Hair loss treatment

Most over-the-counter hair loss treatments you can put your hands on, irrespective of whether they were designed to treat hereditary forms of baldness or other hair loss conditions are using herbal extracts as their main active substances. Since we now know the main cause of hair loss, being the dihydrotestosterne (DHT) attacks on our hair follicles, most such herbs claim to posses properties that can protect our hair from such attacks. Herbs such as saw palmetto, stinging nettle, pygeum africanum, or even green tea extract and pumpkin seeds oil are believed to contain substances that work by the same mode of action as the only medically approved pill for hair loss - Propecia (finasteride) in protecting our hair follicles from DHT attacks. Obviously there is no clear answer to whether and how effective such herbal extracts are and how to best apply them. However, some smaller studies have proven that they can be effective to certain degree.

So, assuming they are effective the question emerges how to use them to achieve the best benefits and to avoid harmful side effects. Some researchers suggest we should be using such extracts topically to minimize potential side effects and get them deep in the skin layers so that they can reach our hair follicles where they are needed. Nonetheless, the bulk of the research that has been conducted studied the effects of such substances taken orally. Secondly, the herbal extracts are not individual chemical substances so their hair growth promoting qualities are most likely a result of interactions of their many constituents, which is difficult to describe. Therefore, increasing the dose may not lead to improving the results but can cause negative side effects such as allergies. So then the question arises of whether you should use a combination of treatments such as some multi-ingredient herbal hair loss product or choose one individual herbal extract such as pygeum africaanum and use it alone. In order to find out what works best for you amongst an array of herbal products you may need years of testing. So why not cling to the proven remedies such as Propecia and Rogaine if you really wish to do your hair some good?

Hereditary form of hair loss is the most widespread form of baldness affecting about 40% of men and 25% of women and, therefore, receiving the biggest attention when it comes to finding effective treatment. At the moment no ultimate pill for genetically determined hereditary form of hair loss exists but there are a number of medications proven to be effective in a majority of patients. Only three out of those medications are pills, all of them used once daily. Propecia is the best known pill for hair loss and the only FDA approved oral treatment for baldness. However, it is suitable only for men. Dutasteride is a newer product from the same class of drugs as finasteride and it has undergone the clinical testing recently and the final results are pending. It is also only suitable to the male patients. Dutasteride (trade name Avodart) is considered to be a stronger DHT inhibitor than finasteride (Propecia) and thus the more powerful hair loss treatment. However, it is also expected to have longer lasting negative side effects than Propecia, though final study results have not yet been released to confirm this assumption. The only existing hair loss pill suitable for women is spironolactone (trade name Aldactone). It is a diuretic used to treat an array of different medical conditions that has been found to be effective in treating female pattern baldness. Not every doctor in every country knows it and is ready to prescribe spironolactone to their female patients for treating baldness. Oral spironolactone should not be used by male patients. This is a relatively inexpensive medication since you can buy generic Aldactone online in almost any online pharmacy. However, make sure you get it prescribed by your doctor, first. Dosage of spironolactone is a real science so always use it upon recommendation of your doctor.

Hair Surgery is undoubtedly the best that the hair restoration science has to offer today. The main technique of surgical hair restoration is hair transplant surgery. There happen to be also some other archaic methods of surgical hair replacement but they should better be avoided. Surgical hair restoration happens to be the most expensive method of restoring lost hair but it is also the most elegant and lasting solution. It can only be used in people suffering from hereditary form of hair loss and burn patients. Candidates should have sufficient hair density at the back of their scalp whereas many female patients suffering from female form of baldness with its typical diffuse balding pattern do not seem to meet this requirement. Hair restoration surgery has made great strides in the past twenty years with the introduction of the two main techniques used today - follicular unit transplantation and, more recently, follicular unit extraction. These improvements in transplantation techniques enable the grouping of hairs very close together, which gives modern hair transplants an entirely natural look. The main weakness, besides the high cost and the pain involved, is the limited supply of donor hair and the need for multiple sessions to achieve the final benefit. Furthermore, patients have to commit themselves to the use of finasteride or any other adequate medicinal hair loss therapy for the rest of their lives to prevent further loss of hair in areas adjacent to their transplanted hair.

