Hair Loss

At the moment, there are only two medicinal treatments that have been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US for treating hair loss - topical minoxidil (brand name Rogaine) and oral finasteride (Propecia). Topical minoxidil is suitable for both sexes, whereas finasteride can only be prescribed to male patients. Minoxidil is a vasodilator, initially used to treat high blood pressure, which was later found to stimulate hair growth when applied topically to the scalp. Finasteride is an antiandrogen that was first used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as prostate enlargement. It acts by inhibiting conversion of the male hormone testosterone to the follicle-harming dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The discovery of finasteride’s positive effects on hair regrowth led to finding the true cause of hereditary baldness, which is the harmful attacks of DHT on our hair follicles. Since making this discovery, a quest for other alternative DHT blockers has begun, especially amongst antiandrogen drugs and herbs that have, in the past, been used to treat urinary problems.

Dutasteride (trade name Avodart) is an antiandrogen drug similar to finasteride in its chemical structure and mode of action and has been studied extensively for treating hair loss. It has recently completed phase III clinical testing for efficacy and safety in the treatment of male pattern baldness and the study results are pending. Like finasteride it is also used for treating BPH. Dutasteride is believed by many to be a more powerful hair loss drug than finasteride but also with more severe side effects.

Flutamide (trade name Eulexin) is a strong antiandrogen used to treat prostate cancer. It acts by binding to the androgen receptors and thus competing with DHT. Oral use of flutamide can cause serious side effects but it is believed that topical applications might have less adverse side effects and could be, in the future, used to treat hereditary hair loss. More research is needed to verify such claims.

Spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) is another antiandrogen that works by binding to androgen receptors, competing with DHT. It is used in women to treat acne, hair loss and excess body hair and although there are some generic topical applications for the treatment of male pattern baldness which contain spironolactone, it has never been approved to treat hair loss in men and should be avoided. For women, spironolactone can be considered as a reasonable alternative to the men’s best hair-loss pill, finasteride, which cannot be used in women.

As has been mentioned earlier, following the discovery of DHT attacks on hair follicles being the true cause of hereditary baldness, herbalists started looking for possible natural alternatives to finasteride among plants that have been traditionally used to treat urinary problems and, more specifically, enlarged prostates.

Saw palmetto (serenoa repens) has been used for decades to treat prostate enlargement and it is one of the few plants used in natural remedies that have been subjected to some sort of scientific research in regards to their potential for treating BPH. Its supporters assume that it works by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone into prostate and follicle-harming DHT but no study has yet confirmed this assumption. No clinical research has ever been concluded on saw palmetto’s effects on hair loss. Despite that, saw palmetto is widely used by thousands of hair loss sufferers around the world as a safe natural alternative to finasteride.

Extract from the bark of the evergreen tree pygeum africanum is another popular herbal ingredient found in natural hair-loss treatments and many herbalists believe it is more potent in treating hair loss than saw palmetto. Its rise to popularity also comes from the general assumption that this plant, thought to be beneficial for treating prostate enlargement, must be also effective in treating baldness. Pygeum africanum has been less well studied than saw palmetto and it has never been used in any clinical hair-loss study.

The third most popular herbal ingredient used in natural hair-loss cures is nettle root extract. This herbal drug is derived from the root of the stinging nettle, a popular healing plant found in temperate and subtropical zones of the northern hemisphere. Its use in natural hair-loss remedies also stems from the fact that it is supposed to help shrink enlarged prostates and is thus believed to inhibit the conversion of testosterone to DHT. Like the two aforementioned herbal extracts, nettle has never been used in any clinical hair-loss study.

This list of hair-loss drugs and herbal extracts that are believed to mimic the actions of finasteride, the only approved pill for hair loss, is not exhaustive. There seem to be many other ingredients, mostly of natural origin, that claim the ability to block DHT and thus reverse hair loss. However, no clinical evidence exists that any herb contained in the natural remedies promotes new hair growth. Whether you decide to try a commercial herbal remedy or just one or two herbs on their own, keep in mind that, besides there being no guarantee of their effectiveness, no daily dosage has been established and side effects might occur, despite the general belief that herbal hair-loss remedies are safe and free of them. In addition, it is not advised to try any of the aforementioned medicinal substitutes to finasteride or to buy Propecia online without first consulting your doctor.

