When Should I See A Doctor
Most people lose about 50 to 100 strands of hair per day. This may seem like a lot, but its insignificant compared to the 100,000 hair follicles you have on your head.
If youre noticing that youre losing more hair than average, its worth discussing with your doctor, especially if hair loss is combined with other symptoms, like fatigue, anxiety, itching, and mood changes.
The Hair Loss Cures 201: What Are Your Options Today
In this section we take a look at current hair loss cures in 2019. Using one or more of the treatments below is your best shot at keeping your hair around. However, if a cure is defined as a permanent fix to an ailment, these are far from that definition. Each of these treatments have their own limitations. Most are seen more as hair loss management treatments, rather than permanent hair loss cures.
The most permanent solution for those who have lost or are losing their hair is hair transplants. Follicles are harvested from the back of the head and seeded into bald areas. Techniques have vastly improved and no longer do these look like fake plugs. Skilled surgeons can provide the patient we a very natural looking head of hair. A recent technological innovation is robotic assisted hair transplantation which help the surgeon be more precise and keep scalp scarring minimal. The limitations?
They arent increasing your total hair count, just shifting around the hair you have left. Furthermore, it doesnt stop future hair loss and sometimes additional transplants are required. Oh yeah, and it costs around $10,000. The results, however, can be astounding- hence the video weve shared below.
The Vampire Treatment
About Laser Devices For Male
Several laser devices are now available to treat hair loss at home. The FDA has cleared some. If you see FDA cleared on the packaging or within information about the laser, this means the FDA recognizes the laser as a safe treatment.
The requirements for getting FDA cleared are much less stringent than for getting FDA approved.
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How To Stop Thinning Hair: Hair Loss Treatment For Women
Medications are the most common treatment for hair loss in women. They include the following:
Minoxidil . This drug was initially introduced as a treatment for high blood pressure, but people who took it noticed that they were growing hair in places where they had lost it. Research studies confirmed that minoxidil applied directly to the scalp could stimulate hair growth. As a result of the studies, the FDA originally approved over-the-counter 2% minoxidil to treat hair loss in women. Since then a 5% solution has also become available when a stronger solution is need for a woman’s hair loss.
Clearly, minoxidil is not a miracle drug. While it can produce some new growth of fine hair in some not all women, it can’t restore the full density of the lost hair. It’s not a quick fix, either for hair loss in women . You won’t see results until you use the drug for at least two months. The effect often peaks at around four months, but it could take longer, so plan on a trial of six to 12 months. If minoxidil works for you, you’ll need to keep using it to maintain those results. If you stop, you’ll start to lose hair again.
Some women find that the minoxidil solution leaves a deposit that dries and irritates their scalp. This irritation, called contact dermatitis, is probably caused not by the minoxidil itself, but rather by the alcohol that is included to facilitate drying.
Stages Of Hair Growth Miniaturization
Hair is made up of the hair follicle and the shaft . In the hair bulb, located at the base of the follicle, cells divide and grow to produce the hair shaft, which is made from a protein called keratin. Papilla that surround the bulb contain tiny blood vessels that nourish the hair follicles and deliver hormones to regulate the growth and structure of the hair.
Hair follicles, much like all cells, have cycles. A natural part of the cycle involves shedding around 50 to 100 hairs per day.
Each follicle produces hair for 2 to 6 years and then takes a break for several months. While the hair follicle is in its rest phase, the hair falls out. There are around 100,000 follicles on the scalp, but because each follicle rests at a different time and others produce hairs, hair loss is usually unnoticeable. More noticeable hair loss occurs when there is a disruption to the growth and shedding cycle, or if the hair follicle is obliterated and replaced with scar tissue.
Scientists now understand that pattern baldness occurs through a phenomenon known as miniaturization. Some hair follicles appear to be genetically oversensitive to the actions of dihydrotestosterone , which is a hormone that is converted from testosterone with the help of an enzyme held in the follicles oil glands.
The only two drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat hair loss are minoxidil and finasteride .
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Its Not Just An Age Thing
A typical scalp bears some 100,000 to 150,000 hairs. Normally, between 50 and 100 of them fall out daily as they complete their growth cycle. When shedding outpaces growth, explains Dr. Shapiro, the result is alopecia, the medical term for hair loss. The most common type in both men and women occurs when follicles become overly sensitive to a hormone and deteriorate. As a result, the growth phase shortens until it finally stops. Although alopecia becomes more prevalent with advancing years, it affects one in four men by age 30.
Hair Loss In Black Women: Tips From An Expert
Almost half of black women experience some form of hair loss. However, few doctors are familiar with black hairstyling practices, leaving many women to sort through unhelpful or even harmful advice on their own.
Dermatologist Crystal Aguh, one of just a small group of dermatologists across the country specializing in hair loss, offers these tips to help women protect their hair and recognize common warning signs of hair loss.
