Hair today Gone Tommorrow

Balding is not something anyone would look forward to. Even though we are unable to stop aging we can help ourselves when it comes to hair loss.

Our hair does get thinner as we age and more for some than others but with today's medications and creams etc we may be able to slow this down.

I have looked into many hair loss remedies and have found some that are better than others in how they say the can slow down hair loss and some even say they will help your existing hair grow more and stronger. I do not know about that but have heard of some of the good some of them do.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Loss Of Hair - Treatments And Success Rates

By Mike Jones

Losing hair is as anxiety ridden as finding out you have a terminal illness. The fear, the panic and the uncertainty seem to take over our lives. Baldness, or Male Pattern Baldness, has many different causes but only a few effective treatments. The newer ones, however, have seen some impressive results which can alleviate a lot of the ongoing anxiety.

Most baldness in men is due to a lack of the production of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), obviously a form of testosterone, known for its hair producing abilities. There's no pill to replace it or turn on its production again, but there are ways to slow down how quickly it goes away.

Many medications on the market actually list loss of hair as one of their top side effects. Other causes can be a long debilitating illness. When we are sick for a good period of time, our bodies begin to dictate where our nourishment goes. The heart and brain get "fed" first. If there isn't enough left to send to the hair follicles, they will wither away and release hair. And anyone who has been unlucky enough to have undergone a round or two of chemo will be able to attest to how quickly hair falls out afterwards.

Scientists and quacks alike have tried for decades to cure baldness. A few processes actually can offer some reasonable results. Most just make the seller rich and the consumer sore and broke.

Success comes in many forms: pills, surgery and ointments. There are some laser treatments that do produce pretty good results in many individuals. Of course, others will swear by something they bought from a roadside quack that might include cow dung, herbs, or some other disgusting mixture to either swallow or rub into your head.

Hair transplants have seen quite a bit of success and their long term success rate has improved over the years. The earlier transplants tended to "take" for only a few years and then a form of rejection would occur. Later on, surgical techniques improved to reduce pain, reduce expenses, and increase the viability of the hair shaft. However, it's still a surgical procedure that comes with standard risks like infection, pain, and of course, abject failure.

It's important to consult your doctor to determine exactly why your hair is falling out. He can perform tests to rule out a serious illness. If the tests reveal perhaps a hormone imbalance, the problem can be treated and chances are, hair will return naturally.

If the doctor finds no pathology to deal with, he may recommend staring with procedures that carry a low risk threshold - ointments and pills. After charting your results he may suggest something more intense depending on your response to the treatments you have been using.

Whatever you do, don't commit to surgery until you have a second opinion. Talk to a qualified medical professional other than the "transplant doctor" before making such a drastic decision.

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