It was the time for a research on the viable ways to eliminate this pernicious problem. That was what the market offered:
-drugs, that’s not for me, I hate eating pills, syrups, etc…
-topic drugs, the idea to put something on the scalp was more appealing than eating unknown substances that affected the entire organism.
-natural remedy, in my case herbal treatment (why not!?)
The famous Finasteride (which ahs several commercial names according to the country where one lives) is considered by the American FDA a powerful drug and it inhibits the formation of DHT (you know the molecule that ‘kills’ your hair follicles).
However, it consists of pills that have to be taken for a certain period… Let’s say that one doesn’t care about the possible side-effects (long list). I just wonder what happens when the administration of Finasteride is suspended… It is likely that the levels of DHT will increase and that everything will return like before…
However, I’m NOT a fan of the pills, I didn’t try the Finasteride, but it is unlikely that it is able to PERMANENTLY decrease the levels of DHT. Probably it effect lasts as long as you take the pills.
Anyway, if anybody has tried it, please let me know whether Finasteride has permanent or temporary effects.
What I have personally tried (4 or 5 bottles in 3 years) is the Minoxidil. And here I can say that its effects are just TEMPORARY (it is also written on the leaflet inside the box).
The idea is brilliant, no scary pills, just a lotion that in a few weeks will trigger the re-growth of your hair…………. But in the end the new hair quickly disappeared as they came. Why did I try 4-5 bottles before giving up?! Let’s say that every time I hoped that the new hair was forever…….
Anyway, if anybody is willing to put this lotion on the scalp twice a day for the rest of his life…….go ahead.
At least herbal treatment do not have the ‘arrogance’ to say that they will give your hair back, but just to reduce hair loss.
I had some benefit using ginko biloba and green tea, but I also heard about the benefit of stinging nettle he shou wu and pygeum. As a matter of fact, I believe that this type of treatment successfully slowed down pace of hair loss and gave me a few more years of ‘decent’ hair population on my head. Probably, without this treatment I would have performed the hair transplant much earlier.
25 June 2008
What’s the problem?
When I decided to act I faced the problem to discover what caused my hair loss. Initially I went to the dermatologist.
Having a consultation with a specialist should be always the first step…
Every individual must determine the exact cause or causes of his or her hair loss. Very simple, but most people still deal with their hair loss by using self-diagnosis.
Medical advice will eliminate the risk that hair loss is secondary to a main medical pathology.
Anyway, in my case hair loss was not due to the general medical condition, chemicals nor to the lack of some substance. It was a simple, plain Androgenic Alopecia.
However, from the dermatologist I had all a series of products to put on the scalp through all the day… Starting in the morning with oils, and spay, up to the night with lotion and shampoo………
I visited 2 dermatologists and 1 “guru” dermatologist, 2 years were passed by and I did not notice any reduction of the hair loss :(
Having a consultation with a specialist should be always the first step…
Every individual must determine the exact cause or causes of his or her hair loss. Very simple, but most people still deal with their hair loss by using self-diagnosis.
Medical advice will eliminate the risk that hair loss is secondary to a main medical pathology.
Anyway, in my case hair loss was not due to the general medical condition, chemicals nor to the lack of some substance. It was a simple, plain Androgenic Alopecia.
However, from the dermatologist I had all a series of products to put on the scalp through all the day… Starting in the morning with oils, and spay, up to the night with lotion and shampoo………
I visited 2 dermatologists and 1 “guru” dermatologist, 2 years were passed by and I did not notice any reduction of the hair loss :(
23 June 2008
The real hair problem started to appear…
About 95% of hair loss in men is attributable to Androgenic Alopecia also know as male pattern baldness.
The responsible is the Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), definitely you can easily find scientific information about the DHT on the net, however its worse effect is that it shrinks the hair follicles that will become permanently ‘shut down’.
It is important to note that SOME areas are more sensitive to DHT, and these will be the areas that will the affected by baldness… (i.e. the frontal and crown areas). On the other hand, hair from the back of the head are ‘immune’ to DHT, so if we ‘relocate’ the hair from the back to the front then we could be almost sure to eliminate the baldness problem.
And Androgenic Alopecia was my problem.
Of course other conditions can produce baldness (the remaining 5% of the cases):
Alopecia Areata, in which hair comes out by the roots in one or more spots without following the normal Stages, see the above figure).