Propecia happens to be the only FDA (the Food and Drug Administration in the US) approved pill for treating male pattern boldness at this point in time and it has been accepted as a hair loss treatment for male patients also in many other countries of the world. Finasteride happens to be the only active substance of Propecia. It is an antiandrogen drug originally used to treat prostate enlargement also called benign prostatic hyperplasia. It the 1990 finasteride’s hair growth promoting properties were discovered and later patented by is originator Merck under the brandname Propecia. Therefore, Propecia is also available in generic form as generic Propecia or simply finasteride. Finasteride has been produced for many years by a number of generic pharmaceuticals firms around the world and is available in 1mg form (which is exactly the dosage of Propecia) and 5mg form (like Proscar) for treating enlarged prostates.

Propecia is a prescription medicine. However, there are still many countries in the world where neither Propecia nor finasteride have been approved for treating hair loss and doctors have never heard of their beneficial hair growth promoting properties and, therefore, will never prescribe them to their patients. For such patients the only option is to buy finasteride online or Propecia if you like in one of many existing online pharmacies. In some of them you will need to deliver a copy of your prescription but in many others you do not need one and you only have to complete an online medical form. This solves the problem for many people who live in counties where they are unable to get a prescription. Then the question arises what you should buy, whether branded Propecia or generic finasteride. The answer is simple, both have the same properties, so if you want to spend less buy generic finasteride. Many consumers are afraid of fake copies of pills bought in online pharmacies. This happens but buying the branded form of medication is no guarantee for it being authentic. Branded products are much more expensive than their generic counterparts and therefore attract more fraud.

Concealing bald spots is for many people affected with baldness the only existing option to regain the appearance of a full head of hair, as treatments designed for hair regrowth only work for some hair loss conditions. Non-surgical hair replacement is another term used for covering bald spots by non-surgical means. The two main techniques of non-surgical hair replacement today involve the use of hair systems and hair loss concealers. Various types of hair systems exist, such as full wigs, hairpieces, toupees, hair extensions and weaves. They can all look extremely authentic and have been used for centuries to cover bald areas. However, their main weaknesses are high maintenance costs and, in many situations, the discomfort of wearing them.

Concealers are a relatively new invention, designed to overcome the difficulties associated with wearing and maintaining wigs, but many people think they are incapable of withstanding adverse external conditions and appear unnatural. This is no longer true, as many of them have greatly improved recently, both in terms of their authentic appearance and their resistance to external influences. It pays to understand how different types of hair replacement products work, in order to estimate their suitability for your current condition and compatibility with your lifestyle.

HAIR SYSTEMS
As for hair systems, there are a number of factors determining the user experience, as well as their price, such as the type of hair, the technology used to make the wig, the foundation of the hair system and how it is attached to the scalp. As far as the type of hair goes, it can be artificial or natural. The latter can be of animal or human origin. Human hair requires more care than artificial hair but it looks more authentic, lasts longer and is more comfortable to wear. Its downside is its higher cost and the fact that it can lose its colour when exposed to direct sun for long hours, or break, as normal human hair does. Secondly, hair systems can be hand-tied or machine-tied. Hand-tied wigs happen to be the more expensive alternative and the more authentic-looking solution. Furthermore, the foundation of a hair system can be either a polymer or a mesh. The polymer foundation is the more affordable, though less comfortable, option but it lasts longer.

The method of attaching a wig to your scalp and blending it with your existing hair is an extremely important factor. The semi-permanently attached hair systems are either glued to your scalp or woven into your existing hair and can only be removed in a hair salon, once every five weeks for cleaning. The temporarily-attached hair systems use double-sided sticky tape or clips to fix the hairpiece to your scalp and existing hair. You can remove and clean them any time you like but they can also be easily and unexpectedly removed, which can lead to embarrassing situations.

One thing that can surprise many prospective buyers is the price. Although you can get a wig for a few hundred dollars, the more authentic-looking pieces cost a few thousand dollars and require regular maintenance costing a couple of hundred dollars a month. In addition, you have to buy at least two identical pieces, one to wear while the other is being maintained by your hair salon.

HAIR LOSS CONCEALERS
Hair loss concealers, also called hair thickeners, are an alternative to hair systems for people who have some miniaturised fine hair left in their balding area. They are more comfortable to wear than wigs but they will never give a full head of hair to a completely bald person. They also seem to be a less expensive solution compared with hair systems.

