Technological and Natural Hair Loss Remedies for Men and Women

From a laser comb to rubbing coffee on your head, here is a hair loss treatment guide for male and female hair loss.

Around ten million men and eight million women in the UK suffer from hair loss. According to a new study, the prospect of going bald upsets the average male more than the idea of going bankrupt or never finding a partner.

Even Prince William is said to be worried by his thinning hair, with recent reports claiming he is trying laser therapy to thicken his locks.

The causes of hair loss vary. Men often suffer from the hereditary condition male pattern baldness, while in women the cause is commonly hormonal imbalances caused by menopause or having a baby.

We all shed around 125 hair shafts a day. Once a hair is shed, the follicle then goes into a rest period, before a new hair starts to regrow from the root within 120 days.

However, when someone is balding, this regrowth does not happen.

Only one treatment is available as private prescription for male hair loss: finasteride tablets. This is suitable for those who have thinning hair—but not those who have already gone completely bald. It is said to work in 88 percent of cases. But experts warn it is not suitable for everyone and may produce side effects such as impotence.

Many people are not prepared to take a powerful drug for cosmetic purposes and we’re now being bombarded with advertisements for high street hair-growth products—from caffeine shampoo to supplements— all claiming to slow hair loss or even boost hair regrowth.

So do any of them work?

A consultant trichologist, a hair loss expert from hair clinics, or a hair transplant surgeon can provide you a review of a selection of reliable hair loss treatment options. The causes and treatments for hair loss widely vary from one individual to another; hence, the effects and effectiveness of opted treatments can also differ. With the help of an expert, however, you can most likely arrive at an apt treatment for you.

Ways to Prevent Further Hair Loss and Achieve Natural Hair Regrowth

Do you want to regrow hair naturally? Hair loss is a condition that is unwanted by everyone. So what if you are faced with hair loss in your life for some reason? Baldness results when renewal of hair growth is unequal to shedding of hair. It is a natural process for hair to shed, thin, or turn gray with age, but there are measures that can be taken to prevent such conditions.

A survey found that hair loss is common in people who eat more fat, meat, butter-fried foods, honey, and frequent consumption of carbonated and alcoholic drinks. These foods lack the nutrients required for hair growth and negatively affect hair follicle nutrition. In addition, excessive alcohol consumption often leads to gastrointestinal disorders, affecting the absorption of protein, vitamins, and minerals needed for hair growth.

Vitamins are a big part of home remedy for natural hair regrowth. You can take vitamin B6 as one of those vitamins. Vitamin C is another antioxidant that helps maintain healthy hair and skin. For vitamin C, ingestion of foods such as citrus, kiwi, pineapple, tomato, green pepper, potatoes, and dark green vegetables can give you desirable results of hair regrowth. Vitamin A is important for overall good health. It is also useful in keeping hair follicles healthy because it keeps the hair lubricated.

Eating a diet filled with fruits, vegetables, protein, and fat is one of natural ways to regrow hair. Some type of dietary deficiency is will show up first in your hair; when the body is under stress, it can affect the appearance and health of hair. Not only does eating well give a lot of nutrients that the hair needs but also a protein-rich diet ensures that your hair is strong and lasts longer. So make sure you eat at least one egg a day to make your hair grow well and quickly.

Alopecia Areata: Further Facts about Hair Loss

The lock of hair has an average duration of 2–6 years. Each strand grows about 1cm per month during this time. Approximately 90 percent of the hair on the scalp grows at a time. The remaining 10 percent at any time, is in the resting phase. About 2 or 3 months off, the hair falls out and the new part is developed in its place.

What is hair loss?

Alopecia is the scientific term for hair loss. There are three types of hair loss: areata, totalis and universalis. Areata is a form of hair loss in areas of the body, usually the scalp. It’s the kind of bald spots or patches on the scalp. It can only be on a certain area of the scalp. One to two percent of people with areata have experienced the condition to progress to alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis.

Alopecia totalis, better known as baldness, is characterized by the loss of all hair on the scalp. The reasons are still unclear, but it has been associated with autoimmune disease and said to have been caused by stress.

