Do you know that nearly 65% of men experience some sort of hair loss by the age of 35? That number increases to 85% by the age of 50.
So, as you can see, if you are experiencing these problems, you are not alone. Anyone with a full set of hair in their forties and fifties should consider themselves very lucky!
However, we know that this piece of information is not consoling for those dealing with hair loss. Luckily, there are many treatments for men’s hair loss and medication one can use to slow down the process, or to stop it entirely. Also, worry not, in this day and age, there are also several hair regrowth treatments for men available.
You’ve got to love modern medicine – it seems to have a cure for almost anything.
Why Do Men Go Bald?
Unfortunately, according to the American Hair Loss Association, most hair loss is inherited. It is caused by androgenic alopecia, which gives men a receding hairline or significantly thinner crown. Androgenic alopecia is caused by testosterone, that is, its byproduct, called dihydrotestosterone – DHT.
Hair follicles tend to shrink due to the influence of DHT. As they shrink, their durability becomes shorter and shorter, until they stop growing hair completely.
There are two basic types of hair loss patterns:
- Thinning of the hair on the top of the head and the temples
- Hair starts to recede from the front of the hairline towards the back
Other Causes of Male Baldness
Apart from the hereditary cause that usually means you are going to go completely bald over the course of time, there are other causes of baldness that you can take into account.
Simply marvelous, right?
Some can cause complete loss of hair, while some only affect you temporarily and cause partial hair loss. Be that as it may, the reasons for going bald are numerous. Let’s see what the most common ones are.
1) Nutritional Deficiencies
As we can see, not taking enough minerals and vitamins can cause various detrimental effects to your body. That is why you need to pay attention to what you are consuming and make sure that your intake of nutrients is on a satisfactory level.
Proteins, iron, and Vitamin D are essential not only for overall health, but also for hair growth. If you consume enough of these nutrients, your hair will be stronger and healthier. Of course, this is true only if you experience hair loss due to some nutritional deficiency. Unfortunately, vitamins won’t help with hereditary hair loss.
2) Alopecia Areata
This type of baldness happens when the body’s immune system attacks healthy hair by mistake. Your hair usually falls out in patches, creating bald spots on your head.
It can also make hair from other parts of your body fall out – beard, eyelashes, eyebrows. The bad thing about this type of baldness is that you never know whether the hair will grow back – sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.
3) Telogen Effluvium
This type of hair loss usually happens after a shock or a stressful event. It may happen a couple of months after something serious you have endured – an accident, illness, the loss of a family member, or some other sort of stressful situation.
It is always better to be positive about this one – better hair than something else, because hair usually grows back within 2 to 6 months.
4) Medication
Some medications can cause hair loss. Luckily, these counter effects are only temporary and stop after you stop taking the medicine.
Some of the medicines that cause hair loss include:
- Antidepressants
- Drugs for cholesterol
- Blood pressure medication
- Anticoagulants
- Acne medication
- Chemotherapy drugs.
What Can You Do to Treat Hair Loss Successfully?
Over the years, there have been many attempts to solve this problem. Many men would be deeply grateful if they see even an ounce of improvement to their problem. So, let’s see what the treatments one can use to solve men’s hair loss are.
1) Medication
There are two basic medications used for treating hair loss – Minoxidil and Finasteride.
Minoxidil, also known as Rogaine, is a medicine that will slow down the loss of hair you are experiencing, but don’t expect wonders. It will not stimulate hair regrowth, just stop more hair from falling out. You will see an improvement from 6 to 9 months.
You need to massage the foam or the solution into your scalp, once or twice a day. With some people, it may get worse before it gets better, so be prepared for that. It is actually a sign that a treatment is working, so be patient. Also, be careful not to put too much of it on the scalp. If you do, you may experience a burning sensation or itchiness, in which case you will have to stop with the treatment.
On the other hand, Finasteride can help your hair actually grow back. It prevents your hair from falling out by blocking the enzyme that is in charge of converting testosterone to DHT, which, as we have mentioned, is responsible for hair loss in men. You only need to take this pill once a day to solve all your hair problems. Over 60% of men see the improvement in both hair loss prevention and hair regrowth.
How wonderful would it be if both of these medicines worked on everybody, and that every single man that has started turning bald just needed to turn to one of these drugs?
But the reality is, unfortunately, a bit different…
These drugs, although tremendously successful for one part of the male population, are not as successful with the others. That is why they need to find other ways in which they can try and solve their problem.
2) Hair Transplants
A hair transplant is a procedure that covers the bald spot successfully by using a chunk of your hair from the back of your head, redistributing it to where it is needed the most.
However, you have to take into consideration that this procedure is not cheap, and that it, ultimately, doesn’t stimulate hair growth. It just patches up the holes.