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What Are The Different Types Of Female Hair Loss
Engelman explains how the hair cycle is a four phase process: Anagen , Catagen , Telogen , and Exogen . Each hair follicle goes through this process at different times, otherwise we would lose all of our hair at the same time before it started to grow again. There is no exact normal number of hairs shed per dayit depends on the individual. But if your normal seems to have changed, and youre finding extra hairs on your pillows, clothing, and even falling into your food, it could mean your hair growth cycle has been disrupted.
Are There Any Real Hair
FOR MANY WOMEN, hair loss is hard on the psyche. Our hair is like an accessoryits our crown. Its so tied to societys perception of beauty. So, when we lose hair, its devastating, said New York dermatologist Marie Hayag. Of all the medical conditions I see in my office, hair lossespecially in womencauses more tears.
Before maxing out your credit card on the dubious miracle fixes constantly advertised on Instagram, get to the root of what could be causing your hair loss, said Bridgette Hill, a Palm Beach certified trichologist and founder of Root Cause Scalp Analysis, a virtual service that specializes in hair and scalp issues. Common culprits: It could be genetics, lifestyle, diet, medication, stress or hormonal imbalances. It could be a multitude of things and a combination of those things. Thats what makes so challenging, said Ms. Hill. But with the right treatment , an increase in fullness is possible, she said. Just keep in mind that patience is required. To see any changes, you may need a minimum of 90 days, said Ms. Hill. Here, experts suggest three ways to help pump up the volume.
Go Under the Needle
Boost Botanically
Foam It In
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Can You Prevent Hair Loss In Chemo
Thereâs no guaranteed way to save your hair during chemo. The most common method people try is a cooling cap, also known as scalp hypothermia. Itâs a fitted cap filled with cool liquid that you can wear during treatment. The idea is that it slows down the blood flow to your scalp so the chemo drugs canât kill those cells.
Some people say that if the chemo drugs canât get to your scalp, some cancer cells might remain — but thatâs rarely been reported. There are side effects as well, including head and neck aches. Ask your doctor if a cooling cap is OK to try.
Chemotherapy And Hair Loss
Certain chemotherapy medicines used to treat breast cancer can cause the hair on your head to become thin or to fall out completely. Some chemotherapy medicines can also cause hair loss on other parts of your body, such as your eyebrows and eyelashes, pubic hair, and hair on your legs, arms, or underarms.
Whether you lose your hair and how much you lose depends on a variety of factors. This includes the type, combination, and dose of chemotherapy medicines you get, as well as other medical conditions , nutrition status, and stress. The timing of chemotherapy treatments also affects hair loss. Some types of chemotherapy are given weekly and in small doses, which may minimize hair loss. Other types of chemotherapy are scheduled every 3 to 4 weeks in higher doses and may be more likely to cause more hair loss.
Talk with your doctors before chemotherapy begins so you know what to expect in your individual situation. If you find out that you will be receiving chemotherapy medicines that are likely to cause hair loss, you may want to look into the possibility of using a scalp cooling system or manual cold caps during your infusion sessions to help limit the amount of hair you lose. Read more about preventing hair loss with Cold Caps and Scalp Cooling Systems.
Some of the chemotherapy medicines used to treat breast cancer that can cause hair loss are:
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12 months: 46 inches of hair
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What Really Causes Hair Loss
To understand how to cure hair loss, we first need to understand what is the real cause of it in the first place.
The conventional dogma is that a hormone called DHT attacks the hair follicles, slowly causing them to wither and die, through a process known as hair follicle miniaturization.
When the follicle gets too small it eventually falls out and doesnt grow back.
The idea that DHT causes hair loss is simple at first glance.
Men born with low levels of DHT never go bald.
The problem is, DHT is a natural, normal and healthy hormone that we all need and is actually created from testosterone via an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase.
As youll find out later, there are ways to block DHT, by essentially stopping the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. And this can and does have a proven effect on the hair, but its actually not the best answer.
Whether you block DHT using a pharmaceutical or with a natural plant-base blocker like pumpkin seed oil and ecklonia cava, you are still not fixing the root problem.
So what is the root problem?
While many hair loss sufferers believe the root cause of pattern baldness is sensitivity to DHT, the real cause actually goes much deeper than that.
Why are some people more sensitive to DHT than others? Genetics is one reason, yes. But the DHT Theory of Hair Loss leaves many questions unanswered. These include:
It may surprise you to learn theres a competing theory on hair loss, and its called the Scalp Tension Theory.
So, where does DHT come in?
Genetics Underlying Male Pattern Baldness
A study led by the University Edinburgh in the United Kingdom discovered 287 genetic regions involved in male pattern baldness. Many of the genes that the researchers identified were linked with hair structure and development.
We identified hundreds of new genetic signals, said Saskia Hagenaars, a Ph.D. student from the University of Edinburghs Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. It was interesting to find that many of the genetics signals for male pattern baldness came from the X chromosome, which men inherit from their mothers.