There are three hair loss-concealing techniques that do the trick by: a) painting your scalp to match your hair colour, b) thickening your hair by coating and penetrating the hair and trapping moisture and volume-building proteins inside the hair shaft and, lastly, c) there are microfibers that cling to your hair like branches to the trunk of a tree, increasing the hair density. Microfiber-based, hair-loss concealers can be typically applied in as little as 30 seconds, as opposed to a minimum of five minutes for hair-thickening concealers. However, microfibers are less water-resistant and it is quite difficult to apply them precisely and, therefore, they are not very good at creating an authentic-looking frontal hairline. Their greatest advantage is that they are unrecognizable in your hair, even with a very close inspection.

Hair thickeners, especially those that also colour your scalp, are extremely water-resistant and excellent for frontal hairlines but they take longer to apply. Their greatest weakness, in comparison to microfibers, is that in direct sunlight it can become visible to a sharp eye that the scalp has been painted. Some hair-loss sufferers use a combination of two products simultaneously to overcome the weaknesses of individual products and to achieve the most authentic shade and appearance. Most often a combination of a hair thickener and a microfibrous concealer is used. The results of such combinations are usually excellent even in people with very thin hair.

It can be concluded that wigs are more expensive and less comfortable than hair-loss concealers but they can cover a completely bald head, so they can also be used with burn patients and patients affected by alopecia areata, where concealers are of little help. Hair-loss concealers are convenient mainly for special occasions, when you want to look your best but many people use them permanently with great success.

Spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) is a diuretic used to treat high blood pressure. It also possesses anti-androgenic properties and is used to treat acne, excess body hair and hereditary hair loss in women. When it comes to treating female hair loss spironolactone is considered to be the only alternative to the most powerful male hair loss pill Propecia (finasteride) although it has not been approved by the FDA as a hair loss treatment. However, due to its strong feminising effects oral spironolactone should not be used in men. Despite that many male hair loss patients are also experimenting with this drug. Caution is advised here as men should not take this drug orally and, if at all, should only use the topical applications. Spiro cream is one such application and it is relatively popular among male hair loss patients.

The problem with using spironolactone for treating female pattern baldness is to get it prescribed as most dermatologists have either never heard of spironolactone’s positive effects on hair loss in women and/or are not allowed to prescribe this drug to their patients. It very much depends on the country where you live and its legislation as well as the knowledge and experience of your doctor. Solution of the last resort is to buy spironolactone online. There are online pharmacies that may or may not require a prescription but many of them are ready to issue you one upon completion of the online consultation form. Should you decide to try this drug for your hair loss and should there be no other option to buy it than the online pharmacy make sure you get some advice from you doctor even though he/she cannot recommend and prescribe it to you and abandon the treatment immediately if any negative side effects emerge.

Hair loss can have different causes and forms. Hereditary hair loss is the most common type of baldness affecting more than one third of the male population and almost one quarter of females. This type of hair loss is characteristic of its horseshoe balding pattern in males. In addition to hereditary form of hair loss called male or female pattern baldness there are different other types of hair loss such as alopecia areata, which is the second most common form of baldness affecting about 2% of the population. Alopecia areata is often called patch baldness or spot baldness because of its characteristic patchy balding pattern and it is believed to be an autoimmune disease. And finally there are various other reasons why people lose their hair at some point in their lives such as hormonal changes, chemotherapy treatment, other diseases, etc but most of these conditions are reversible. Some forms of baldness can be treated with very good success and some not.

Hereditary hair loss is often difficult to treat and almost impossible to reverse, especially when the treatment starts after many years of balding. Alopecia areata is extremely unpredictable and even if you have managed to regrow your hair there is no guarantee that it will not be lost again a few years later. In such instances it seems more appropriate to mask your thin areas rather than hope for regrowth. Hair transplantation could be an elegant solution but it usually cannot be used in alopecia areta patients and in females suffering from diffuse form of hereditary hair loss. So in these instances it is hair systems such as full wigs, hairpieces, hair extensions, toupees, etc that can only give you the impression of having full head of hair. There are various types of wigs, whereas their prices largely depend on the type of hair used, manufacturing technology and the foundation of the wig. The prices can vary between a few hundred and several thousand dollars.

