Hair Loss and Treatments

Men, who are bald on top are thinkers..

• Men, who are bald in the back are lovers..
• Men, who are bald all over, think they are lovers…

Ok, all kidding aside, hair loss is no laughing matter. 

There is no easy cure for baldness. Affecting men and women; there are fifty- million bald females in the United States and the men number higher at seventy-million.

Hair loss myths

• Baseballs caps cause baldness: False
• Poor circulation in the scalp: False
• Plugged up hair follicles: False
• Microscopic mites: False
• Cheap shampoo: False
• It is genetic. My father had androgenic alopecia: True

Causes of hair loss

Androgenic Alopecia: An autoimmune disease affecting 4.7 million people in the United States. Alopecia attacks the hair follicles causing hair loss (all over the body) leaving discoloration of the skin behind. Generally occurring in childhood, it is not fatal, but it can be psychologically damaging to the child who suddenly wakes up to find sudden hair loss.

Alopecia does not discriminate, affecting both males and females, all races, all social economic levels, appearing almost at random to torment its victims. If you are experiencing sudden hair loss, you need a doctor to determine if it is alopecia. Androgenic Alopecia generally runs through families.

I don’t have alopecia, so why do I have hair loss?

Hair loss can be the result of one or more factors or lifestyle choices, and not just genetically induced. Hair loss can occur because of steroid abuse, if you are predestined to losing your hair from other factors. Steroids increase the production of DHT. DHT is also known as dhydrotestone, this chemical in your body dramatically changes the growth cycle of your hair. Since anabolic steroids contain this chemical, once you introduce more dhydrotestone into your body, the hair loss becomes permanent.

Chemotherapy- Not everyone who endures chemotherapy loses their hair. People on low doses of chemotherapy retain their hair. But because the chemotherapy affects all the cells in the body as it hunts for the cancerous cells, hair follicles are the most fragile. When invaded by chemo they rapidly break down and hair loss occurs.

Poor Diet - People fighting eating disorders will often find their hair falling out. Your hair needs protein, and when you don’t eat, you rob your body of special nutrients it needs and hair loss occurs.

Metabolic problems also result in hair loss.

Hair loss treatments

Fact: There is currently no cure for baldness. There are, however, a number of hair loss treatments;

Cortisone injections reduce the inflammation that occurs around the hair follicles. This is not a one-time treatment. Generally, 3-5 injections are needed on a monthly basis. These injections can cause your skin to start thinning and leave discoloration on the scalp.

Rogaine - made in two formulas, for men and for women, Rogaine stimulates hair follicle re-growth. Side effects are, tingling and numbing of the scalp and redness. Once you start using this product, you have to continue. Discontinuing use will cause your hair to fall out.

Hair Transplants - the cost of this procedure is around $20,000. Once your scalp has been treated, it will take three months for the transplanted hair to grow.

This procedure is complex. During treatment, if your hair follicles are damaged, your hair will not grow. 

Most people mistakenly believe that hair transplants leave behind a full head of hair, but all it does is slow down the process of thinning hair.

To some people, bald IS beautiful. Patrick Stewart, Andre Agassi, Sinead O’Conner, C.S. Lewis, Michael Jordan there are countless athletes, actors and actresses that deal with hair loss with a special dignity.

Don’t be ashamed of hair loss. If you need help, it’s out there