Friday, November 18, 2011

Proven, Approved, and Foremost Hair Loss Products

Studies show that more than three and a half billion dollars a year is spent on hair loss treatments. The bad news is that studies also show that nearly all of these products don’t work at all for most of the people who buy them.

Losing one’s hair is a very depressing situation that can affect both men and women. The American Hair Loss Association advises people who experience thinning of hair to only use products approved by the FDA. Excessive falling or thinning of hair and weak hair regeneration or growth can be caused by numerous things, from inherited genes to excessive use of hair products.

Getting professional hair loss treatment is common nowadays and is done differently between men and women. Hence, anyone experiencing a significant loss of hair would try some sort of treatment since a thinning hairline or going bald isn’t really appealing. With that in mind, here are some popular treatments for men and women experiencing thinning of hair.

Finasteride
This drug was first approved by the FDA to treat problems with the prostate glands, but it was noticed that it grew hair, so the company decided to see if that side effect could be turned into a way to help balding men.

In 1997, it was approved as an advanced hair loss treatment and is considered a successful drug in the pursuit of growing hair and helping treat male baldness. It was found to help in 85 per cent of the time in trials. Today, it is a widely used drug to counter baldness among men.

Minoxidil
Minoxidil was discovered similar to finasteride; it had a side effect of growing hair in its original use for high blood pressure. It caused people taking it to grow hair on their foreheads and even eyebrows. When rubbed onto the bald spots on the head, it was shown to slow down thinning of hair. Unfortunately, it also has been found to not give a permanent and a lasting effect.

When it comes to women who are suffering from baldness, it’s hard to know what sort of hair loss treatment to give since a lot of these treatments have androgen properties, which would end up causing women to develop male characteristics, so not many doctors would be advising those mentioned above to women.

Also, women need to tackle their baldness right when they first notice it or else many of their hair follicles will be permanently destroyed and any hair loss treatment would not help very much. The same goes if treatment is stopped. On the other hand, minoxidil is approved to be used by women topically in a two per cent solution only. The stronger five per cent used by the guys is not approved for women, but is still prescribed by some doctors.

A study involving women ageing from 18-45 with mild up to moderate balding showed 19 per cent had moderate hair growth, and 40 per cent had at least some hair growth. This was after using the minoxidil solution for eight months.

Other types of hair loss treatments for men and women could include natural treatments such as certain herbal treatments or special washes. There are plenty of hair thinning treatment products available today. If you are experiencing significant loss of hair and plan to use one of those mentioned above, consult your doctor first and have a clear and better understanding of what you would be getting into. Remember that these are actual drugs also used for something else.

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