Table Of ContentNatural Hair Loss Remedies
© 2011 by Andrew Lloyd
Hair Loss is a Natural Process
Hair loss is a perfectly normal natural process but the demands of society, to
fit in and to attract partners, pressure us into trying to fight it. In most cases it is
a cosmetic problem and is usually the result of the genetic influences of aging,
skin conditions, or the taking of certain medications or recreational drugs. Never
the less there are lots of common myths about the causes of hair loss.
You can be sure that balding is not caused by wearing a hat or combing your
hair too often. On the other side of things you can’t get your hair to grow again
by massaging, brushing, or extra shampooing to stimulate hair growth. These are
all thought to be false. It is a process which takes place over time. This fact is
often ignored. The process can be slow or rapid. Baldness is experienced to
some extent by the majority of males all over the world. While it is quite
frequent in males, it is not found so often in the case of females.
The most common form of balding is male and female pattern baldness.
Baldness is influenced by male sex hormones called androgens. This form of
hair loss is also called androgenetic alopecia. Androgenetic refers to the fact that
androgens, or male hormones, play a part in this type of hair loss. Alopecia is
simply the medical term for hair loss.
This natural process starts when male hormones are activated at puberty and
hair begins to respond to the testosterone that is manufactured. Some teenagers
actually begin to lose strands of hair, but this is not noticeable until later in life.
The testosterone hormone leads to the production of dihydrotestosterone.
The name of this hormone is often reduced to DHT. DHT in the scalp causes
hair follicle to shrink and get progressively smaller and finer. This process is
known as miniaturization and causes the hair to eventually fall out.
Male pattern hair loss affects approximately 50% of men at some point in
their lives. It affects different populations at different rates, probably because of
the genetic characteristics spread across the world. The frequency of balding in
the population increases with age but not all men develop it, even in old age.
Female balding, no matter what the cause, tends to show itself differently to
traditional male pattern baldness. Instead of a receding hairline or bald spot as in
males, women tend to experience thinning throughout the scalp.
Hair loss products are becoming more popular as many people seek
treatment for hair loss. More and more health care product companies are
coming up with new ways for us to try to fight balding and regain lost hair. The
market is flooded with plenty of hair loss products. The problem is sorting
through these products to determine which work and which are best for your
particular condition.
Due to the progressive nature of the condition in men, if treatment is started
early, before the total genetically determined extent of hair loss is reached, then
further procedures are likely to be needed. These treatments should therefore be
planned for.
A number of modern products rely on DHT inhibitors to work against the
balding process. They do this by stopping DHT from forming and cutting down
baldness before it can occur. Used in conjunction with hair growth stimulators
DHT inhibitors have been found to be quite effective. Natural DHT inhibitors
have been found in certain herbs so these alternative type products should also
be considered
Going Bald and the Confidence Factor
Baldness is a condition that males are very conscious about. It is a real
problem that can blight many lives. How people deal with this situation is all
down to the confidence factor.
Going bald is a condition that nearly 50% of the male population will have to
deal with during their lives. Some people go bald really quickly and even some
teenagers will suffer some degree of hair thinning. However, in most men hair
loss is a gradual process usually starting at the front of the head and then
continuing from the top of the head. Women can have hair loss too. In the case
of women the progression is usually quite different and involves an over all
thinning of the hair.
Despite losing hair being a natural process there are great social pressures for
people to have a near perfect head of hair. This is not just limited to the images
portrayed in the media by models and celebrities. If this isn’t enough, there is
also pressure when it comes to finding a partner and progressing in the world of
work. It is a well known fact that people who look attractive and fit the ideal
image of the day are often hired or offered promotion over other less attractive
ones. If you are looking for a partner in life then baldness can be a factor here
too. Even if the person you have your sights on isn’t worried about hair loss, the
fear that they might be can often be off putting to such an extent that the
potential mate never gets asked out. It is all a matter of confidence and we all
want to feel confident in the things that we do.
The big question always involves what can be done about going bald. One
option is just to accept it and get on with your life. After all you are in the
company of a large number of other people who have the same problem. If you
look around you will see that people who are going bald are in good jobs and do
have attractive partners. The success here is due to a state of mind or positive
outlook. Some people can just over ride the disadvantages that come with the
baldness label. On the other hand other people really do feel the need to try and
do something about the baldness problem. This is only the same as people who
have cosmetic surgery for a different part of their body because they feel that it
is holding them back from getting on with their life. Fortunately there are a large
range of products and treatments available to try and deal with the balding
situation.
You have to decide how far you are willing to go in dealing with your
baldness or thinning hair. Some people are content to try and hold the situation
in check. For these people there are various products such as DHT inhibitor pills
for example Propecia and scalp massage solutions such as Revivogen. An
alternative product is the laser comb which can be used by both men and
women. The laser comb is said to maintain hair thickness by using the cold laser
beams to increase blood circulation to the hair follicles. If you feel that things
have gone too far and you need to cover up large areas of baldness then hair
transplants and hair replacement systems such as toupees may be the answer.
Hair pieces have come a long way in the last few years and they are now far less
likely to be identified or dislodged form the scalp.
Which ever method you choose I am sure you will eventually come to a
stage when age catches up and appearance is not as important as it once was and
you can finally settle down to losing your hair gracefully.
Finding the Best Hair Loss Treatment
Out of all the products for dealing with hair loss there are three which stand
out above the rest, but each for a different reason. Popularity is one factor in the
success of a product but the statistics on how successful they are have to be
taken into consideration as well before you decide which one to use.