Oral and topical medicinal drugs do not seem to provide satisfactory hair restoration results yet. The two most often prescribed hair loss medications, finasteride (Propecia) and topical minoxidil (Rogaine), can be effectively used to reduce hair loss but their ability to regrow lost hair is quite weak. Their effectiveness typically declines in the later stages of the balding process. There is no existing medicinal or natural hair loss remedy that can deliver adequate visual results comparable to either hair transplant surgery or non-surgical hair replacement. Although there are some promising hair loss medications currently under development, especially in the area of genetic research, the ultimate pill for baldness is not expected to hit the market earlier than in fifteen years. Other advances in hair science, such as hair cloning or the generation of new hair follicles in wounds, also hold out some promise but it appears that hair transplantation will in the next ten to fifteen years remain the most complete method of hair restoration. However, despite hair loss medications being not the most adequate solution to hair loss they are needed to maintain the hair you have left. If you get a hair transplant you are committing yourself to the lifetime treatment with finasteride or any other hair loss drug that will be developed in the future. This cost has to be also considered when you are deciding on hair surgery and it can be, therefore, necessary to find a cheap source. It is possible to buy generic Propecia in one of many online pharmacies at a fraction of the price of original branded Propecia in a regular pharmacy.

At this moment, there are only two medicinal treatments that have been approved by the FDA in the US (Food and Drug Administration) for treating hair loss - topical minoxidil (trade name Rogaine/Regaine) and oral finasteride (Propecia). Topical minoxidil is suitable for both sexes, whereas finasteride can only be prescribed to male patients. Minoxidil is a vasodilator, originally used to treat high blood pressure, which was later found to stimulate hair growth when applied topically to the scalp. Finasteride is an antiandrogen that was first used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as prostate enlargement. It acts by inhibiting conversion of the male hormone testosterone to the follicle-harming metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The discovery of finasteride’s positive effects on hair growth led to finding the true cause of hereditary baldness, which are the harmful attacks of DHT on our hair follicles. Since making this discovery, a quest for other alternative DHT blockers has begun, especially amongst antiandrogen drugs and herbs that have, in the past, been used to treat urinary problems.

Dutasteride (trade name Avodart) is an antiandrogen medication similar to finasteride in its chemical structure and mode of action and has been studied extensively for treating hair loss. It has recently completed phase III clinical testing for efficacy and safety in the treatment of male pattern baldness and the study results are pending. Like finasteride it is also used for treating BPH. Dutasteride is believed by many to be a more potent hair loss drug than finasteride but also with more severe side effects.

Flutamide (trade name Eulexin) is a strong antiandrogen used to treat prostate cancer. It acts by binding to the androgen receptors and thus competing with DHT. Oral use of flutamide can cause serious side effects but it is believed that topical applications might have less adverse side effects and could be, in the future, used to treat hereditary hair loss. More research is needed to verify such claims.

Spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) is another antiandrogen medication that works by binding to androgen receptors, competing with DHT. It is used in women to treat acne, hair loss and excess body hair and although there are some generic topical applications for the treatment of male pattern baldness which contain spironolactone, it has never been approved to treat hair loss in men and should better be avoided. For women, spironolactone can be considered as a reasonable alternative to the men’s best hair-loss pill, finasteride, which cannot be used in women.

As has been mentioned earlier, following the discovery of harmful DHT attacks on hair follicles being the true cause of hereditary baldness, herbalists started looking for possible natural alternatives to finasteride among plants that have been traditionally used to treat urinary problems and, more specifically, enlarged prostates.

Saw palmetto (serenoa repens) has been used for decades to treat prostate enlargement and it is one of the few plants used in natural remedies that have been subjected to some sort of scientific research in regards to their potential for treating BPH. Its supporters assume that it works by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone into prostate and follicle-harming DHT but no study has yet confirmed this assumption. No clinical research has ever been concluded on saw palmetto’s effects on hair loss. Despite that, saw palmetto is widely used by thousands of hair loss sufferers around the world as a safe natural alternative to finasteride.

