Types of treatment
I am going to repost a recent post of mine:
FACTS ABOUT HAIRLOSS
from Boolean
Hello,
don't know why I am writing this short manual now, I will just type what rambles through my head.
Lets face it: more than 50 percent of men suffer from substantial hairloss in course of their life, and those who lose their hair early (in their 20ies and 30ies) often do not know what to do.
First let me state that hair loss is not the end of life, many men are ok with it, so we come to option one:
* Let your hair fall out. If you get bald, dont look insecure by letting the hair grow and comb it over the bald areas. With a balding or bald head, only two combinations look good: very short hair or a completely shaven head. For the latter, it does not hurt to have a muscular body, because with a good body, even a bald former nerd can look good. And tan your skin, tanned baldness can look quite good.
Secondly, if you want to stop hairloss or even would like to regrow some lost hair, there are only a few options. Please do not fall for some herbal mixture or chinese hairwonder or something else. Only 2 medications on the market actually do help, which I will explain to you.
There is
* Minoxidyl, commercially known as Regaine/Rogaine. Dont buy Rogaine, it is overpriced, you can get a decent mixture of minoxidil from a pharmacy or a generic supplier. Rogaine has 2% minoxidil, go with a 3-5% mixture. More is useless. The (alcoholic) mixture has to be applied on your scalp one or twice a day. No side effects expect some itching of the scalp. Works better for hair loss in the crown than on front. One caveat, though: you have to apply it as long as you would like to stop hairloss. If you stop, your hair will start falling out again. Pauses up to 10 days are acceptable. Next caveat: it does not work on all people, but on most.
* Then there is Propecia/Proscar. I do not want to go into great medical detail, but it blocks the production of the hormone DHT, which causes hair follicles to produce thinner and thinner hair, until the area gets bald (DHT is also in the oily residue most men get on their bald areas in course of a day). Dont buy Propecia, it costs as much as Proscar (from the same producer), but has only a fifth of the ingrediences. So buy Proscar, split it in 4 or 5 parts.
On some men (2%), it has the effect to drive down their sex drive. Mostly this goes away after a few months, and it definetely and always goes away after you stop taking Proscar.
Regarding both: They are most effectful if you combine them. Note that you cannot regain hair on areas where you are completely bald, but you can regain where your hair thinned out. The combination of Minoxidyl and Proscar works on most men. Results vary, of course. With Minoxidyl, you may experencie a stronger fallout (known as shedding) on the first few months. The effects of Proscar on your hair can only be seen after at least 6 months! After 12 to 24 months, you will see the full effect. As with minoxidyl, you have to take it as long as you want your hair. If you recognise your hairloss early, you have better chances to stop it.
Option number 3 is hair transplant, which mostly gives great results, but is imho more apt for older men. If you decide for it, dont go with the cheapest doctor - there are alot of quacks around, as it seems - look around and ask other patients. And go for the "micro follicle" transplant, where not skin areas of hair are transplanted from your back head to your front and crown, but seperate and unique hair follicles.
There is a lot of research underway concerning other medicamentations or hair cloning. But don't let this fool you - this is like the fight against cancer, treatments gets better for decades for decades, but the final solution may be found when you are already dead.
I am not a doctor, I just looked around on the net a lot to find information on a topic that interests me. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.