Hair Restoration Tips

Hair loss research is these days mainly focused on hair cloning and surgical hair regeneration. Both of these methods promise to solve the problem of balding men and women permanently. Not so much has been heard recently about new drug research and it seems that we will have to settle down for the medical treatments as we know them today such as Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride) for some time yet. However, there seems to be one drug that has been developed in a different field that could help us keep our hair a bit longer. It is called Latisse and this medication has been recently approved by the FDA for growing thicker, longer and darker eyelashes. The generic name of Latisse is bimatoprost and this molecule has been originally developed to treat glaucoma (intraocular pressure). So when this solution can help us grow richer and longer eyelashes what would it do to our thinning hair? Some doctors started to prescribe bimatoprost, the sole active substance of Latisse, to their balding patients and are reporting great results as 70% of patients could see their thinning hair becoming healthier, thicker, growing longer and becoming more pigmented. Some patients could even report growing new hair around their hairline. Although this product may not present the ultimate solution to hair loss it can help slow down the balding process before more efficient surgical methods such as hair cloning become reality.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease characteristic for its the sudden loss of hair in different parts of the scalp and the body. Many treatments have been tried and used so far but their results remain relatively disappointing. Rogain and Propecia, the two treatments that have been approved by the FDA for treating hereditary hair loss can hardly help with  alopecia areata (Propecia should not be used at all!). There is a great demand for new therapeutic alternatives to the treatment of this disease. In a recent study a new prospective treatment, sulfasalazine, has been examined. During a period of 3 years, 26 patients with recalcitrant or severe alopecia areata (>40% hair loss) were enrolled in an open-label, uncontrolled clinical trial. According to the response to sulfasalazine, patients were grouped into 3 categories: no hair re-growth (< 10% of terminal hair), partial hair re-growth (10%-90% of terminal hair), and complete hair re-growth (90%-100% of terminal hair). Efficacy evaluation was performed with clinical examination. 22 patients completed the trial. Overall, 68% (15 out of 22 patients) responded to therapy: 27% (6 out of 22 patients) achieved complete hair re-growth, and 41% had partial hair re-growth. 7 (32%) patients had no hair re-growth at all. Of the 22 patients with complete and partial remission, 10 (45%) suffered a partial or complete relapse. Side effects following the treatment were seen in 7 (32%) patients. It can be concluded that sulfasalazine could be considered as a therapeutic alternative in the treatment of alopecia areata, because of its favorable safety profile, cosmetically acceptable efficacy and good tolerability.

Hair multiplication through cloning of new hair stem cells seems to be the most prospective future way of permanent hair replacement. The latest reports indicate that the first human trials could start as early as in two years. So far the whole clinical research has only been conducted on mice. Hair cloning consists in multiplying the hair follicle stem cells from the donor follicles taken from the back of one’s scalp and then injecting the mixture of such hair growth inducing stem cells in the bald area of the scalp.

The difficulty of such operation is its efficiency as at the moment one donor hair follicle produces only one or two new follicles, which is way too little. We would need at least 100 to make this method economically viable. Other future challenges include tasks such as producing new hair that has the right color, texture, thickness, curliness and grows in the right angle. Nonetheless, despite the aforementioned difficulties, hair multiplication appears to be the most promising method of permanent and natural hair replacement that is currently being researched.

Hair loss affects both men and women and can occur at any age. There are different types of hair loss, having different causes and forms, some are permanent and some are reversible. Diagnosing your type of hair loss is the key to finding the most suitable treatment. For some types of hair loss a few vitamins or minerals and a change in lifestyle can bring results but some, such as the typical male pattern baldness, or some heavy forms of alopecia areata can be very difficult to combat. Hereditary hair loss with its two forms, male and female pattern baldness, is the most frequent type of hair loss, which affects about one third of the adult male population and one quarter of females. The main cause of male pattern baldness is always the same and it is the metabolite of the male hormone testosterone, called dihydrotestosterone, destroying the hair follicles. Female pattern hair loss, paradoxically, has the same reason but it is often related to menopausal and post-menopausal hormonal changes in women.

