Hair Loss Remedy
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Hair Loss and what you can do to take control of the situation

The baldness treatment industry in the US is estimated to be worth $1 billion per year and it rising every year. Most people will not recognize that although hair loss and its treatment isn’t commonly talked about it actually commands quite a large portion of people’s thoughts especially those who have early signs of balding.

The first thing that is important to understand is that prevention is always much better than a cure. This is especially true when it comes to hair loss. This is even the case when it comes to the treatments, the medicines that we will describe later work much better at stopping hair loss is marginal at best when it comes to regrowing hair that has already been lost.

If you feel that you are loosing hair then the first thing that you should try is to make changes to your lifestyle or diet. Research has indicated that as much as 50% of hair loss that happens can actually be stopped or even reversed if proper steps were taken to change and improve diet and lifestyles. The first is the amount and type of workout that you partake in. Research has confimed that daily vigorous aerobic exercise and diet which is moderate in terms of fat and protein content have been shown to help in reducing hair loss. On the flip-side of that workouts which are done in short bursts have been shown to raise androgen levels to build muscles but also contribute to hair loss in the long-run. In addition to that diabetic’s diet which is designed to keep insulin levels down have also been shown to aid in hair loss reduction. What happens is that the lowered insulin raises the level of Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) which in itself doesn’t actually do anything for hair loss but what it does is that it combines very easily with free testosterone circulating around in the blood and stop a high production of DHT which promotes hair loss.

If lifestyle and diet changes that we have suggested above don’t do the trick then you may have to look for other medical alternatives. The first one to try would be Minoxidil. It is a vasodilator which was originally developed as a drug to treat patients with high blood pressure. It was later found that for reasons unknown that Minoxidil also helped in the treatment of hair loss and even managed to reverse hair loss. The exact reasons why this drug helps is unknown however it is certainly to do with the vasodilators presence. Having said that however, other similar drugs used to treat high blood pressure have not shown to be of any use.

Another type of drug that is commonly used for the treatment of hair loss is a group called anti-androgens. These types of drugs come under many brand names and are normally just referred to as anti-androgens. What happens is that the anti-androgens will effectively block the DHT which is present in the bloodstream from binding with the hair follicles creating problems. Another drug that has similar workings is Finasteride which is basically a DHT inhibitor and is always marketed as Propecia or Proscar by Merck. Finasterides work by interfering with the free testosterone in the blood conversion to DHT. Research has indicated that formulation with up to 1mg of Finasteride daily will inhibit 55% of DHT activity while 5mg of Finasteride daily inhibits 70% of DHT activity. As a precautionary note Finasteride should not be used by women who are about to be pregnant or are pregnant. Birth defects instances have been recorded with women who have used Finasteride when pregnant.

Another alternative to anti-androgens and Finasteride is a recently developed drug called dutasteride. The drug is marketed as Avodart and was originally developed as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia, same as Finasteride. The initial effectiveness of durasteride is estimated at 1.5 times better compared to alternative anti-androgens and Finasterides. The problem is that this drug is still considered quite new and is still going through its testing with the FDA which can take as long as 10 years before a drug is considered safe for daily consumption. It is estimated that the drug will only receive FDA approval at 2011. Conclusive studies have already indicated that the drug is safe and pharmacists are increasingly willing to offer the drug as an alternative under table offering or as a grey-market alternative. Online pharmacies are also already offering these drugs for purchase in place where drug regulations are more relaxed.

Another less effective alternative available is the use of Ketoconazole which is actually a synthetic anti-fungal drug used to treat mostly skin infections of a fungal nature. The drug demonstrated a moderate level of success against keeping hair loss at bay. The exact reason at why isn’t known as detailed studies into it have not been conducted. It is believed that Ketoconazole inhibits the bonding of testosterone into DHT at the hair follicles.

On the herbal side there are also some natural remedies to hair loss however their effectiveness is still in question because of a lack of research and also a lack of funding to offer conclusive evidence. The most commonly used medical alternative to hair loss medication is the use of saw palmetto. It is a natural DHT inhibitor and is also much cheaper than other medical alternatives and is also claimed to have less side affects compared to the synthesized alternatives.

As strange as it may seem caffeine has also been shown to be a stimulator of hair growth. The introduction of caffeine to hair follicles has shown that hair is less likely to fall prey to testosterone or DHT growth suppression patterns. The problem is that very little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of caffeine as a means to reduce hair loss. Most big pharmaceuticals don’t see any benefit in a widely available cure that might cut into the share of their hair loss products.

Here are other more advances therapies that can be used to battle hair loss:
- Hair Transplants;
- Hair Multiplication;
- Low Level Laser Therapy.