Alopecia universalis is a medical disorder in which the patient is unable to grow hair all over his/her body. This condition can begin at any age.

What causes hair loss?

Many factors can contribute to abnormal or severe hair loss.

Three or four months after major surgery or illness, you may notice a large patch of hair loss. This hair loss may be related to stress and anxiety caused by the state and is probably temporary.

Hormonal disorders can cause hair loss. If you have hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, the hair may fall. This hair loss can be corrected with a treatment for thyroid problems. Hair loss can also occur if male or female hormones are not balanced. Correcting hormonal imbalances may stop or reduce hair loss.

Most women notice hair loss after three months from delivery or childbirth. This is due to the fact that the woman’s body returns to pre-pregnancy state, and causes extra hair removed.

There are also medications that can cause hair loss. Drugs such as anticoagulants, gout treatment medications and drugs used in chemotherapy to cure cancer, too much vitamin A and the pill antidepressants can cause or aggravate hair loss.

Some infections can cause hair loss. Fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss, too. And finally, loss of hair can be a side effect of underlying diseases such as lupus or diabetes.

How can I treat alopecia?

The most cost-effective means to minimize hair loss is to reduce stress. Some forms of hair loss were caused by stress and anxiety. Your doctors will ask for the diet and medications you are having or if you recently had a disease. From this, your doctor can determine the apt treatment for you. Some medications can help reduce or even stop abnormal hair loss.

If rest and medication do not help reduce your hair loss, you may consider trying different hairstyles to cover bald spots or wear wigs, hairpieces, toupees or even undergo surgery.

This surgery is known as the hair transplant surgery. This method provides a long-term solution to your problem of hair loss. This transfer of hair from hair-growing areas to bald patches entails a lot of money and significant risks. For some, it’s deemed to be the best solution for hair loss problems, although it can be very expensive.

Hair loss is not something we should just forget or ignore. It may serve as a sign of hidden diseases you may have. When you find large amounts of shed hair, you should contact your dermatologist and get your scalp checked in order to act on the problem immediately.

Hair Loss Studies: Getting Closer to a Cure for Baldness

Men and women struggle with hair loss, and finding the cure is akin to the holy grail of dermatology. Despite countless studies and an array of prescription drugs and over-the-counter products that aim to treat hair loss, exciting new research points to defective stem cells as the cause of baldness.

A study by dermatologist and University of Pennsylvania researcher Dr. George Cotsarelis has found that bald people have less of a certain type of stem cell that instructs hairs on how to grow. As a result, bald men produce hairs so small in balding areas that they are invisible.

The current belief is that baldness is caused by the destruction of hair follicles, mainly by testosterone. Cotsarelis found that balding men actually have the same number of stem cells as men with full heads of hair, but the lack of a certain type of mature stem cell causes hair follicles to shrink instead. This is good news in terms of treatments for baldness, since the hope of reactivating the stem cells may be able to prompt hair regrowth.

It’s long been believed that there’s a connection between genetics and hair loss—and this belief still stands. Researchers have identified two genetic markers for hair loss, and one in seven men has both of them. One gene is responsible for testosterone binding to the hair follicle and is inherited from the mother, while the other gene is inherited from both parents. This explains the similarities between balding patterns of fathers and sons. Together, these two genes significantly increase the risk of baldness, and testing may one day be able to reveal one’s predisposition to hair loss. Researchers could then develop creams or pills that could prevent hair loss in the first place.

Current treatments for hair loss focus on the effect that testosterone has on hair follicles. Drugs like Propecia decrease the amount of testosterone that reaches the hair follicle, which has been shown to at least slow down the rate of hair loss. But testosterone is not the cause of balding in women, which is why this new stem cell discovery seems to make sense.

The big question is how to reactivate these stem cells in an effort to regrow hair. Ultimately, the magic bullet would be a cream applied to the scalp to help stem cells grow normal hair. But don’t think you can run out and buy a cream that claims to awaken stem cells today. This “cure” for baldness is still years away, but knowledge is power and we’re on our way.