Q&A: What are some good products that actually work for hair loss/baldness for men?
Posted by: in Hair Loss TipsQuestion by sassy_lexa: What are some good products that actually work for hair loss/baldness for men?
There is hair loss in the front of the head and wondering if anyone knows of effective products or specialists to see to target that problem.
Best answer:
Answer by sun_light02
Male pattern baldness, also known by its uglier and scarier clinical name androgenetic alopecia , is caused by some really funky chemistry on your scalp. It starts with testosterone, the male sex hormone. Harmless on its own, testosterone gets converted to the dicey dihydrotestosterone (DHT) when in contact with oil glands in the hair follicles. These glands hold the enzyme Type II 5-alpha reductase. DHT, in turn, gets in your scalp follicles and shrinks them. At the same time, it makes the protective membrane of the scalp thicken, restricting blood flow to the capillaries. This makes further hair growth impossible. The hairs fall out at a natural rate, but aren’t replaced. And that’s it in a nutshell.
PRODUCTS:
Finasteride (Propecia)
Finasteride, produced by Merck and Company under the name Propecia, was approved by the FDA in December 1997, as a treatment for male pattern baldness. It is the first drug available in pill form for the treatment of baldness.
In men with mild to moderate hair loss, clinical trials showed that 83 percent of the male patients had kept their hair or grown more after one year of treatment. Propecia (finasteride) works by blocking an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase, which is responsible for the formation of dihydro-testosterone in a man’s body. The enzyme converts testosterone to DHT (dihydrotestosterone). It is believed that DHT is a key factor in male pattern hair loss, and finasteride decreases the concentration of DHT in a man’s scalp by about two-thirds.
minoxidil (Rogaine):
Minoxidil, a drug produced by Upjohn under the name of Rogaine, has been available since 1988 for the treatment of hair loss. It is currently available as an over-the-counter drug.
Minoxidil is topical solution that must be applied by applicator or fingers to the balding area twice a day, every day. Decreasing the dosage to once a day results in some hair loss, and discontinuing application causes regression to pretreatment baldness within 3 to 6 weeks. It can take 4 to 12 months to see results.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), clinical studies show that 26 percent of men between 18 and 49 reported moderate to dense hair regrowth after four months of Rogaine treatment. An additional 33 percent had minimal hair regrowth. Almost 20 percent of women between 18 and 45 had moderate regrowth, while an additional 40 percent showed minimal regrowth.
Surgical hair replacement:
When experiencing thinning hair or baldness, men (and some women) consider hair transplantation, a permanent form of hair replacement. Anyone who has permanent hair loss may be a candidate for hair transplantation, including:
men with male pattern baldness
some women with thinning hair
persons who have lost hair as a result of burns or other scarring injuries to the scalp, eyebrows, or eyelashes.
Types of hair replacement surgery:
There are a number of techniques used in hair replacement surgery. Sometimes two or more techniques are used to achieve the best results.
punch grafts – usually contain about 10-15 hairs
mini-grafts – contain about 2 to 4 hairs
micro-grafts – contain 1 to 2 hairs
slit grafts – contain about 4 to10 hairs each
strip grafts – contain 30-40 hairs
Good luck!
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