There are two types of hair transplantation methods:
- Follicular unit transplantation – a procedure where a surgeon removes a small part of your skin from the back of your head, and then removes the follicles from the skin. Then they implant the follicles on the bald spots, one by one.
- Follicular unit extraction – in this type of procedure, hair follicles are removed directly from the back of your head and onto the part that is experiencing hair loss. Bear in mind again that this is still a surgical procedure, and, therefore, can be painful. In addition, it can bear certain risks with it, like any other surgery. The risks include infections and scarring.
The setback to both of these procedures is that you may need more than one. Since not many people can afford these types of procedures, it is better to go through the pros and cons and think carefully about whether it is worth the risk.
Hair Regrowth Treatments for Men
These treatments are becoming more and more advanced and, thus, more and more popular. Let’s face it, is there a better treatment than the one that can actually stimulate your hair to grow back?
Fortunately, the dream has now become a reality and many places now offer cutting edge treatments that not only prevent your hair from further falling out, but also stimulate the hair to grow back.
Isn’t that just amazing?
1) Red Light Therapy
This type of therapy is also referred to as low-level laser therapy or cold laser therapy. It functions on the principle of radiating protons into the tissue of the scalp. The weak cells that cannot produce hair growth absorb these protons and that is how hair growth is stimulated.
The basic assumption behind red light therapy is that it stimulates circulation and, by doing that, it encourages hair follicles to grow hair.
According to recent surveys and testimonies, it will not just stimulate new hair to grow back, it will also stimulate thin hair to grow healthy and strong again. The quality of the newly grown hair is unprecedented.
There is a reason why this procedure has become so popular – word of mouth. You don’t need to go any further than a simple forum. They all praise the procedure. And it has to be noted that it is much less invasive than hair transplant surgery, not to mention cheaper.
At this point, there are no known side effects and the change in hair quality will be noticeable after 12 to 26 weeks. This procedure is sure worth a try!
2) PRP+ACELL+Microneedling
Microneedling has been known to improve many health conditions, not just hair loss. It is known for reducing the visibility of different types of scars, fine lines, as well as many other consequences of aging and outside irritants. And it is one of the most successful hair regrowth treatments for men available on the market!
PRP+ACELL+Microneedling has proven to be extremely beneficial for all those people that are experiencing the aforementioned androgenic alopecia, the number one cause of hair loss in both men and women. This is a non-invasive procedure that will help your inactive follicles to go back to their active growth phase. By using ultra-thin needles, it applies the platelet-rich plasma, which has been previously extracted from your blood, into the scalp.
The PRP is full of factors that stimulate growth, and in that way, it is able to boost the renewal of the cells. This will ultimately stimulate hair growth and provide you with a full, thick set of hair. Of course, in due time.
Acell is a protein mix that repairs the damage and heals the follicular tissue that has stopped growing new hair. It additionally improves the quality of the hair, making it as strong and nurtured as ever.
This is a safe, non-surgical procedure, and, the best part is that it is completely painless.
However, you will need to repeat the treatment a couple of times in order to get the full result. It is always best to undergo a treatment like this at the very beginning of the hair loss process. That way, the effects are more permanent and more efficient.
It will help you reestablish hair growth without any invasive treatments, and without any use of medication, so it is definitely worth considering.
Other Ways to Slow Down Hair Loss
Lifestyle Changes
Definitely the hardest one, and the least common. The majority of us, will, let’s face it, resort to a surgical procedure to solve a problem, instead of actually changing something in the way we function, and the way of living we have grown accustomed to.
So, if you want to slow down men hair loss, these are some of the things you can do:
Quit smoking
You know all the negative effects that smoking causes, and, therefore, this shouldn’t even be an issue. Not only will you definitely be healthier, but you might also slow down the hair loss process too.
Balanced diet
Junk food and sugar-stacked juices will not help your cause, that’s for sure. So, in order to give your hair a fighting chance, you need to make some dietary changes. Your diet needs to include a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins.
In addition, try to include in your diet iron-rich foods, such as lean beef, beans, green vegetables, and eggs. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, tuna, egg yolks, hemp seed, and walnuts are extremely beneficial as well. Drinking plenty of water goes without saying, of course.
Natural Remedies
In the end, you can always turn to nature to solve all your problems, even hair loss. There are many natural oils and products that can help your hair loss significantly.
- Peppermint oil, rosemary oil, and rosemary leaf extract are well known for their hair growth stimulation.
- Saw palmetto is also known for inhibiting hair loss.
- Biotin, which is found in foods such as nuts, eggs, and onions, successfully prevents your hair from falling out and stimulates hair regrowth.
- Onion juice – as unappealing as it may sound, this magical drink can actually boost the growth of your hair, so go past the smell and towards a healthy, strong set of hair.
- Green tea and hibiscus have been known to successfully solve hair problems since the dawn of time.