Not only could the teams findings help to predict a mans likelihood of experiencing severe hair loss, but they could also provide new targets for drug developments to treat baldness.
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About Hair Loss Or Hair Thinning
Hair loss is one of the most well known side effects of cancer treatment. For many people losing their hair can be distressing and devastating.
It can be a constant reminder of your cancer and what youre going through. But for most people, their hair will grow back once treatment has finished.
Cancer drugs can cause:
- mild thinning of your hair
- partial hair loss, or loss of patches of hair
- complete hair loss
Chemotherapy is the type of cancer drug treatment most likely to cause hair loss.
Complete hair loss is very unlikely with any other type of treatment. But some other cancer drugs can cause hair thinning. It is not possible to tell beforehand who will be affected or how badly.
Hair loss also depends on factors such as:
- the type of drug or combination of drugs you are taking
- how sensitive you are to the drug
- your drug treatment in the past
Studies Uncover New Approaches To Combat Hair Loss In Men And Women
Two recent studies highlight novel ways to combat pattern hair loss in men and women using small molecules such as JAK inhibitors that reawaken dormant hair follicles, as well as stem cell therapies aimed at growing new follicles.
In the first study, researchers led by Angela Christiano, PhD, the Richard & Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, discovered previously unknown cells that keep mouse hair follicles in a resting state and show that inhibiting the activity of these cells can reawaken dormant follicles.
In a second study, Christianos team , which could open up hair restoration surgery to more people, including women, and improve the way pharmaceutical companies search for new hair-growth drugs.
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Krox20 Protein Scf Gene
Researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas have identified a protein called KROX20, which switches on cells in the skin and tells them to become hair. Furthermore, these hair precursor cells then go on to produce a protein called stem cell factor , which plays a critical role in hair pigmentation.
When the SCF gene was deleted in the hair precursor cells in mice, they grew gray hair that turned white with age. Moreover, when the KROX20-producing cells were removed, the hair ceased growing, and the mice became bald.
With this knowledge, we hope in the future to create a topical compound or to safely deliver the necessary gene to hair follicles to correct these cosmetic problems, said Dr. Lu Le, associate professor of dermatology at UT Southwestern.
Future work by the team will focus on finding out whether KROX20 and the SCF gene stop functioning properly and lead to male pattern baldness.
Supplements For Supple Hair
You can make sure youre getting your nutrients in with a whole-food diet of colorful fruits and veggies . But, you can also consider taking a multivitamin specially designed for hair, skin, and nail health.
Getting your vitamins and minerals is crucial for healthy hair. The most important nutrients for hair growth include:
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The Truth About Pattern Hair Loss
Hair loss is becoming more common and is occurring for many men at a younger age.
Its also clear that male pattern baldness is a lot more common in Western countries such as the US, UK, Europe, Canada and Australia. It is less common in Asia, Africa and Central and South America.
What is also interesting is that pattern baldness is practically non-existent in stable indigenous populations.
Even more interesting is, when people from these areas move to countries like the US their likelihood of going bald also increases up to the national average.
This would suggest that, far from being entirely determined by your genes, your environment plays a crucial role in whether lose your hair.
Yes, genes are involved. But what is important here is that it is a genetic predisposition.
This mean that you have genes that under a certain environment are more susceptible to hair loss.
And that is GREAT NEWS
Because it means that your environment triggers baldness, and as humans we have a unique advantage in that we can always change our environment.
In fact, even small changes to your diet and lifestyle can have a BIG effect on whether or not you continue to lose hair.
This is about as close as you can get to a real cure.
However there are some unnatural ways you can deal with baldness. Maybe you already know about them and Im going to discuss them too in this article.
Why Hair Falls Out
Hair grows and eventually falls out as part of its normal cycle. It can build up on hair brushes, pillows, or shower drains.
Most people will not notice the natural hair loss that occurs daily. Hair thickness and the hairline usually remain the same.
People are more likely to notice excessive hair loss, which may be due to an underlying condition. Symptoms of excessive hair loss can include:
- sudden loss of hair
- noticeable thinning
Several possible factors may cause excessive hair loss.
One of the most common causes involves genetics. According to a 2019 review, pattern baldness affects up to 50% of men and women.
Commercial products could help to slow and treat this type of balding. This includes products like minoxidil .
Pattern baldness occurs slowly with aging. Some more immediate causes of hair loss can include:
Whether hair growth can return depends on the cause of the hair loss. A dermatologist can determine whether a personâs hair may regrow on its own.
Hair loss may be temporary and reversed for the following conditions:
To help hair grow again, a dermatologist may perform a procedure such as the following:
- Corticosteroid injections into bald or thinning areas every 4 to 8 weeks. The AAD says this is the most effective treatment for alopecia areata.
- Platelet-rich plasma therapy involves a doctor drawing a small amount of blood and injecting the plasma into bald areas. The 10-minute procedure is necessary once monthly for 3 months, then once each 3 to 6 months.
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