Extract from the bark of the evergreen tree pygeum africanum is another popular herbal ingredient found in natural hair-loss treatments and many herbalists believe it is more potent in treating hair loss than saw palmetto. Its rise to fame also comes from the general assumption that this plant, thought to be beneficial for treating prostate enlargement, should be also effective in treating hair loss. Pygeum africanum has been less well studied than saw palmetto and it has never been used in any clinical hair-loss study.

The third most popular herbal ingredient used in natural hair-loss cures is nettle root extract. This herbal drug is derived from the root of the stinging nettle, a popular healing plant found in temperate and subtropical zones of the northern hemisphere. Its use in natural hair-loss remedies also stems from the fact that it is supposed to help shrink enlarged prostates and is thus thought to inhibit the conversion of testosterone to DHT. Like the two aforementioned herbal extracts, nettle has never been subjected to any clinical hair-loss study.

This list of hair-loss drugs and herbal extracts that are believed to mimic the actions of finasteride, the only approved pill for hair loss, is not exhaustive. There seem to be many other ingredients, mostly of natural origin, that claim the ability to block DHT and thus reverse hair loss. However, no clinical evidence exists that any herb contained in the natural remedies promotes new hair growth. Whether you decide to try a commercial herbal remedy or just one or two herbs on their own, keep in mind that, besides there being no guarantee of their effectiveness, no daily dosage has been established and side effects might occur, despite the general belief that herbal hair-loss remedies are safe and free of them. In addition, it is not advised to try any of the aforementioned medicinal substitutes to finasteride without first consulting your doctor. By the same token a great care is advised for anybody who decides to purchase generic Propecia online in one of many existing offshore phamacies.

The hair loss industry is a multibillion-dollar business but the vast majority of commercially available products, estimated at 90%, are ineffective to the majority of hair loss sufferers. If one grew a single hair with each remedy out there, they would fill the entire head. Useless rubbish is not only bad for your wallet, it also wastes your valuable time while the hair loss continues. In order to find the most suitable treatment for your condition you should understand how various hair loss treatments work and what you can expect from them.

The currently available hair loss treatments can be, in the first place, divided into surgical and non-surgical therapies. Although there are only a few surgical techniques currently applied, the non-surgical spectrum is wide and confusing. There seem to be thousands of non-surgical treatment options available to those who seek to avoid hair surgery. Propecia also known under its generic name finasteride and Rogaine (minoxidil) might be amongst the best known medicinal hair loss treatments, while dried fruits of saw palmetto and a Chinese herb, He Shou Wu, also known as Fo-Ti, are the natural ingredients most often mentioned in alternative hair loss remedies.

The non-surgical hair loss therapies can be in principle broken down into medicinal and alternative treatments, whereas when considering methods of application, they can be divided into oral treatments, topical treatments and others, such as LaserComb. Alternative treatments are typically, but not exclusively, associated with using naturally derived active substances. Irrespective of the aforementioned breakdowns, hair growth treatments work either by blocking the activity of dihydrotestosterone, also called anti-androgens, or by stimulating new hair growth in the balding areas. Although scientists are constantly searching for new approaches to treating hair loss such as hair cloning any such new therapies are at least five years away.

Gray hair at a young age can have various causes, such as vitiligo, vitamin B deficiency, thyroid imbalance, constant and extreme stress, alopecia areata, bad diet, etc. but its greatest trigger is genetics, causing the premature death of pigment-producing cells in hair follicles. When it comes to treating gray hair caused by one of the aforementioned health conditions then the focus should be on tackling the primary reason. In treating genetically determined, premature gray hair, any effective therapy should involve interference with our genes. However, at the moment, no such treatment exists that can halt or reverse the dying of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. There are some commercial products out there, though, containing vitamins, minerals and a Chinese herb Fo-Ti that are supposed to stop and reverse gray hair but the only evidence supporting the claims made by their marketers refers back to the old Chinese legend of an old villager, Mr. He, from one thousand years ago. Vitamins B, namely PABA and folic acid, have been observed to stop graying in individuals with diets poor in vitamins B but they cannot help reverse gray hair in people suffering from chronic vitamin B deficiency, let alone in cases of genetically-determined graying hair.

