even lifestyle factors like stress and diet, play large roles.
A recent review of 17 studies of more than 61,000 participants found a link between high intake of sugary drinks and alcohol and increased risk of hair loss, particularly among women, while diets rich in vitamin D and iron were associated with improved hair density. In short, treating hair loss as a single mechanism (androgen sensitivity) is no longer sufficient.
Hair health as holistic wellness
A 2025-practice census found that in 2024, the percentage of women seeking non-scalp hair restoration procedures rose to 21 percent (up from 17 percent in 2021). These figures underscore how the conversation is changing; women are seeking treatment earlier, demanding more tailored approaches, and rejecting the notion that hair loss is acceptable collateral damage of aging.
Innovation in hair health is accelerating, but it is not yet mainstream. Onysko notes that future plans for Firmora may include deeper biotechnology and more refined extraction methods that push beyond current models. With the industry projected to reach a multibillion-dollar scale by 2030, and consumer expectations shifting rapidly, the pressure is on established players to evolve.
In the meantime, women facing thinning hair or shedding have more options than ever before, especially if they choose transparency, clinical validation, and protocols built for their biology rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. As Onysko frames it, “Our formulas are built for postpartum, perimenopause, and prevention — without stimulants or endocrine gray areas.” If the early data hold true, this could mark one of the more meaningful shifts in an industry long dominated by male-pattern paradigms.
Beyond the lab, there is also a cultural shift underway. Hair loss for women is no longer being relegated to the shadows; it is now increasingly understood as biomedical, aesthetic, and wellness terrain.
Onysko recognizes this: “Hair loss can be an emotional experience for women.” He says breaking that stigma comes by naming it plainly and offering women both tools and community. He says clear education, realistic timelines, and outcomes framed around strength and texture help to boost consumer confidence. It’s why Firmora partners with practitioners and shares resources around nutrition, stress, and scalp care. He says it’s so women on the hair growth journey feel supported “even on the tough days.”
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