Change Your Hair Products
There is some evidence that many gels and other styling products may contribute to hair loss, as the chemicals within these products stay on the scalp and become trapped in the follicles, preventing the hair from coming to the surface. Avoid excessive use of hair gels and try more natural styling products, which contain fewer chemicals.
Oribe Serene Scalp Thickening Treatment Spray
You need more than just a hairstylist.
Weve already given you the statistics on balding, which basically prove this: It behooves any and every man in their 20s whos concerned about balding to schedule a consultation with a trichologist. A trichologist is a hairstylist whos been educated about the diseases of the human hair and scalp. A consultation, which can range in price but will generally last from 30 minutes to an hour, will generally include an examination of your scalp under a microscope.
The person doing your scope will also be looking for anything from the miniaturization of the follicle to a process called follicular scarring, which identifies areas of the scalp where the blood is no longer flowing. Hill may ask her clients to also submit a medical evaluation and blood work, which can be done with their doctors, so she can assess things like diet and nutrition. The goal of the consultation is for the trichologist to identify what your next steps are: Should you change your diet? Your grooming routine? Your sleep schedule?
Doctors orders
If youve made it all the way down here, youve reached the point in the hair loss journey when all other options have either tired or failedand now its time for the big guns.
These medications are generally recommended across the board, even for patients who are also undergoing other types of intervention. But if you do reach the point where you need to go deeper, Dr. Bauman lays out a few other options.
Key Points About Normal Hair Loss
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At Innerbody Research, we extensively test each health service we review, including those dedicated to hair loss. All told, our team has spent over 165 hours testing and researching the products and services of top companies to provide an accurate, unbiased analysis of how the products and services compare, free of marketing jargon and gimmicks.
Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions to live healthier lifestyles. We evaluate the service based on adherence to quality, the latest medical evidence and health standards, and a simple question: would we buy the product or service ourselves if it werent part of our job, and would we recommend it to family and friends?
Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.
How It Benefits In Hair Regrowth
Dutasteride is mainly used to fight hair fall, however it can also be used to regrow hair as well. Men suffering from male pattern baldness have high levels of dihydrotestosterone or simply, DHT. This is a hormone that is naturally produced by the testosterone through an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase.
Dutasteride works by preventing the effects of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, which thereby blocks the formation of DHT. When the drug performs this task, hair loss is reduced significantly. The drug also helps increase number of scalp hair as well as fills in balding areas of the scalp.
Of course the results vary from one person to another, but it has been observed that Dutasteride can regrow hair.
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How To Get Started With Keeps
Getting started with Keeps is a pretty straightforward process. In a few easy steps, you can have a package full of hair loss tools on its way to your door.
Insider Tip: Setting up a profile on your phone is the best way to go. Its a lot easier to take pictures of your head with a cell phone than it is with a laptop or desktop computer.
How Is Hereditary Hair Loss Diagnosed
Your doctor will ask you questions about your hair loss, including the pattern of your hair loss and whether you have any other medical conditions. Your doctor will also examine your hair. No tests are needed to diagnose hereditary hair loss, but blood tests may be done to rule out other conditions that can cause hair loss.
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Effectiveness Of Laser Hair Regrowth Devices
While the medical community has not endorsed them, LLLT devices show a lot of promise in clinical studies.
One 2017 study showed that nearly all subjects experienced moderate hair regrowth .
In another clinical study, hair count among participants improved by 19 hairs per square centimeter after six months of using LLLT .
A different study of laser combs demonstrated that a 12-beam laser comb resulted in an average of 26 more hairs per square centimeter in the treated area after six months of use. And in one study, a 655 nm laser array proved effective in achieving robust hair growth in 40% of men.
One tricky aspect of LLLT is that the application for human hair growth hasnt been studied long-term yet, so the most effective wavelength is unclear. We also dont know if any long-term side effects might be associated with laser applications at a specific wavelength.
What Treatments Dont Work Or Cost Too Much
There are countless men out there who are desperate to stop male pattern baldness, so theyll try just about everything they can.
