Hair Loss Prevention - Five Main Methods

Hair loss can be of great concern to both men and women at some time in their lives. This concern mainly centers on fears of looking prematurely old, unattractive to the opposite sex, lack of self-esteem and, without any real justification, of being thought of as lacking virility and of even being regarded as impotent.

Here, we shall briefly outline three types of hair loss conditions of the Alopecia category. Then we shall outline five methods that are commonly used to address these conditions.

Alopecia Areata has clearly apparent bald patches, often round or oval in shape. Alopecia Areata can appear on the head, beard, and other hairy parts of the body. Even if the spots disappear within a year of treatment, it's common for Alopecia Areata to reoccur again. Alopecia Totalis means total baldness, all the hair on the scalp has disappeared. Alopecia Universalis is the condition where there is a complete loss of hair from all sections of the body. It sometimes occurs as an extension of generalized Alopecia Areata. The whole head and body of an individual becomes bald. Hair disappears from all regions, i.e., pubic, armpits, eyelashes, eyebrows, chest, legs, beard, and other areas.

Here are five methods to treat hair loss, and these exclude hair transplanting which is outside the scope of this article.

1 Laser or low level light therapy has been shown to be beneficial to hair in several studies. Both clinical treatment and hand held laser therapy are available. Also, larger laser models can be bought for use in salons and hair replacement studios.

2 Di-hydro testosterone (DHT) is the major cause of hair loss for both men and women. DHT inhibitor products can either interfere with the conversion of testosterone to DHT or help to block DHT from binding to the hair follicle.

3 In relation to this, hair vitamin products help to aid in growth of hair; either by inhibiting DHT and/or providing the vitamins and minerals that optimizes good quality hair growth.

4 There are only two FDA-approved treatments for hair loss and one of these, Minoxidil, is the only anti-baldness drug approved for women. Originally introduced as a medicine to treat high blood pressure, it was noticed that users began to grow extra hair.

5 Hair and scalp cleansing products can be optimized to give hair and the scalp the nutrients that are needed without adding harmful chemicals like sodium laureth sulfate, cocamide diethanolamine, or alcohols that are present in most shampoos. These harmful chemicals cause these shampoo to strip hair of the essential oils that hair needs. Proper hair and scalp hygiene and nutrition is the first step to healthier, thicker and fuller hair.

In conclusion, early steps can be taken to address hair loss, however it is strongly recommended that plenty of research is done first to ascertain the real cause of the condition, that may be unique to and thus different from individual to individual, before deciding what action to take.