Sunday, 26 July 2009

Hair Loss Treatments for Men and Women

There are no fool proofed hair loss treatments but there are medications and topical solutions that worked and are still working for many sufferers. Some of which are listed in this article.

But since the needs of males are by nature, different from that of the females, it is just proper to provide specific hair loss treatments for both sexes. Therefore, we divide this article into two sections: the men's treatments and the women's treatments.


Men's Hair Loss Treatments
For the past several years, advancements on the technologies used in male hair loss prevention have taken even longer strides, thus producing surgical hair restoration for replacing lost hair and two FDA approved medications for hair loss namely Propecia and Minoxidil.

Propecia – Originally intended for enlarged prostate gland treatment, Propecia has made history by becoming the very first drug that could actually help men with androgenic alopecia. It works by preventing the DHT or dihydrotestosterone from miniaturizing the hair follicles which then makes the scalp bald.

Minoxidil – If Propecia is to androgenic alopecia, Minoxidil is for male-pattern baldness treatment. It was originally administered to high blood patients. However intriguing side effects such as hair growth on the cheeks, chin and sometime seven the forehead moved the researchers to divert the use of the pill for hair restoration and air loss prevention.


Women's Hair loss Treatments
Most physicians are reluctant to prescribed systemic treatments for female patients of baldness as drugs that are usually used for male patients alter the normal androgen level in the female body. Due to this, topical treatments are usually prescribed.

Treatments are best used right after the onset of the hair loss because prolonged delay could cause so many of the hair follicles to become weak, thus unable to support the needs of the hair strands. However, even after prolonged androgenic alopecia, the use of anti-androgens could still prove to be effective by promoting minimal hair growth and further prevention of hair loss but this effect is limited only to those hair follicles that have remained dormant.

Topical treatments for hair loss among women include Minoxidil which works by stimulating the hair follicles to create similar effects as with those occurring among men who are undergoing systemic treatment. But since the amount of topical Minoxidil is very minimal, the side effects that could be derived due to imbalances of the normal androgen level in the female body are too small.

Another method of preventing hair loss among women is by using androgen receptor inhibitors such as Aldactone, Cimetidine, Cyproterone Acetate, hormone replacement therapy, Ketoconazole, oral contraceptives, and even Propecia.

Aldactone is a water pill which works by reducing the amount of fluid in the body without having to reduce its potassium level. It slows down the androgens found in the ovaries and adrenal glands. Cimetidine, on the other hand, is a histamine blocker and Cyproterone Acetate is used to treat hirsuitism among women. All these work by blocking the shrinking of the hair follicles by preventing the DHT from binding its receptor sites found in the human scalp.

It is important to note that while on a hair loss treatment, all instructions and actual prescriptions by the doctors are followed. Misuse, stoppage of use and overuse might only lead to adverse conditions that could sometimes be irreversible.

1 comment:

  1. does Generic Viagra improve hair loss ? and if use it combined with propecia can be dangerous ?

    ReplyDelete