Therefore, the only available and effective treatment option for premature and age-related gray hair is to cover it. There are two principal coloring options for covering gray hair, which include hair dyes and progressive hair colorants. Hair dyes can be temporary, semi-permanent, demi-permanent or permanent, depending on the durability of their coloring effects. The ability of the pigment molecules to penetrate into the hair shaft determines the stability of the hair color. Each hair consists of at least two layers, the cuticle, which is an outer protective layer, and the cortex, which is hidden under the cuticle. Permanent hair dye is, as its name says, the most stable of the hair coloring options and the most effective method of covering gray hair amongst hair dyes, as its large molecules get trapped in the cortex of the hair and resist being washed out but it is also the most drastic method of dyeing hair. Hair dyes are popular, especially with female consumers. Men usually look for more subtle options of covering their gray hair as for a man dyeing hair is socially less acceptable. Progressive hair colorants, with their slow and gradual mode of action, seem to be the right product for men.

The marketing of progressive hair colorants is typically targeted at male customers but these products can be also successfully used by women. They color hair gradually and unnoticeably and only affect your gray hair. They can be applied selectively so that you can leave certain areas untreated to look more natural. Progressive hair colorants are easy to apply, no plastic gloves are needed to apply them (with very few exceptions), and you just have to spread them on your white areas. Their mechanism of action consists of the chemical reaction involving one or two substances from the colorant, which in the presence of atmospheric oxygen produce synthetic pigment on the surface as well as in the pores and for some of them also in the cortex of your hair. As the substance is drying in the air, the chemical reaction begins and lasts until the next shampoo wash. Hence, the longer the substance stays in your hair the better. The downside is that progressive hair colorants have to be reapplied quite frequently, which makes them more expensive compared with the majority of traditional hair dyes. Progressive hair colorants are either metallic based or use organic chemicals.

The occasional controversy surrounding these products results from a wrong understanding of their mechanism of action and the purpose they were designed for. Their aim is not to cover all your gray hair with a single application. For people with more than 50% of their hair white, it is practically impossible to achieve full white hair coverage with these products, no matter how often they apply them. They were designed for people who would like to reduce the amount of their gray and wish to do it discretely and unnoticeably. Frequent shampooing reduces the effectiveness of these products as does exposure to direct sun.

Anyone losing hair comes to the point when one starts thinking of reversing ones condition. A quick internet search will turn up a myriad of guaranteed treatments for regrowing lost hair. It is obvious that many of them were solely designed to make money for their originators but there are some remedies that can be really helpful. The question is how useful and who can benefit.

When referring to hair loss, most people think of male pattern baldness, characteristic of it horseshoe balding pattern. Most treatments for hair regrowth target this type of baldness. Male pattern baldness affects about 40% of the male population and its female form, called female pattern baldness occurs in about 25% of women. The main cause of both forms is the male hormone testosterone being converted into the follicle harming dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This may sound weird but female body also produces the male hormone testosterone. However, despite the general assumption that it is the overproduction of DHT that is causing our hair to die it is the inability of some affected hair follicles to defend themselves effectively from these attacks that leads to hair miniaturisation and eventual hair loss. Therefore, the most effective hair loss treatments try to address this aspect and work by either inhibiting the production of DHT such as finasteride (Propecia) or bind to the receptor sites in hair follicles and protect these sites from interacting with DHT such as spironolactone. Propecia/finasteride happens to be the most effective treatment for male pattern baldness, whereas spironolactone is considered to be the same weapon for women.

