Medications
The second medication is finasteride (Propecia), a prescription pill for men only. (It doesn't help women and can also cause birth defects.) This drug blocks the development of DHT, and it's quite effective if taken daily. About 80 percent will see some new growth. It works best in younger men who are just beginning to lose their hair. Some dermatologists suggest combining finasteride and minoxidil.
Patchy baldness sometimes responds to cortisone creams, injections and pills. If they don't work, your doctor might suggest dithranol cream (Drithocream, Dithrasal) and 5 percent minoxidil, coupled with psoralen and ultraviolet A radiation (PUVA therapy). For hair loss due to ringworm, you may be prescribed an oral antifungal medication such as griseofulvin (Grisovin) or a topical antifungal. If you have trichotillomania, you'll probably start on an antidepressant, such as Prozac, that fights obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and be encouraged to seek counselling.
UNTANGLING HAIR SCAMS
It's the perfect recipe for a rip-off: millions of people losing their hair, willing to collectively spend millions of dollars in desperate attempts to keep it. Enter the hucksters.
You can find bottles of hair tonic at your hairdresser. You can hear slick-surrounding ads on the radio, see amazing promises on TV. You can't swing a short stick on the Internet without finding someone willing to sell you something that is 'guaranteed' to restore your long-lost mane.
There's been wheatgerm oil, vitamin supplements, electrical scalp stimulators--you name it.
A good recent example si the Avacor Hair System in the US, which has consistently been ranked one of the top-selling items on the Net. The cost? More than US$200 for a three-month supply. Trouble is, the company won't tell anyone what's in its product.
In November 2001, the Council of Better Business Bureaus tried to get Global Vision Products, the company that makes Avacor, to substantiate its claims of '90% success rate', and 'guaranteed to start re-growth of hair in bading areas'. What the CBBB go from the company was a sample of the product and a few brochures.
Bottom line: before you rush headlong into spending a bundle on any of these products , ask your doctor or dermatologist if it's worthwhile, if the product works, your doctor will know about it.
How much hair loss is considered normal?
Here's an ironic thing to consider: Your hair is supposed to fall out. It is, after all, dead tissue, comprised of the same protein---called keratin--that makes up your fingernails and toenails.
About 90% of the healthy hair on your head right now is in a four or five year growth period. The other 10% is in a resting phase that lasts to couple of months, then it falls out. For most people, that means 50 to 100 hairs a day are shed. That may sound like a lot, but it's really not when you consider that you had 100,000 hairs on your head in your youth.
Hair loss begins to occur when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth. It also happens when the new air coming in is thinner than the hair you just lost. Many balding people are losing several hundred hairs a day. You'll know if that's you by keeping an eye on what's showing up in your hairbrush.
Procedures
Hair transplantation has been around in some form since the 1950s. But it has come a long way since early attempts, which often created an unnatural hairline and uneven growth, making people look like they had 'doll hair'. These days surgeons take micro-grafts---tiny bits of scalp containing only a few hair follicles--and transplant them to the bare portions of your scalp. These donor hairs come from the sides and back of your head where you hair remains full. Hair transplantation is an option for both men and women. The benefit is that this procedure produces healthy, growing hair. It's expensive, though. And you'll need one every year or two because the rest of the original hair on the top of your head will continue to fall out, leaving bald patches around the transplanted hair.
Hair weaving---a procedure also called hair intensification or hair integration--is a nonsurgical option for people with thinning hair. It's done by weaving human or synthetic hair to your existing locks. But it has some drawbacks: It's expensive, it makes it hard to keep your hair and scalp clean, and it stresses the hair the weaves are attached to, often making it fall out.
Lifestyle changes
Making lifestyle changes usually won't grow back the hair you've already lost, but doing so can help you hang on to what you still have.
Try massaging your scalp daily. Not only does it feel great, it increases blood flow to this area, speeding along nutirents and sloughing off biological waste prodcuts. Be careful not to rub roughly; knead gently but firmly with your fingertips. If you're into more experimental technqiues, consider aromatherapy. It was shown in one study to be helpful for treating alopecia areata, or patchy hair loss. In 1998, clinicians reported in the Archives of Dermatology that 44 percent of study participants with alopecia areata experienced new hair growth after using an aromatherapy oil compound. The researchers used a base of jojoba and grapeseed oils, then mixed in essential oils of lavender, cedarwood, thyme and rosemary, and massaged it on the participants' scalps once a day. If you're unsure how to make such a concoction, see an aromatherapsit. Finally, for men, saw palmetto, a herbal remedy, has been said to affect the conversion of tertesterone to DHT, much like the drug finasteride. Look for a standarised extract of the herbs in tablet or capsule form; take 160 mg twice a day. Don't take it if you're also taking finasteride.
Outlook
It's taken researchers a while to understand some of the mechanisms at work in hereditary hair loss, but they're quickly cracking the code. New drugs are on the horizon, surgical techniques have been greatly refined and scientists are making great strides towards grasping the genetic workings of baldness. They're even delving into cloning healthy hair follicles.
The second medication is finasteride (Propecia), a prescription pill for men only. (It doesn't help women and can also cause birth defects.) This drug blocks the development of DHT, and it's quite effective if taken daily. About 80 percent will see some new growth. It works best in younger men who are just beginning to lose their hair. Some dermatologists suggest combining finasteride and minoxidil.
Patchy baldness sometimes responds to cortisone creams, injections and pills. If they don't work, your doctor might suggest dithranol cream (Drithocream, Dithrasal) and 5 percent minoxidil, coupled with psoralen and ultraviolet A radiation (PUVA therapy). For hair loss due to ringworm, you may be prescribed an oral antifungal medication such as griseofulvin (Grisovin) or a topical antifungal. If you have trichotillomania, you'll probably start on an antidepressant, such as Prozac, that fights obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and be encouraged to seek counselling.
