Common Causes and Treatments for Hair Loss

Millions of men throughout the world are suffering from hair loss. If you yourself are one of those men, then it is likely that you fully understand just how upsetting and frustrating hair loss can be. Do not allow yourself to get too down! Take solace in the fact that you are not alone and do what needs to be done to protect your hair and prevent future hair loss.

In the past, there was nothing that could be done to stop the progression of male pattern baldness. Men were forced to accept the situation or use wigs and hairpieces. This is no longer the case. There are things that you can do to save your hair. If you are interested in maintaining your hair, read on to learn more.

Male pattern baldness is a genetic condition that causes men to slowly, or sometimes quite rapidly lose the hair on their head. Although there are a number of junk, snake oil products that claim to stop hair loss, there are only two medications that have actually been proven to re-grow scalp hair. The first, Minoxidil, is a topical medication that you apply to the areas of your scalp effected by male pattern baldness. You can apply Minoxidil either once or twice per day. Minoxidil, sold under the name Rogaine, used to be available only with a prescription, but is now sold over the counter. You can walk into any major drug store and pick up a bottle.

When using Minoxidil, it is important that you have realistic expectations. If you are completely bald, it will not work for you. It typically only grows back a small number of hairs and is most effective on the vertex area of your scalp. It is less effective on the hairline. Minoxidil is available in both foam and liquid preparations and takes a few months to work, so you must be patient.

Finasteride, which is sold under the name Propecia, is the other proven-to-be effective hair loss treatment. If you want to stop male pattern baldness, you need to be taking this medication. Finasteride does an amazing job at halting the progression of male pattern hair loss, but is less effective at growing back new hairs. You should begin taking Finasteride as soon as you begin to notice hair loss, the earlier the better.

Finasteride is sold only to people with a doctor's prescription, so you will need to meet with your physician before beginning treatment. Finasteride differs from Minoxidil, in that it is not a topical solution, but a pill that you take once per day. In order to maintain the benefits of Finasteride you must continue to take it daily. If you go off of the medicine, you will eventually lose any new hairs that you have re-grown and the progression of your male pattern hair loss will continue. There is a small chance that you may suffer side-effects from taking Finasteride, so be sure to talk this over with your doctor.

Hair loss is no fun. Fortunately, by taking Finasteride and using Minoxidil, you can stop the progression of male pattern baldness and keep most of your hair. Good luck!

Can A Change In Diet Reverse Hair Loss?

Could restoring your hair to the look and feel it once was be as simple as eating the right foods? Well according to my neighbor it is just as simple as that due to an article he read on the internet.

As we all know everything we read on the internet is true; or maybe not.

The first thing to consider as to whether this simple fix is something the follically challenged should really take seriously has to do with what causes the majority of hair loss cases.

The answer of course is male (90 percent of cases) or female pattern balding (30 percent of cases) which is a genetically linked and hormone driven condition in which the androgen hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) shrinks hair follicles by the tens of thousands.

So, an abundance of DHT translates into less hair with most of the well advanced bald areas being permanent.

Back to my neighbor. Unsolicited he decided to provide me with his miracle formula knowing all the while that I have been successful at holding male pattern baldness at bay for almost 20 years now through a combination of herbs and natural remedies.

Don't get me wrong, over the years I have had my share of hair re-growth failures having tried just about everything imaginable both conventional and unconventional.

For example minoxidil showed promise for a few short weeks then it quite working and scalp sensitivity set in.

Or the time I thought that saw palmetto alone was enough to block DHT and get things going in the right direction.

Or more recently the Chinese all-purpose herb fo-ti didn't deliver the results I was hoping for.

Nevertheless, all in all things have gone better than average over the years and while my hair isn't what it once was it still looks pretty good for someone my age.

So despite my reservations about the ultimate outcome I was willing to give this internet hair loss reversal diet a try just to be a good sport.

*His plan involved breakfast including oatmeal (silicia, iron, magnesium) or whole wheat toast (iron) with a glass of milk (absorbable iodine) for breakfast.

*For lunch there was soy (protein, iron, vitamin E) with chickpeas (zinc, B6).

*Diner included alternating roast beef (B6 and zinc) and cold water fatty fish (vitamins A, biotin, B6, protein, and omega 3 fatty acids).

*And for snacking almonds (iron, biotin, vitamin E, ALA omega 3, protein) and/or oranges (vitamin C).

While it seemed the hassle factor, cost, and realization that this supposedly revolutionary new hair re-growth diet was not only not new but not over weighted in biotin (B7), considered by many to be the most important hair vitamin, I decided to give it a try.

And guess what I didn't see any benefit whatsoever other than slightly improved hair texture.

When you get right down to it if pattern balding is the hair loss problem you are trying to address nutrition alone is likely not the answer. On the other hand, if male or female pattern balding is not present then foods along with vitamin supplements just might be able to play an important role in your restorative efforts.

The focus of whatever treatment you ultimately decide upon must address DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in some form of fashion in order to re-invigorate damaged follicles and bring dead or dying follicles back to life.

Additionally, blocking DHT is also essential to protecting your existing hair, as both male and female pattern balding are progressive.

In conclusion, when it comes to pattern balding the best treatment I have found thus far is a combination of one of a handful of oral herbal DHT blockers combined with a topical hair growth accelerator; of which there are many excellent choices on the market.

Also, re-growing hair, and filling in bald spots, is a challenging task as you are trying to revive severely damaged follicles just below the scalp while trying to protect your healthy hair. This means that it is always better to recognize and attack the problem early on before pattern balding becomes too advanced.