However, in addition to protecting your hair follicles from DHT attacks you also need a treatment that would stimulate new hair growth. Although many treatments promise to do that the only FDA approved treatment that has been proven to promote hair growth in the majority of patients is Rogaine (minoxidil), which can be used as an effective hair regrowth treatment by both sexes. Now, reviewing the numbers Rogaine/minoxidil has been proven to regrow hair, depending on the strength and the form, in about 55% of hair loss sufferers. Finasteride/Propecia has about the same ratio of effectiveness. Spironolactone has been less well studied as a remedy for treating hair loss as its is not an approved hair loss treatment but the reasonable estimates indicate that it could be effective in about 50% of women suffering from hereditary form of hair loss. To sum it up, combining a DHT blocker with a hair growth stimulant should be helpful in no less that 55% of the patients, with higher percentages being possible. However, one should not expect to regrow the hair that has been lost more than three years ago.

Hair surgery happens to be the only natural and lasting method of hair restoration for people suffering from hereditary form of baldness and burn patients. Hair transplantation is one of few existing surgical hair restoration methods and without any doubt it is the most effective and the most popular way of regaining the lost glory. Hair transplantation consists in transplanting your own hair from the back and the sides of your scalp to the top and the front of your head. It is also possible to transplant body hair but this method is not recommended as long as you have enough donor hair on your scalp. Body hair has a different texture, length, waviness, color and is therefore less suitable for covering bald spots on your head than your hair from your own scalp.

At the moment it is not possible to transplant hair from one person’s head to another person. This would necessitate the lifetime commitment to immunosuppressant pills, which is too high price to pay for a hair transplant. The hair at the back and sides of your head is in people suffering from male pattern baldness, characteristic of its typical horseshoe pattern, thought to be resistant to thinning and balding. Therefore, such hair if transplanted to the top of your head will stay there for ever. Female balding pattern is often different in that women are losing their hair from their entire scalp and thus it is often impossible to identify the hair that is resistant to balding. Therefore, women do not make very good candidates for hair transplantation since they can lose their transplanted hair and will need another session.

There are two basic hair transplantation techniques used these days – follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE). The difference is in harvesting hair follicles. FUT is an older technique consisting in extracting a strip of skin from the back of your scalp. This strip can be 1.5cm wide and 20cm long and is then placed under dissecting microscopes in order to extract individual hair follicles. Such hair follicles are then implanted into small needle poke openings in the balding area. FUE consists in harvesting individual hair follicles, which are then devoid of unnecessary tissue and directly implanted in the balding area. This is a newer and more expensive method of hair transplantation. Its downside is lower yield and necessity to undergo several sessions as it is impossible to cover large areas using FUE in a single procedure. It is usually recommended to use FUT for people in advanced stages of baldness.

Dandruff can be best described as excessive shedding of dead cells from the scalp. Shedding of dead cells from the scalp is normal as long as it is not excessive. It is part of the regular process of cell renewal. The cells form in lower skin levels and are gradually pushed upwards by the new, growing cells that form underneath. By the time the cells reach the skin surface, they have died and become flat and they overlap each other like roof tiles and are ready to depart the scalp. In a normal, healthy scalp, the dead cells leave the surface unnoticeably. With dandruff, the whole process is accelerated and a larger number of dead cells are shed, forming big clumps that are visible to the naked eye. Dandruff is a common condition and some estimates say that it affects up to 50% of the population at some point in their lives.

There are three main causes and types of dandruff and each one of them should be treated differently. Some people mistake dandruff for dry scalp and start shampooing their hair less frequently, which, in the case of dandruff, leads to a worsening of their condition. The most common cause of dandruff is the overgrowth of a fungus that normally lives in our scalp called malassezia. This fungus feeds on the natural grease in the scalp, converting it into oleic acid. The reasons for the sudden overgrowth of this fungus are not yet known. 

Seborrhoeic dermatitis leads to a more severe form of dandruff than malassezia, causing greasy bran-like scale. Seborrhoeic dermatitis is usually accompanied by skin inflammation that, besides the scalp, also affects the eyebrows, the skin around your nose, ears and the lines on your cheeks, forehead and armpits. In moderate climates this condition typically improves in summer as direct sunlight relieves its symptoms. Cradle cap, however frightening it may look, is a mild form of seborrhoeic dermatitis affecting only infants and it clears itself by the time the baby turns one year old.