For those who only require quick fixes for some special occasions hair loss concealers are the most suitable option. They can cover your thin areas in minutes and have become extremely resistant to external factors so that you do not need to be afraid of rain or wind. They also look very authentic if you choose the right shade and apply them correctly. Their major weakness is that they can only be applied to areas where there is some hair left as they thicken the existing hair, add some fiber to it and paint the scalp in order to make it less visible. Hair loss concealers can also be used daily and most of them even enable you to continue with your routine topical hair loss treatment.

The two main techniques of non-surgical hair replacement today involve the use of hair systems and hair loss concealers. Various types of hair systems such as full wigs, hairpieces, hair extensions, toupees and weaves can look extremely authentic and have been used for ages to cover bald spots, typically with good rates of success. However, their main weaknesses are high maintenance costs and, in many situations, the discomfort of wearing them. Hair loss concealers on the other hand have been around for a shorter period of time and have often been looked down upon for being incapable of withstanding adverse external conditions and for appearing unnatural. This no longer appears to be true as many of them have greatly improved recently, both in terms of their authentic appearance and their resistance.

There are three types of hair loss concealers: those that simply paint your scalp to match your hair colour, then there are hair thickeners that thicken your hair by coating and penetrating the hair and trapping moisture and volume-building proteins inside the hair shaft and, lastly, there are bald spot concealers that apply microfibers that cling to your hair like branches to the trunk of a tree, increasing the hair density. Some products combine two of the aforementioned approaches and paint your scalp and thicken your hair at the same time. All of these products come in various forms, such as a powder, cream or a spray. Hair loss concealers do not contain any ingredients that would combat hair loss but some of them allow you to continue with a topical hair loss treatment such as minoxidil.

Microfibre-based hair loss concealers can be typically applied in as little as 30 seconds versus a minimum of five minutes required for hair thickeners. However, microfibres are less water-resistant and it is quite difficult to apply them precisely and so they are not very good for creating an authentic-looking frontal hairline. Their biggest advantage is that they are unrecognisable in your hair, even with a very close inspection. Hair thickeners, especially those that also colour your scalp, are extremely water-resistant and excellent for frontal hairlines but they take longer to apply. They cover your scalp with a layer of colouring substance, which makes it impossible to apply any topical hair loss treatment. Their greatest weakness in comparison to microfibres is that in direct sunlight it can become visible to the sharp eye that the scalp has been painted.

The common weakness of all kinds of substances used for concealing hair loss seems to be the limited choice of available shades. Some hair loss sufferers use a combination of two products simultaneously to overcome the weaknesses of individual products and to achieve the most authentic looking shade and appearance. Most often a combination of a hair thickener and a microfibrous concealer is used. The results of such combinations are typically excellent. If you wish to try any such combinations, make sure that you apply the scalp-painting, hair loss thickener first and then use the microfibres to mask the remaining imperfections. There are many products in all three categories of hair loss concealers out there and you may want to test several of them in order to identify those that best match you hair colour, type and style of application.

Alopecia areata is known to be an unpredictable hair disease affecting about 2% of the world’s population and is the second most common type of hair loss after hereditary baldness. It is often called patch baldness or spot baldness due to its patchy, balding pattern. In severe cases, it can affect the whole scalp (alopecia totalis) or the entire body (alopecia universalis). It is not yet known what causes alopecia areata. It is thought to be an autoimmune disease triggered by a person’s autoimmune system, which decides to attack its own hair follicles. Sometimes the hair grows back a few years later and stays and sometimes it falls out again. Although there is no treatment for alopecia areata that works 100%, some treatments have been proven to improve this condition. The most popular treatment option, which does not require a doctor’s prescription, is topical minoxidil, such as Rogaine. It can be used alone or in combination with other medicinal treatments that will be discussed later.

The best known prescription treatments for alopecia areata are corticosteroid shots, injected straight into the bald spot, and steroid gels and creams. Corticosteroid injections are a more effective but also the more painful option of the two. The aim of this approach is to suppress the autoimmune reaction but it has been proven to work only on small bald spots. Another common treatment for small bald spots, which is supposed to affect the autoimmune reaction, is the application of topical anthralin. Anthralin is a tar-like substance used to treat psoriasis.

