Five Easy Ways to Stop Hair Loss

Chain jumped the sprocket, Rt. 66 – Virginia

Image by David Clow – Maryland

Five Easy Ways to Stop Hair Loss

Hair loss is a topic that many people don’t want to discuss. For others it doesn’t matter, and they are happy with what happens to their hair. Women who are experiencing hair loss may have their stylist cut their hair in a way that when they curl it or put it in a perm, the loss is not noticeable. Then you see men who have a bald spot on their head where no hair grows, and they do everything they can to pull hair from other areas of their head to cover it. No matter which category you fall into, or if you even have a perfect head of hair, knowing how to prevent, reverse, or stop hair loss is something you should understand.

Shampoo Can a good shampoo be used as a remedy for hair loss? Some shampoos claim to provide the answer to the secret. Although it is understandable that the bald guys of the world will not wash a shiny head one night and wake up the next day with a full head of hair, certain ingredients in brand name shampoos for hair loss can truly optimize the health of the scalp. Some brands worth looking into are Nioxin© and Revita©, and for consumers who are concerned about using harsh chemicals, both brands have products containing high percentages of naturally-based compounds.

Prescription medications You’ve no doubt heard of Rogaine© or Propecia©, both of which have been proven in clinical studies to re-grow hair. Rogaine is the brand name of Minoxidil, and re-grows hair by methods that are not quite clear to scientists. Propecia© is the brand name for Finasteride which works by inhibiting the hair follicles’ negative reaction to DHT (dihydrotestosterone), a hormone that is created by the metabolism of testosterone. Male pattern baldness is believed to be caused by the follicles reacting negatively to the presence of DHT, resulting in less growth. (Note: Women should never use Finasteride, but Minoxidil is a successful hair loss treatment for women.)

Laser Treatments If you look around, you will find many laser hair loss treatments on the market today. Hand-held laser devices and even specialized laser combs are available in a wide variety of styles and price ranges for individual consumers. There are also scores of hair treatment centers that utilize much larger laser units under which patrons are prescribed to sit for a specified length of time. These units work by using low-level infrared lights that heat the scalp, causing increased blood flow to the follicles and causing scalp tissues to regenerate.

Hair Transplant Surgery This method is the most expensive. Healthy, active hair follicles are located on the sides and back of the head called the donor areas. Typically containing between one and four hairs each, individual grafts are removed and physically relocated to the areas of the head containing few actively growing follicles, typically on the crown or top of the head. While the initial transplant may shock the follicles and cause immediate hair loss of the transplanted follicles, there is usually significant re-growth within about a year.