UNTANGLING HAIR SCAMS
It's the perfect recipe for a rip-off: millions of people losing their hair, willing to collectively spend millions of dollars in desperate attempts to keep it. Enter the hucksters.
You can find bottles of hair tonic at your hairdresser. You can hear slick-surrounding ads on the radio, see amazing promises on TV. You can't swing a short stick on the Internet without finding someone willing to sell you something that is 'guaranteed' to restore your long-lost mane.
There's been wheatgerm oil, vitamin supplements, electrical scalp stimulators--you name it.
A good recent example si the Avacor Hair System in the US, which has consistently been ranked one of the top-selling items on the Net. The cost? More than US$200 for a three-month supply. Trouble is, the company won't tell anyone what's in its product.
In November 2001, the Council of Better Business Bureaus tried to get Global Vision Products, the company that makes Avacor, to substantiate its claims of '90% success rate', and 'guaranteed to start re-growth of hair in bading areas'. What the CBBB go from the company was a sample of the product and a few brochures.
Bottom line: before you rush headlong into spending a bundle on any of these products , ask your doctor or dermatologist if it's worthwhile, if the product works, your doctor will know about it.
How much hair loss is considered normal?
Here's an ironic thing to consider: Your hair is supposed to fall out. It is, after all, dead tissue, comprised of the same protein---called keratin--that makes up your fingernails and toenails.
About 90% of the healthy hair on your head right now is in a four or five year growth period. The other 10% is in a resting phase that lasts to couple of months, then it falls out. For most people, that means 50 to 100 hairs a day are shed. That may sound like a lot, but it's really not when you consider that you had 100,000 hairs on your head in your youth.
Hair loss begins to occur when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth. It also happens when the new air coming in is thinner than the hair you just lost. Many balding people are losing several hundred hairs a day. You'll know if that's you by keeping an eye on what's showing up in your hairbrush.
Procedures
Hair transplantation has been around in some form since the 1950s. But it has come a long way since early attempts, which often created an unnatural hairline and uneven growth, making people look like they had 'doll hair'. These days surgeons take micro-grafts---tiny bits of scalp containing only a few hair follicles--and transplant them to the bare portions of your scalp. These donor hairs come from the sides and back of your head where you hair remains full. Hair transplantation is an option for both men and women. The benefit is that this procedure produces healthy, growing hair. It's expensive, though. And you'll need one every year or two because the rest of the original hair on the top of your head will continue to fall out, leaving bald patches around the transplanted hair.
Hair weaving---a procedure also called hair intensification or hair integration--is a nonsurgical option for people with thinning hair. It's done by weaving human or synthetic hair to your existing locks. But it has some drawbacks: It's expensive, it makes it hard to keep your hair and scalp clean, and it stresses the hair the weaves are attached to, often making it fall out.
Lifestyle changes
Making lifestyle changes usually won't grow back the hair you've already lost, but doing so can help you hang on to what you still have.
- Don't smoke. Smoking has long been associated with skin disorders and may even cause early balding in some people. An Italian study in 2000 found that mice exposed to three months of cigarette smoke loss lots of hair and turned prematuerly grey.
- Wash hair with care. Highly alkaline shampoos can make a mess of your scalp over time and potentially cause hair to thin. Try baby shampoo or a voluminising shampoo that adds protein to hair shafts, making them look thicker. Pat your hair dry afterwards.
- Treat hair tenderly. Minimise bleaching, curling and straightening, and stay away from tight ponytails and braids. Use a wide-tooth comb on your hair and don't overbrush.
- Avoid chlorinated pools. Depending on the levels of chlorine, pool water can be more alkaline than the harshest shampoo.
- Eat a balanced diet. Choose lots of fish, poultry, fruit and vegetables. Avoid fatty foods and red meat where possible because these can boost testosterone levels, making DHT levels jump.
- The US FDA recently approved a drug called dutasteride for the treatment of enlarged prostates. Some preliminary studies suggest that it might also be as good as, or better than, finasteride baldness. It's in further trials now as a hair loss treatment.
- A drug that's long been used to reduce inflammation may have a new life as a treatment for patchy hair loss (alopeica areata). In a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, about half of the patients who took sulfa-salazine (Salazopryin) experienced partial or total regrowth of their hair.
Try massaging your scalp daily. Not only does it feel great, it increases blood flow to this area, speeding along nutirents and sloughing off biological waste prodcuts. Be careful not to rub roughly; knead gently but firmly with your fingertips. If you're into more experimental technqiues, consider aromatherapy. It was shown in one study to be helpful for treating alopecia areata, or patchy hair loss. In 1998, clinicians reported in the Archives of Dermatology that 44 percent of study participants with alopecia areata experienced new hair growth after using an aromatherapy oil compound. The researchers used a base of jojoba and grapeseed oils, then mixed in essential oils of lavender, cedarwood, thyme and rosemary, and massaged it on the participants' scalps once a day. If you're unsure how to make such a concoction, see an aromatherapsit. Finally, for men, saw palmetto, a herbal remedy, has been said to affect the conversion of tertesterone to DHT, much like the drug finasteride. Look for a standarised extract of the herbs in tablet or capsule form; take 160 mg twice a day. Don't take it if you're also taking finasteride.
Outlook
It's taken researchers a while to understand some of the mechanisms at work in hereditary hair loss, but they're quickly cracking the code. New drugs are on the horizon, surgical techniques have been greatly refined and scientists are making great strides towards grasping the genetic workings of baldness. They're even delving into cloning healthy hair follicles.
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