Hair Loss - Tips for Success

Summary:
Learn how to get the most out of any hair loss product.  By following these simple guidelines, you can make any hair loss treatment more effective.



Billions of dollars will be spent on hair loss solutions this year. Much of this money will go to waste. Ineffective products and misleading advertising are only partially to blame.  Many consumers are not using these hair loss products in an effective way. Fortunately there are a few simple ways that consumers can increase their chance of success. Following these guidelines will ensure that your money does not go to waste:

Start a Journal

People usually try several different hair loss products before they find something that works for them. Many use two or more products simultaneously. Keeping track of all this information can be frustrating and difficult. The best way to figure out what is working is to keep a journal detailing your progress. You should record all relevant information about the treatment process: when you started, the dosage, cost, and any side effects you experience. This documentation will tell you which products are effective, which ones are not, and allow you to make changes as you see fit.

Take Pictures

Noticing small changes in your hairline over time is extremely difficult. Taking pictures on a regular basis is the most effective ways to track your progress. Always photograph your head from the same angle, in similar lighting conditions. Use a digital camera for best results, most will automatically record the date and time for you. When combined with a treatment journal, these photos provide an invaluable tool that will allow you to judge the effectiveness of products you use.

Do Your Homework

The Internet is flooded with products claiming to cure and treat hair loss. Finding out which ones are legitimate can be a difficult task. When researching products online, beware of those that sound too good to be true. If the company has before and after pictures, examine them closely. If the images were shot from different angles, or in different lighting, be suspicious. These techniques are common camera tricks used to fool the eye, and the consumer. When a company claims their product has a "98% success rate", look for documentation of their clinical study. If the clinical information they provide is vague, or even missing altogether, be wary.

If you follow these steps during your treatment, your chances of success are excellent. One last tip  - any successful regimen requires dedication. Whatever the treatment is, carefully follow the instructions from your doctor or the product manufacturer.

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Hair Loss: The Causes and Misconception of Male Pattern Baldness

Summary:
There is a lot of false information about male pattern baldness today. This article clears up the misconceptions about hair loss and describes treatments available.

There are roughly 80 million men and women in the world suffering from hair loss. In humans, it is caused by a number of different factors. Male pattern baldness is the most common form of hair loss and is estimated to affect 90 percent of men by age 50. That said, pattern baldness (or natural hair loss) isn’t specific to men; women suffer from female pattern baldness as well.

WHY PEOPLE LOSE THEIR HAIR
Male pattern baldness (clinically known as androgenetic alopecia) is the most common reason for hair loss.  It’s related to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a naturally occurring hormone present in all men. DHT has a detrimental affect on the hair follicles. It slows down hair production and causes new hairs to be shorter and weaker than usual. The hormone can even completely stop hair growth, gradually depleting your stock of hair. There are a number of other reasons why people go bald, including other forms of alopecia, the treatment of terminal illnesses and diet, just to name a few. Surgical hair loss treatments like Bosley are most commonly used to regrow hair loss caused by male pattern baldness.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HAIR LOSS
By default, men typically blame mom for hair loss, as it was widely understood that hair loss is simply inherited from their mother’s side.  This is just one of a number of common hair loss misconceptions:

  - Hair loss is inherited from your mother’s father — Not true. Baldness is inherited, but from both your mother's and father's genes.
  - Hair loss slows and eventually stops as you age — Not true. Hair loss is a progressive trait that doesn't stop; in fact, it gets worse with age.
  - Hats or helmets can cause hair loss — Not true. Wearing something on your head has no effect on hair loss. Although hairpieces and weaves that pull and strain your hair may cause traction alopecia.
  - Brushing or massaging the scalp reduces hair loss — There isn't sufficient evidence to conclude that brushing or massaging the scalp prevents or reduces hair loss.
  - Too much sun causes hair loss — Not true. Though excessive sun exposure is damaging to your hair, there isn’t evidence to conclude that it causes permanent hair loss.
HAIR LOSS TREATMENT
As previously stated, there are various hair loss treatments, which have been proven to stop hair loss, and in some cases even regrow lost hair. Of the non-surgical hair treatments, Propecia and Minoxidil seem to be effective with a significant number of people. New, alternative methods of laser treatments have also been developed.  First, there was the LaserComb, which employs low-level laser light technology to coerce hair follicles to regenerate.  The handheld device requires people to spend 20 minutes a day running the comb through their hair.  Recently, the technology has been further developed, evolving into a more effective, less intensive treatment.  In the new laser treatment, a laser light helmet is used to aim high concentrations of laser light at affected areas of the scalp.

If you, however, have already experienced significant male pattern baldness and are looking to naturally and permanently cover your bald spot, then hair restoration surgery might be your best bet.

HAIR RESTORATION
Over the past century, hair restoration has become one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries among men and women alike. There’s a plethora of hair restoration surgeons in the United States, many of which provide their patients with stellar results.

Hair restoration surgery involves transplanting hair follicles from the donor areas of the head—typically the back and sides—to the bald or thinning areas. These are called grafts.  Each graft can contain between 1 to 4 hairs.  Because the donor hairs are from areas of the head that are not prone to balding, they are considered permanent when transplanted to balding areas, such as the scalp.  The result is often a permanent, natural looking head of hair.

BattleAgainstBald.com follows real hair restoration patients as they restore their natural hairlines with Bosley procedures. Torrance and Seth are the Battle Against Bald’s Bosley patients and in addition to their weekly entries detailing the updates of their Bosley procedures, the blog provides a wealth of comprehensive information on hair loss, its causes and the methods used to combat it.

