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Baldness Treatments Are They a Scam
Baldness or thinning of the hair is one of the most distressing problems concerning the hair. It can affect both men and women although male pattern baldness is more common.
As it is such a widespread problem, there are literally hundreds of treatments for baldness available on the market. The question most people ask at some point is do they work?
In order to answer this question we have to look at the reasons why you might be losing your hair in the first place.
Hair Growth Cycle
Hair grows in cycles consisting of different phases, and there are three separate phases that the hair goes through during each cycle.
• Anagen – active growth phase where 90 percent of the hair on the head is growing at any one time
• Catagen – resting phases where around 5 percent of the hair is resting before moving on to the next phase
• Telogen – shedding phases, this is the final phase where hair is shed as a natural process of the hair cycle. Normal hair loss can be up to 100 hairs per day.
Many things can affect the natural hair cycle resulting in perhaps a shortening of the growing phase and an increase in the number of hairs lost each day. Together the results can be disastrous.
What factors can contribute to hair loss?
• Hormonal influences
• Genetics
• Poor diet resulting in lack of nutrients
• Physical stress on the hair and scalp
• Emotional stress
• Medication
• Disease
• Chemicals
What type of baldness treatments are there?
Although there are many different types of baldness treatments available they are all designed to either prevent further hair loss or encourage hair growth and they may do this in different ways.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil is sold under the brand names Rogaine and Regaine and was initially a drug that was developed to treat high blood pressure, however, it was discovered that a side effect of using this drug was hair growth. It works as a vasodilator which means it dilates the blood vessels. No one understands exactly how Minoxidil works as far as hair growth is concerned but it does, for some of the people, some of the time. For hair loss it is used as a 2 percent topical solution that is applied to the scalp.
Finasteride
Finasteride is sold under the brand names Propecia and Proscar and works by inhibiting the production of DHT, or Dihydrotestosterone. DHT is a powerful hormone that is the main cause of male pattern baldness. Finasteride is not suitable for women. There are also different types of anti-androgens available which instead of inhibiting the production of DHT will prevent DHT that has already been produced from binding to the hair follicle.
Ketoconazole
This is an anti-fungal treatment that can be used in cases where there is a fungal infection on the scalp but there is some evidence that it also works as a hair growth stimulant.
Alternative or Natural Remedies include:
• Saw Palmetto Extract – this appears to work as a natural DHT inhibitor
• Gingko bilboa – improves blood flow to the scalp thereby bringing essential nutrients to the scalp and hair
• Green Tea – appears to work as a natural DHT inhibitor
• Algae extracts – contain numerous vitamins and enzymes essential for healthy hair
• Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation (Fish Oil) – contains Eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA which is anti inflammatory, promotes blood flow to the scalp, regulates many functions within the body and is essential for healthy skin, hair and nails. One of the side effects of a lack of EPA in the diet is poor hair condition.
• Indian Head Massage – there is some evidence that it can stimulate the hair follicles and encourage hair growth
Are baldness treatments a scam?
In short, no they are not! Not all of them. There are always going to be some dubious products on the market but these are easily checked out if you do your own research. The problem with any baldness treatment is that you need to be using one that is ultimately going to deal with the underlying cause of your hair loss or hair thinning in the first place.
If your hair loss is due to a lack of Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet and poor nutrition then it doesn’t matter how much Minoxidil you rub onto your scalp you will not see results. Similarly, if your hair loss is due to over production of DHT then applying an antifungal treatment to your scalp just isn’t going to work.
You also have to consider if your hair loss is due to a reaction to certain chemicals then it could be that by removing whatever the antagonist is, will reverse the hair loss and solve the problem.
As you can see the key to treating baldness rests with finding out what is causing the baldness and taking steps to deal with that.
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