Unfortunately, many of the hair loss treatments currently on the market either dont work, or are effective but prohibitively expensive. These include:
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Laser combs and other products. Often referred to as low-level laser therapy , these products use laser light to stimulate the hair follicles. Research is mixed on their effectiveness and many devices of this type cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
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Hair oils. Several essential oils are marketed as treatments for pattern hair loss. While some have shown mild effects in small studies, none are as effective as FDA-approved hair loss treatments such as finasteride and minoxidil.
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Corticosteroids. These medications are used to reduce inflammation, which can cause hair loss in certain situations. While they may be useful for some non-hormonal forms of hair loss, theres no evidence that they prevent or slow down pattern hair loss.
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Topical corticosteroids. While these may be prescribed for certain inflammatory scalp conditions, theyre not used for male pattern baldness.
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Hair transplant surgery. Although hair transplant surgery is effective, its an expensive option. The cost of a hair transplant can vary from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the extent of your hair loss and number of grafts required.
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Figure 11hair Photography Using The Stereotactic Device
Finasteride is a teratogen, pregnancy category X drug and is therefore contraindicated in pregnancy. Male rats exposed to finasteride in utero develop hypospadias with cleft prepuce, decreased anogenital distance, reduced prostate weight and altered nipple formation . As the drug is secreted in the semen and can be absorbed through the vagina during intercourse, it was originally advocated that men taking finasteride should avoid unprotected intercourse with pregnant women. In practice, the concentration of finasteride in the semen is well below the minimum effect dosage, and no recommendations regarding the use of condoms are made in the product information leaflet. To date there are no reports of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women whose partners take finasteride.
Finasteride has demonstrable modest transient effects on semen parameters in normal men including decreased total sperm count, semen volume, sperm concentration, and sperm motility but no apparent effect on sperm morphology . With regards to long-term safety, finasteride has now been in use for over 10 years. Many recipients are elderly men taking 5mg per day. Very few side-effects have been observed. There is no effect of long-term use on bone mineral density . Reversible painful gynaecomastia has been reported and the incidence is thought to be around 0.001% . Depression measured by increased Beck Depression Inventory and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale before and after treatment has been reported .
The Pill To Prevent Hair Loss
Looking for a pill to keep from going bald? Finasteride, known more commonly as Propecia, is taken daily in 1 mg doses. Because it works by lowering dihydrotestosterone levels, itâs assumed it can reduce hair loss for a majority of men. It also often achieves a measure of regrowth. Learn more about how DHT blockers can reverse hair loss.
“I recommend that everyone take finasteride,” says Robert M. Bernstein, MD. Bernstein is associate clinical professor of dermatology at Columbia University and founder of the Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration. “To patients who are younger,â he says, âI also recommend minoxidil. But the mainstay is finasteride. The data show that, over five years, it significantly retards hair loss in 85% of users.”
Both finasteride and minoxidil, the only other FDA-approved hair loss product , require a commitment. Stop either of these hair loss treatments and your progress vanishes. Within months, you’ll lose whatever hair you managed to retain or grow back.
Finasteride does have potential sexual side effects. A very small percentage of men experience decreases in libido and other problems, but this is rare and generally temporary.
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What About Finasteride Side Effects
Like almost all medications, finasteride can cause side effects. Most of the adverse effects of finasteride are mild, although some may have an impact on your quality of life.
Potential side effects of finasteride include:
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Inability to get or maintain an erection
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Pain or discomfort that affects the testicles
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Problems related to ejaculation, such as decreased ejaculatory volume
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Changes in mood or depression
Although its uncommon in the low-strength version of finasteride thats used to treat hair loss, some men who use Proscar, a stronger version of finasteride for BPH, also report side effects such as breast tenderness and skin rashes.
Sexual side effects, such as erectile dysfunction, difficulty ejaculating and a weaker sex drive, can sound alarming.
However, its important to look at these side effects in context before you write off finasteride as a hair loss treatment.
Even in studies of Proscar, a high-strength 5mg version of finasteride, only a small percentage of men report these side effects.