Psoriasis is the third known cause of dandruff, leading to its most serious form. It causes itchiness and inflammation of the skin and produces thick, silvery scales which occur most often in the scalp, knees and lower back. Psoriasis results in rapid shedding of the skin and, if this shedding occurs from the scalp, it is known as dandruff. This condition affects about 2% of the population and like the two aforementioned forms of dandruff, it is not contagious. An excessively oily scalp, autoimmune disorders, hormonal imbalances, elevated scalp sensitivity, extreme stress, heart problems, etc. are often associated with an increased occurrence of all forms of dandruff. It has also been observed that some cases of dandruff are triggered by chemicals contained in hair care treatments. However, the exact cause of any of the aforementioned dandruff-triggering conditions is not known.

When it comes to dandruff treatment options, for a start it sometimes helps to wash your hair more often and use a mild shampoo. In more severe cases it is advisable to try some of the special anti-dandruff shampoos freely available in pharmacies. For yet more severe conditions you may need to ask your doctor to prescribe you a prescription strength shampoo, which typically contains the same active ingredients as OTC products but in a higher concentration. The active substances used in anti-dandruff shampoos can include any of the following: coal tar, salicylic acid, zinc pyrithione, selenium sulphide, sulphur, ketoconazole, corticosteroids and caffeine. Each one of them addresses the problem from a different angle. For the most serious conditions, corticosteroid and anthralin treatments will most likely be prescribed by your doctor.

Alopecia areata is well known as an unpredictable hair disease affecting about 2% of the world’s population and it happens to be the second most common type of hair loss after male and female pattern baldness. It is often called patch baldness or spot baldness due to its patchy, balding pattern. In severe cases, it can affect the whole scalp (alopecia totalis) or the whole body (alopecia universalis). It is not yet known what causes alopecia areata. It is thought to be an autoimmune condition triggered by a person’s autoimmune system, which decides to attack its own hair follicles. Sometimes the hair grows back a few years later and stays and sometimes it falls out again. Although there is no ultimate cure for alopecia areata, some treatments have been proven to improve this condition. The most popular treatment option, which does not require a doctor’s prescription, is topical minoxidil, such as Rogaine. It can be used alone or in combination with other medicinal treatments that will be discussed later.

The most common amongst prescription treatments used for alopecia areata are corticosteroid shots, injected straight into the bald spot, and steroid gels and creams. Corticosteroid injections are said to be a more effective but also the more painful option of the two. The aim of this approach is to suppress the autoimmune reaction but it has been proven to work only on small bald spots. Another common treatment for small bald patches, which is also thought to affect the autoimmune reaction, is the application of topical anthralin. Anthralin is a tar-like substance used to treat psoriasis.

Topical immunotherapy is the most common form of treatment for extensive alopecia areata. It relies on an immunosuppressant such as cyclosporine that is applied to the skin to cause a skin reaction similar to mild eczema, which in some cases leads to hair re-growth. This method is also the most radical form of treatment, causing an array of negative side effects.

Another treatment applied for extensive alopecia areata is PUVA, which stands for "psoralen plus ultraviolet A radiation", consisting of a topical or oral application of psoralen, followed by ultraviolet radiation. This method is better tolerated than topical immunotherapy but it is also less effective.

A recently conducted research study with sulfasalazine also spells some promise for patients with severe cases of alopecia areata. Sulfasalazine is an anti-inflammatory medication first used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and is hoped to be soon used to treat alopecia areata.

This is the list of the most commonly prescribed medicinal treatments for alopecia areata. There obviously is an array of other alternative therapies that are claimed to improve this condition and do not require a doctor’s visit. Consumers should be aware that none of such products has ever been clinically shown to be effective in treating alopecia areata and such claims are possible only because these products are not regulated pharmaceuticals but non-regulated cosmetics.