Finally, other caused can be: scalp infections, nutritional deficiency, illness, drugs and chemicals, radiations, pulling (Traction Alopecia, if you guys have long hair do not tie it too tightly!!!) and severe stress.
Anyway, none of these last causes were my problem...
The responsible is the Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), definitely you can easily find scientific information about the DHT on the net, however its worse effect is that it shrinks the hair follicles that will become permanently ‘shut down’.
It is important to note that SOME areas are more sensitive to DHT, and these will be the areas that will the affected by baldness… (i.e. the frontal and crown areas). On the other hand, hair from the back of the head are ‘immune’ to DHT, so if we ‘relocate’ the hair from the back to the front then we could be almost sure to eliminate the baldness problem.
And Androgenic Alopecia was my problem.
Of course other conditions can produce baldness (the remaining 5% of the cases):
Alopecia Areata, in which hair comes out by the roots in one or more spots without following the normal Stages, see the above figure).
Finally, other caused can be: scalp infections, nutritional deficiency, illness, drugs and chemicals, radiations, pulling (Traction Alopecia, if you guys have long hair do not tie it too tightly!!!) and severe stress.
Anyway, none of these last causes were my problem...
Nornal and abnormal air loss...
It is important to note that shedding of hairs is a natural process with anything from 100 to 300 hairs randomly shed each day.
Hair is composed of long, twisted keratin fibres with their ‘root’ below the surface of the skin: the dermal papilla and it is from here that the hair grows.
This growing fibre eventually hardens when it grows out from the scalp. At this stage the hair fibre is dead with only the root tip containing living cells.
The hair growth cycle, consists of three distinct stages:
1. Anagen: phase of growth that can last between two and seven years. On average, each hair grows out of the follicle about six inches (15cm) per year.
2. Catagen: a phase of transition that lasts roughly two to four weeks. At this time the hair shaft detaches from the dermal papilla and moves towards the ‘exit of the follicle.
3. Telogen: a resting period that lasts about three months allowing the hair to detach and falling out. After this, the cycle repeats itself.
In case of baldness, follicles just remain in the Telogen stage...
Up to the onset of puberty the hairline is characterized by a low spread across the forehead. For men, this continues only for a few more years. But, as men progress through their twenties the hairline takes on a more mature look with a recession of the frontal temporal regions. This concave appearance cannot be considered balding (see Stage I in the below figure).
That’s why initially I thought that that my hair loss was normal at that age… However, after a few years of ‘cheap’ remedies (I might talk about them in a following post), it was clear that I was heading towards the Stage II…
Hair is composed of long, twisted keratin fibres with their ‘root’ below the surface of the skin: the dermal papilla and it is from here that the hair grows.
This growing fibre eventually hardens when it grows out from the scalp. At this stage the hair fibre is dead with only the root tip containing living cells.
The hair growth cycle, consists of three distinct stages:
1. Anagen: phase of growth that can last between two and seven years. On average, each hair grows out of the follicle about six inches (15cm) per year.
2. Catagen: a phase of transition that lasts roughly two to four weeks. At this time the hair shaft detaches from the dermal papilla and moves towards the ‘exit of the follicle.
3. Telogen: a resting period that lasts about three months allowing the hair to detach and falling out. After this, the cycle repeats itself.
In case of baldness, follicles just remain in the Telogen stage...
Up to the onset of puberty the hairline is characterized by a low spread across the forehead. For men, this continues only for a few more years. But, as men progress through their twenties the hairline takes on a more mature look with a recession of the frontal temporal regions. This concave appearance cannot be considered balding (see Stage I in the below figure).
That’s why initially I thought that that my hair loss was normal at that age… However, after a few years of ‘cheap’ remedies (I might talk about them in a following post), it was clear that I was heading towards the Stage II…
Intro + the beginning of the problem
I was around 17 when I first discovered an increased hair loss.
Initially I thought to wait and see, I had heard that sometimes this can be a 'normal' condition at that age…
Instead this phenomenon did not come to an halt. It actually seemed to get worse...
In the next posts I will briefly outline some basic information about hair loss (e.g. normal hair loss, frequent causes or excessive hair loss, etc.), and then I’ll begin to talk about my personal experience
Initially I thought to wait and see, I had heard that sometimes this can be a 'normal' condition at that age…
Instead this phenomenon did not come to an halt. It actually seemed to get worse...
In the next posts I will briefly outline some basic information about hair loss (e.g. normal hair loss, frequent causes or excessive hair loss, etc.), and then I’ll begin to talk about my personal experience
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