Baldness: Options for treatment

By: Jan Venter

More than half of men are effected by male pattern baldness by age 50. Most of these men can have a self esteem problem because of baldness or hair loss. There are ways to treat baldness and hair loss successful or to prevent it. An increased understanding of this topic can help you to recover what you have lost. Increased understanding of the role of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in male and female pattern baldness has led to targeted inventions to prevent this hormone from acting on receptors in the scalp. It is easier to prevent the apparent 'aging' and falling out of healthy hairs than to regrow hair in follicles that are already dormant or damaged.There are products that have good success rates with regrowth, including the scientifically proven finasteride and minoxidil.

While treating hair loss most successfully is a multi-faceted, ongoing experiment for the individual, there are three principles, sometimes called "The Three P's" that are considered important to help produce success and avoid the somewhat common mistakes that can sabotage baldness treatments. The Three P's are: proven treatments first, take pictures, and be patient. The average hair loss treatment takes a minimum of 6 months to begin working, and sometimes up to 24 months to truly see optimal results. Treating hair loss or baldness takes time because of hair cycles. The process of hair loss is the process of "miniaturization," which takes many years. Hairs grow in, cycle into dormancy, and then grow in again several months later. Each time they re-emerge, they do so thinner, shorter, and less pigmented. In time, they become so small that they are no longer noticeable. This can take many years. New hair only grow in a 2 or 3 year cycle, which is why it can take a year or more to be able to detect the success of a hair loss treatment. This difficulty in hair loss treatment can be increased because it is speculated that many treatments often cause initial periods of shedding, as some resting hair follicles are ejected and a new cycle of growth begins, hopefully with a thicker follicle. Discontinuing all treatment will cause a period of shedding, likely to one's non-treatment baseline, but probably not worse.

Anti hairloss tips you can start to use today before you start with a real program.

Use sage in your rinsing water to help restores colour beter than most advertised products.

Rub olive oil onto your head for eight days before you go to bed. Shampoo it out the next morning. The olive oil will break and smoothen the hardened layers on your head that have build up over the years. This will make it easier for the new hair to grow back again. The olive oil treatment will also kill any bacteria on your head.

Only use shampoos and conditioners with silica and biotin.

Do not brush your hair to often.

Do not dry your hair with hot air. Use a towel and pat gently do dry. Leave the rest to dry natural.