For example, in clinical trials of finasteride for BPH, just over eight percent of men reported an effect on their erections, with 6.4 percent and 3.7 percent of men reporting decreases in libido and a reduced ejaculation volume, respectively.
Other finasteride side effects, such as breast tenderness and rash, were reported by less than one percent of men who used finasteride in clinical trials.
Causes Of Hair Loss In Men
Men can experience baldness or hair loss for different reasons.
While there are many causes of hair loss, the most likely cause is genetics. Finding out whether hair loss is due to genetics or another factor can help a doctor determine the best course of treatment.
Male pattern baldness is a hereditary condition and the most common cause of male baldness. It can start as early as puberty or develop much later in life. It often occurs gradually and in predictable patterns, affecting the temples and the front of the middle of the scalp.
Most often, a man will be left with a horseshoe pattern of hair. Heredity affects how fast, at what age, and to what extent someone will experience baldness.
Men with male pattern baldness inherit hair that is sensitive to DHT, the hormone that can shorten the lifespan of the individual hair follicles.
Some of the other more common causes of hair loss for men include:
Some less common causes of hair loss include:
- Radiation treatment: If a man receives any sort of radiation treatment near the scalp, the hair may fall out and grow back in a different way than before.
- Hairstyles or treatments: Wearing hair in ways that pull it excessively or treating it with oils and color can cause permanent hair loss.
- Natural triggers:Stress, childbirth, fever, surgery, or extreme trauma may result in loss of hair. Often, the thinning will reverse when the triggering event is over.
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Or Embracing Hair Loss
If you dont find a suitable or appealing option for hair loss treatment over time, its also worthwhile to reflect on how many balding or totally bald men have become iconic sex symbols. In fact, for men who embrace it, baldness can act as an impressive signal of confidence rather than a source of damage to self-esteem.
So if you can embrace or celebrate baldness as a new phase in your life maybe finding a new hairstyle, or swapping out the hair on your head for some stylish or distinguished facial hair then this is another viable path in approaching hair loss. Its certainly the cheapest.
Whatever you choose, remember: you are the master of your hair. All you need to do is choose the path that feels best to you and then move forward confidently. Waiting is the only bad course of action. The best time to decide is now.
Hair Cycle Dynamics And Androgenetic Alopecia
Hair is lost and replaced cyclically. Follicles undergo corresponding cyclic phases of growth, involution, quiescence and regeneration . The growth phase lasts for 3-5 years . As hair elongation is relatively constant at 1 cm per month, the duration of the growth phase is the primary determinant of the final hair length. At the end of anagen the involutional phase lasts for a few weeks. The period of hair follicle quiescence that follows lasts approximately 3 months . Hair follicle regeneration occurs in approximately the first week of anagen and once regenerated, the anagen phase continues until the hair reaches its final length.
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Why Does Hair Loss Happen
Before we can get into the finer details of treating hair loss, its important to cover the basics of how and why male hair loss happens in the first place.
Luckily, the biological mechanism behind male pattern baldness isnt too complex. In fact, it all comes down to two factors: your genetics and the effects of an androgen hormone referred to as dihydrotestosterone, or DHT.
DHT is a hormone thats produced by your body as a of testosterone. Before youre born, DHT plays a vital role in forming the male genitals. During puberty, its one of several key hormones responsible for the development of male secondary sexual characteristics.
In short, you can thank DHT for a variety of things that make you, well, a man — from your voice to things like body hair and your Adams apple.
Unfortunately, DHT can also affect your hair. If youre genetically sensitive to DHT, it can target the hair follicles around the hairline and the crown of your scalp, causing them to shrink.
Over time, the hair follicles affected by DHT gradually stop producing new hairs, resulting in a receding hairline or thinning hair. For women, the equivalent type of hair loss — female pattern hair loss — usually causes diffuse hair loss around the part line.
Not everyone is equally sensitive to DHT. People whose hair is resistant to DHT can maintain a full or nearly full head of hair well into old age. On the other hand, people who are very sensitive to DHT can go completely bald in their 20s or 30s.