Hair Loss Treatments

It is easier to prevent the apparent aging and falling out of healthy hair than to regrow hair in follicles that are already inactive.



There are products that have shown good success rates with regrowth, including the scientifically proven Finasteride and Minoxidil. Generic brands, very often with identical chemical structure or the same active ingredients, could be equally effective and are cheaper.

Treating hair loss most successfully is a multi-faceted, ongoing experiment for the individual. However, there are three principles, sometimes called "The Three P's" that are considered important to help produce success and avoid the common mistakes that can sabotage treatments. The Three P's go as follows:

• Proven treatments first
  
• Take pictures
  
• Be patient.

The average hair loss treatment takes any where from 6 to 8 months to start working, and sometimes up to 24 months to truly see optimal results. Hair loss treatments takes time due to hair cycles. The process of hair loss is the process of miniaturization that takes a number of years. Hairs grow in, cycle into dormancy, and then grow in again many months later. Every time they re-emerge, they do so thinner, shorter, and less pigmented than before. Over a period of time, they tend to become so small that they are no longer noticeable.

This difficulty can be increased since it is speculated that many treatments often cause initial periods of shedding. This is because some resting hair follicles are ejected and a new cycle of growth begins, hopefully with a thicker follicle. Stopping all treatment will cause a period of shedding, likely to one's non-treatment baseline, but probably not worse.