Hence, the main approach to treating hereditary form of hair loss is to reduce the serum levels of dihydrotestosterone or to protect the hair follicles from dihydrotestosterone’s attacks by binding to the dihydrotestosterone receptors in hair follicles. This approach should be combined with applying topical hair growth stimulants such as Rogaine to promote regrowth. Many hair loss treatments, however, promise growth by increasing the intake of vital vitamins and minerals that are needed to nurture healthy hair. Such approaches do not address the main cause and are therefore suitable only for treating temporary forms of hair loss induced by bad diet, unhealthy lifestyles or stress and will not help the typical hair loss sufferer affected by male or female pattern baldness.

Nizoral shampoo is one of the best known shampoos for treating dandruff but it is also one of the most popular aids when treating hair loss alongside Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). The reason for its popularity with hair loss sufferers is twofold. In the first place it is because many topical products contain chemical components that are aggressive to the scalp and cause its irritation and dandruff. Secondly, it is due to the fact that ketoconazole, the main active ingredient of Nizoral shampoo, has been shown in some smaller studies to be as effective in promoting new hair growth as 2% solution of minoxidil (Rogaine for women). However, further research would be needed in order to establish the right dosage and a form of application. Since ketoconazole is only available in the form of shampoo, it is being washed down after about 5 minutes of application. Although it is known that ketoconazole then continues working in the scalp for several hours after washing the shampoo down, it is impossible to say at the moment whether it is enough to grow you new hair or not.

At the moment the only FDA approved hair loss treatments are Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). Although it is not exactly known how Rogaine works in promoting new growth of hair, the working mechanism of finasteride has been well described. Finasteride protects the hair follicles from harmful effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by reducing its serum levels. Since this discovery researchers started looking for alternatives to finasteride among natural substances as well as medicinal drugs that are supposed to possess similar working mechanisms. One such compound is dutasteride. It is quite similar in its chemical structure and a mode of action to finasteride but it is more powerful in blocking DHT and, therefore, it is expected to be more effective in protecting hair follicles and stopping hair loss than finasteride. Glaxo, the originator of Avodart (dutasteride) finished the Phase III. clinical study of dutasteride’s application for treating hair loss already in 2009 but results have not been released to public scrutiny yet and thus the drug was not approved by the FDA for treating hair loss. The main question mark is whether dutasteride is any more effective in stopping hair loss than finasteride and, secondly, whether its side effects are not too bad to discourage this treatment.

If you are suffering from hair loss and ever tried to find some treatment using the web search you could not have passed by Provillus, claiming to be the No.1 hair loss treatment today. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most heavily promoted and, therefore, amongst the best selling hair loss products ever. It is said to be a natural version of Propecia (the only FDA approved pill for hair loss) but having no negative side effects because it is all natural. But is it really so much effective as to deserve its self-proclaimed No.1 position among currently available hair loss treatments?

The claim of its efficacy is mainly based on saw palmetto and a couple of other herbal extracts (such as nettle root, pumpkin seed oil, etc.) being held for natural substitutes to Propecia’s finasteride. The fact is, however, that neither saw palmetto nor any of the other herbs used has been subjected to any rigorous testing for treating hair loss and the claims of their effectiveness are largely based on assumptions. The same applies to their harmfulness as there are quite many consumers complaining about saw palmetto’s various negative side effects. Besides herbal extracts Provillus contains a couple of vital vitamins and minerals such as PABA, B6, biotin, zinc, magnesium, etc, which are needed for a healthy hair growth but can hardly help regrow hair in a person suffering from male or female pattern baldness.

Hence, it can be concluded that although Provillus is the most heavily promoted hair loss product and it might also be one of the best selling products, it may not be the most effective one. It could be a useful hair growth supplement pill but its high content of saw palmetto extract may sound discouraging due to its relatively unknown health safety profile.

