Hair loss is a problem that affects men all over the world in millions. About a quarter of all men start losing hair by the age of 20 while only one third of men haven't begun balding by the time they reach the age of 60. The trigger for male pattern baldness is a sex hormone that promotes facial and body hair growth but adversely effects the growth of hair on the head, DHT. DHT works by decreasing the size of follicles gradually, until it will only let out peach fuzz or even nothing at all. Often baldness is speed up by the amount of stress the person experiencing the hair loss feels. If this is the case the best way to counteract balding is by taking some of that stress off.
However, the majority of men who lose their hair lose it because of their own genetics. The only way to counteract this type of baldness is with either treatments or with transplants. Transplants are when hair is taken from one part of the body (in the form of follicle rich skin) and graphed into the bald region of the head. This hair then grows and in most cases looks incredibly natural and stays that way. However, transplants are very expensive and they do require a minor surgery. For these reasons many men who deal with hair loss choose instead to use hair loss treatment products.
Balding
Hair loss treatments vary from pills to topical creams to shampoos, but most work in just about the same way: decrease the amount of DHT and wile at the same time widening the size of follicles on the scalp's bald regions. The two main types of treatment are Minoxidil and Finasteride.
Finasteride is most often recommended as first- line treatment while Minoxidil is recommended in combination with Finasteride if after 12 months additional hair growth is desired. Finasteride is the generic name for the drug first marketed by Merck as Propecia. They are a member of the aza-steroids drug class. They are sold in a recommended size of 1mg in tablet form; they are small pink polygonal shapes and are meant for male use only. These work by combining 5-alpha-reductase. This 5-alpha-reductase is the enzyme that is used to produce DHT, and with them bound not as much can be made. This stops the hair loss in about 90 percent of men!
However, only about 50 percent of men who take Finasteride actually re-grow hair that they had lost prior to beginning treatment. This is where Minoxidil comes in. It is more commonly known by its name given to it by the Upjohn marketing division: Rogain. Originally Minoxidil was used only as a vasodilator (a drug that widens the blood vessels) in the oral drug Loniten. It was used to treat high blood pressure but was discovered to have the side effect of promoting hair re-growth. In the Rogain topical foam, there is actually only 2 percent Minoxidil. It actually works by being a vasodilator. In widening blood vessels, it allows more blood and nutrients to get to the scalp and therefore allows hair to grow more easily.
When these two medications are used in combination often hair loss is effectively stopped and then reversed. For many men this is an essential to living a happy life, with healthy self esteem and a positive mental image.
Hair Loss Products - What's Offered
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