It has been nine months since Seth’s Bosley hair restoration and it’s official, he has more hair. Seth wanted to improve the appearance of his hair and restore a more youthful hairline, which he was able to achieve through just one Bosley procedure. Most hair restoration patients don’t start to see results until 3-5 months after the procedure. It has been four months since Torrance’s Bosley procedure and he’s beginning to see signs of hair after years of male pattern baldness.
Battle Against Bald is a blog that is sponsored by Bosley that speaks to those who are struggling with hair loss and are interested in hair restoration.

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Don’t Lose Hair

Summary:
Men and hair loss seems always to have been a losing combination. Although male pattern hair loss is very common—two out of three men will experience it—and is hardly ever associated with serious health risks, it’s hard to imagine a common condition that is met with more anxiety.

Men and hair loss seems always to have been a losing combination. Although male pattern hair loss is very common—two out of three men will experience it—and is hardly ever associated with serious health risks, it’s hard to imagine a common condition that is met with more anxiety. But much of the stigma surrounding male hair loss is due to half-truths and exaggerations. So if you start noticing there’s not as much hair up there, don’t pull out the rest of it in worry—take our quiz below and learn what’s going on with your body and how you can slow the follicle fallout.

If you’re losing hair, it’s male pattern baldness.

False. It’s true that for 95 percent of men who lose their hair, male pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, is the culprit. With this condition, an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, a hormone that causes hair follicles to shut down hair production. Male pattern baldness can begin appearing in men in their 20s and usually progresses slowly from the front or apex of the scalp, or both.

But male pattern baldness is not the only cause of male hair loss—and it’s important to talk to your physician or dermatologist to determine the cause, because it can point to certain health problems. For example, if your hair is falling out quickly and in small patches, it may be a sign of alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks the hair. Stress can also lead to rapid hair loss. In these cases, the hair usually regrows after several months. Other causes include a severe ailment or major surgery; protein, vitamin B, or iron deficiencies; medication complications; or thyroid disease.

It’s your mother’s fault.

False. Male pattern baldness is a largely genetic characteristic that can be inherited from either your mother or your father. It’s even possible to acquire the hair-loss gene from both parents. In fact, the same gene also causes hair loss in women, although because of hormonal differences, women tend to lose their hair in small amounts all over their scalp.

There’s hope.

True. Here’s the good news: In many cases, male pattern baldness can be treated. In the early stages, many conventional physicians prescribe either minoxidil lotion, applied topically, or finasteride, taken orally. These medications have been shown to slow hair loss in many patients and, in some cases, cause hair to grow back. According to Robert Brodell, MD, professor of internal medicine in the dermatology section at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, complications associated with both drugs are minimal, but there are downsides. Not only are the medications expensive, but they only work for as long as you take them. “I tell my patients that they are going to be on one of those medicines for 5 years or 10 years or 15 years, until they are married and have kids and don’t care anymore,” says Brodell. “And then when they stop their medicine, we fully expect them to start losing their hair again.” Great strides are being made in the field of hair transplants, but like any invasive therapy, these procedures are expensive and time-consuming and should not be undertaken lightly.

If surgery or drug therapies aren’t for you, a number of naturopathic remedies might offer similar results—without the high cost. Keith F. Zeitlin, ND, a naturopathic physician with a private practice in Connecticut, recommends the herbs saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) and stinging nettle root (Urtica dioica), and the supplement beta-sitosterol, which all appear to work similarly to conventional medicines by shutting down the enzyme 5-alpha reductase’s creation of dihydrotestosterone, the hormone that ceases hair production. “If we can inhibit that enzyme, we can actually inhibit hair loss,” says Zeitlin. (For more information, see “Herbs and Supplements for Hair Loss,” below.)

Another option is mesotherapy, a treatment in which very short needles are used to inject homeopathic remedies; vitamins such as biotin; or conventional medicines such as minoxidil just underneath the surface of the scalp. “The skin is used as a natural time-release system,” says practitioner Harry Adelson, ND, a Utah-based pain-medicine specialist. “Whatever it is you are injecting remains in the area for up to a week and continually penetrates down into the deeper tissue.”

You can live a hair-healthy lifestyle.

True. Although there’s no apparent validity to the old wives’ tales that sexual activity or excessive hat wearing can cause hair loss, other lifestyle choices may indeed hurt your hair. In fact, it might make more sense to keep that hat on; a study conducted at the University Hospital of Zurich in Switzerland proposed that ultraviolet rays from the sun might injure hair follicles (Dermatology, 2003, vol. 207, no. 4). How you clean and care for your hair may also be a factor in hair loss. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, too many chemical treatments such as dying, straightening, and bleaching, as well as excessive washing, towel drying, and brushing, may weaken or damage your hair, causing it to break or fall out.

Those worried about hair loss should also reevaluate their diets. Zeitlin warns that very large doses of vitamin A can lead to vitamin A toxicity and eventual hair loss. He recommends his patients replace vitamin A-rich foods and saturated fats, which may also encourage hair loss, with green vegetables, whole grains, essential fatty acids, and other foods rich in hair-healthy vitamins and minerals such as zinc. What you drink may also play a role: According to a 2003 study, alcohol consumption may aggravate hair loss (British Journal of Dermatology, 2003, vol. 149, no. 6).

Hair loss is a bad thing.

False. Let’s not forget the cheapest, easiest, and safest treatment for male pattern hair loss: doing nothing at all. After all, hair loss is not usually a health concern and, despite what our culture may sometimes suggest, there’s nothing wrong with showing a little skin—on your head, that is. After all, look at Patrick Stewart, Bruce Willis, and Sean Connery. “I certainly wouldn’t recommend that anybody have their male pattern baldness treated who isn’t bothered by it,” says Brodell. “I’m losing my hair, and I’m not using any of these treatments.”

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