Women lose their hair too although it is less obvious. This is for many reasons. First, women tend to cover their thin spots using different hair systems and hair styles and secondly, their hair loss is usually diffuse. Female hair loss usually has different triggers than men’s form but the main reason while women lose their hair happens to be the same. It is the metabolite of the male hormone testosterone, called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), attacking their follicles, causing their miniaturization. However, their balding pattern is different. In men the whole hair follicle with all of its hairs is usually affected so that the whole follicle finally dies leaving the bald spot on the top of the head. In women it is only some hairs within the follicle that are negatively affected by DHT so that there will usually be one or two hairs in each affected hair follicle surviving miniaturization. This leads to the diffuse balding pattern in female hair loss sufferers. Besides that women can see all of their hair follicles affected not only those on the top of their head. This makes them poor candidates for hair transplantation as the hair transplant surgeon cannot predict which follicles will not be affected by miniaturization in the future and can be transplanted. And lastly, the big difference is in treating female hair loss as women may not use the men’s best hair loss treatment – Propecia. However, there is an alternative that not too many female hair loss sufferers are aware of and that is Aldactone (spironolactone). For a change Aldactone may not be used to treat baldness in men but it is a relatively save and effective treatment for women as, besides other things, it is also used to treat hirsutism (excess body hair) and acne in women.

Finasterde is the sole active substance of Propecia, the only clinically proven pill approved for the treatment of male pattern baldness. Finasteride is widely known and available as generic Propecia. Finasteride, a selective 5a-reductase inhibitor, is reducing the dihydroxytestestrone (DHT) levels in the human body and is, therefore, essential in the treatment of male androgenic alopecia. The aim of a recently conducted study with finasteride was to compare the topical and oral finasteride in the treatment of androgenic alopecia. In this double blind, randomized, clinical trial study 45 male hair loss patients have participated. Patients with male androgenic alopecia were selected according to their hair loss history and physical examinations. The patients were randomly divided in two test groups - the one that was using the topical finasteride and the second group of patients who used oral finasteride. The topical finasteride group of patients received a topical gel containing 1% of finasteride and placebo tablets, while the oral finasteride group received finasteride tablets (1 mg) and gel base (without any active substance) as placebo for 6 months. The patients have undergone clinical observation and recording of side effects prior to the treatment and at the end of the first week and then by a monthly follow-up. The size of the bald area, the total hair count and the number of terminal hairs were studied. The data were analyzed by descriptive and Chi-square statistical test. The mean duration of hair loss in the studied subjects was ca two years. Each month the terminal hair, size of the bald area and hair count between the two groups were compared. The results have shown that there were no significant differences between the two test groups in terms of hair thickness, hair counts and the size of the balding area. Serial measurements have indicated a significant increase in terminal hair counts in both groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that the therapeutic effects of both, the topical finasteride gel and the oral finasteride tablet were about the same.

Almost every hair loss sufferer has already heard about Propecia, being the only approved medicinal pill for treating hair loss in men. Propecia happens to be an antiandrogen drug, blocking the activity of the metabolite of the male hormone testosterone called dihydrotestosterone and thus protecting the hair follicles and eventually the hair from its harmful effects. The principal weakness of this oral medication is that it can only be taken by male patients. But 25% of adult women are also suffering from the hereditary type of hair loss and they cannot use this pill. The female form of hair loss is usually less focused on the top and front of the head as it is diffuse, so women lose their hair less noticeably. However, due to this balding pattern women also make less suitable candidates for hair transplantation as they lack the hair density in the donor area and the hair that would be transplanted from the back of their scalp would not be necessarily resistant to further balding as it is with male patients. Unfortunately, not so many doctors and only a few female hair loss sufferers know of spironolactone’s hair growth promoting effects although spironolactone is widely available also in its inexpensive form as generic Aldactone. This pill can be used to treat female pattern baldness quite effectively. However, since it has never being approved by any relevant health authority for such purpose caution is required. Other applications of Aldactone include the prevention of heart failure, the treatment of hyperkalemia, excess body hair in women and severe acne in women. Due to its antiandrogen properties, spironolactone can also be used as a common component in hormone therapy for male-to-female transsexual and transgender people. As you can see, the therapeutic properties of spironolactone are plentiful, which obviously carries the risk of increased side effects, Therefore, this medication should always be used on doctor’s prescription even if you only use it to treat hair loss.