How we work

Who writes the guides

Our guides are written by the FOLIQ editorial team. We are not doctors, and we do not present ourselves as doctors. We do not put medical titles, "doctor approved" badges or expert quotes on a guide unless a named person really reviewed it.

What we do is read the research carefully, explain it in plain words, and show you exactly where each statement comes from, so you can check it yourself or take it to your doctor.

How we choose sources

We start with the strongest kind of evidence we can find and work down:

1. Clinical guidelines, such as the 2017 European guideline for pattern hair loss, written by panels of specialists who weigh all the trials. Guidelines age: we always give the year, and when one is past its own review date, we say so.
2. Pooled analyses that combine many trials, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
3. Randomised trials, where people are given a treatment or a comparison by chance.
4. Reviews by specialists, for background and for conditions where trials are few.
5. Regulators and medicine registers, such as the European Medicines Agency and national registers, for safety decisions and for whether you need a prescription.

We link every source by its DOI or PubMed number, or to the official page. If we could read a study's record but not every number in it, we say so next to the source.

How we write

• Mechanism first. We explain what is happening in your scalp before we name a treatment.
• Few numbers, chosen carefully. One or two figures that matter, each with its source.
• Honest about uncertainty. When trials are small, mixed or paid for by a maker, we say so. When nobody knows, we say that too.
• Who it does not suit. Every treatment guide says who should not use it, or should ask a doctor first.
• No fear, no hype. No before-and-after photos used as advertising, no countdowns, no "regrow in 30 days".

Review dates

Research moves. Each guide shows the date we last updated it and the date of its next planned review. When we change a guide, we say what changed at the bottom of the page.

Languages

We publish in English, Slovak, Czech, Polish and Hungarian. Guides are written in English first. Until a guide is translated, the page says so and shows the English original, so you never read a half-checked translation without knowing it.

What we will never do

• Sell prescription medicines or supplements.
• Let a maker pay for a guide, choose what it says, or review it before it is published.
• Change a guide to suit something we sell.

If we ever sell anything, the guides come first: when the research changes, the guide changes, and what we sell follows.

Corrections

If you find a mistake, we want to know. Write to us at [email protected]. We correct errors quickly and note the correction at the bottom of the guide.