It is difficult to decide which the best hair loss treatment is, when factors
vary so much in the different products. There is the popular vote and then there
are the medical statistics, which states how much hair growth there has been or
how many people have seen success. In this article I will be concerned with
both. The main thing to start with is the popularity of the different products, as
people wouldn’t use them if they didn’t think they were going to be effective.
Propecia is perhaps the most popular treatment in the world. It is a male only
treatment due to the way that it works on the male hormonal system. It could
cause problems in women especially if they are pregnant where it can interfere
with the development of the unborn baby. Propecia is a pill that works by
blocking the formation of DHT from the hormone testosterone. DHT is thought
to cause hair follicles to shrink away and eventually stop producing new hair.
Blocking DHT therefore should slow down the rate of hair loss. In trials it has
been shown that five out of six men can maintain the amount of hair that they
already have. Two out of three men report that they had some degree of hair
regrowth. The pill appears to work best on balding in the front middle and top of
the scalp. The pills have to be taken each day and then results should be seen
within 3 months. If there has been no effect after a year of treatment it is
unlikely that it will work on that particular person. Another thing to consider is
that the gains are lost within a year if you stop taking Propecia. There are some
side effects that men have reported in a small number of cases. These mainly
involve loss of sexual drive.
A lot of people with hair loss have tried laser hair restoration treatment. This
involves stimulating the scalp with cold beam laser light. The laser light doesn’t
burn or harm the scalp. It is painless and has no recorded side effects. The light
is in fact just used as a stimulant for the hair follicles to produce hair. It can
involve visiting a clinic on a regular basis to maintain the effectiveness of the
treatment. The endless visits to the clinic can end up as a problem in itself. Once
treatment stops then the gains are reversed. But now there are portable devices
called laser combs which people can purchase to get a similar treatment in their
own homes. The laser comb is a miniature version of the old hood systems used
in clinics. The comb is brushed through the hair for about 10 minutes and the
laser light bathes the scalp in stimulating rays that increase the blood circulation
in the scalp and maintains the health of the hair follicles. They can be used on
their own or in combination with other treatments such as Propecia. Women can
use a laser comb so long as it isn’t in conjunction with other pill type anti DHT
products. Clinical trials have suggested that 92% of users experience a
thickening of their hair over a 6 month usage period.
In terms of natural treatments, the product Revivogen is very popular. Its
main ingredients are natural substances which block the formation of DHT. In
this way it works the same as Propecia. However, because Revivogen is not
taken internally, but only rubbed onto the scalp, it can be used by women as
well. There aren’t any known side effects attributed to Revivogen. In addition to
DHT inhibitors there are other ingredients included which are claimed to block
the receptors of mail hormones in scalp cells and also to stimulate hair growth.
In terms of statistics it is reported that 72% of people in consumer trials found
that they either maintained their thickness of hair or experienced some regrowth.
In selecting the best hair loss treatment product one needs to consider all the
facts and then weigh up the benefits and disadvantage of each one. There are
other treatments but these are the top 3 most popular best hair loss treatment
products.
Baldness and Hair Follicles
Male pattern baldness will develop in most men at some time. It is the most
common kind of hair loss in men. It usually takes somewhere between 15 and 25
years to actually go bald. Some men can in fact go bald in less than 5 years. In
the first stage of hair loss the hair begins to recede by thinning at the front of the
head. The hair tends to get thin on the top of the head at the same time. This then
leads to a bald patch developing in the middle of the scalp. The bald patch and
the receding front of the scalp then gradually enlarge and eventually join
together.
A rim of hair is usually left around the sides and back of the head. However,
in some men even this goes thin and it eventually leads to a totally bald head.
Nearly all men will have some degree of baldness by the time they are 60 years
old. The actual age that hair loss starts seems to be quite variable. It has been
shown that about a third of 30 year old men and half of all 50 year olds are quite
bald. Women are not immune to baldness and some women can develop a
similar pattern of hair loss to men. In women the hair loss tends to be shown as a
general thinning across the whole of the scalp.
Hair is made in special areas of the scalp called hair follicles. These are like
very small pouches under the skin. A hair will usually grow from a follicle for a
total of about 3 years. This hair is then lost, but a new hair will grow from this
same follicle. All hair follicles on the scalp go through this pattern of growth,
loss and regrowth throughout the life of a person.
During the process of balding the affected hair follicles on the scalp steadily
become smaller than normal. As the follicle reduces in size each new hair that is
produced is thinner than the preceding one. Added to this is the fact that each
new hair produced by these follicles grows for much less time than the usual 3
years. In the end the only thing remaining is a much smaller hair follicle with a
thin stump of hair that doesn’t even reach the scalp surface.
The male hormone testosterone is involved in causing these changes. Despite
this it has been shown that the levels of testosterone in men with baldness is the
same as that in men not showing any balding. Hair follicles convert testosterone
to another hormone called dihydrotestosterone. However, this in itself still
doesn’t explain process of balding.
It is thought that hair follicles can become very sensitive to
dihydrotestosterone and that it is this over sensitivity that leads to the hair
follicle shrinking. Even this can’t be the total answer because it doesn’t explain
why different hair follicles are affected at different times during this gradual
process. Another problem is explaining why only scalp hairs are affected and not
those in areas such as the armpit, groin and beard. It is therefore thought that
other genetic factors must be involved in the process of male pattern baldness.