Topical immunotherapy is the most common form of treatment for extensive conditions. It uses an immunosuppressant such as cyclosporine that is applied to the skin to cause a skin reaction similar to mild eczema, which in some cases leads to hair regrowth. This method is also the most drastic form of treatment, causing various negative side effects.

Another therapy for extensive alopecia areata is PUVA, which stands for "psoralen plus ultraviolet A radiation", consisting of a topical or oral application of psoralen, followed by ultraviolet radiation. This treatment is better tolerated than topical immunotherapy but is also less effective.

A recently conducted research study with sulfasalazine also spells some promise for patients with severe conditions of alopecia areata. Sulfasalazine is an anti-inflammatory medication first used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and is hoped to be soon used to treat alopecia areata.

This is the brief overview of the most common medicinal treatments for alopecia areata. There obviously is a number of other alternative therapies that are claimed to help treat this condition and do not require a doctor’s visit. Consumers should be aware that none of these products has ever been clinically shown to be effective in treating alopecia areata and such claims are legitimate only because these products are not regulated pharmaceuticals but non-regulated cosmetics.

It pays to have some basic understanding of the existing hair loss treatment options before you decide on your treatment. The hair loss treatment options can be, in the first place, divided into surgical and non-surgical therapies. There are only a few surgical techniques currently used but the non-surgical spectrum is wide and confusing. There seem to be thousands of non-surgical treatments available to those who wish to avoid hair transplant surgery. Propecia and Rogaine might be the best known medicinal hair loss treatments, while dried fruits of saw palmetto and a Chinese herb, He Shou Wu, also known as Fo-Ti, are the natural ingredients most frequently found as the main active ingredients in alternative hair loss remedies.

The non-surgical hair loss therapies can be in principle divided into medicinal and alternative treatments, whereas when considering methods of application, they can be administered as oral treatments, topicals and others, such as LaserComb. Irrespective of the aforementioned breakdowns, hair growth treatments work either by blocking the activity of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), also called anti-androgens, or by stimulating hair growth.

DHT is a biologically-active metabolite of the male hormone testosterone and it is held to be the main cause of both male and female pattern baldness. DHT causes hair miniaturization as the hair becomes finer and thinner with every new hair growth cycle until the hair follicles refuse to produce another hair and die. The exact mechanism by which DHT acts on hair follicles is not known, though. Finasteride, better known under its trade name Propecia, is the only clinically-proven and FDA-approved anti-androgen used for treating male pattern baldness. It acts by preventing the creation of harmful DHT in the scalp. Since the introduction of Propecia, many other drugs and natural therapies have emerged claiming anti-androgen activity. Some of them are thought to work by a different mode of action than Propecia, such as preventing DHT from binding to the receptor sites in the hair follicle or blocking activity in the androgen receptor itself.

Minoxidil, also known under its trade name Rogaine (Regaine in Europe), is the best-known hair loss medicine amongst hair growth stimulants. It is assumed that hair growth stimulants work by stimulating epithelial growth of hair follicles and some of them may also counteract the hardening of the hair follicles but the exact mechanism of their action has never been described. One thing that all hair growth stimulants appear to have in common is their ability to increase the length of the hair growth cycle, thus improving the ratio of hair in the growth phase and to increase the hair’s thickness.

The natural hair loss remedies are assumed to work by the aforementioned modes of action and are often presented as safer alternatives than medicinal treatments. There are not too many hair loss treatments out there that have been clinically proven and independently verified to be effective in treating baldness. Of those few existing, all happen to be medicinal drugs. Natural hair loss remedies have still to live up to their originator’s claims.

When deciding about the most suitable hair loss treatment option, you should consider approaching the problem from different angles. It is best advised to use a combination of anti-androgen and hair growth stimulant, such as a Propecia/Rogaine combo. Alternative, hair loss treatments, for instance herbal remedies, should largely be considered as a method of fine-tuning this basic regimen in order to achieve additional benefits.

When it comes to combating hair loss, it is medicinal pills and topicals that spring to most peoples’ minds as the options holding the greatest promise. There also happen to be other available treatment options, such as surgical as well as non-surgical hair replacement, but to date only oral and topical medicinal treatments have been proven to reduce and reverse hair loss naturally. Hair transplantation, though providing the best cosmetic results, cannot slow or reverse hair loss. Natural and herbal hair loss treatments seek to mimic medicinal treatments in their mode of action but their effectiveness in treating hair loss has never been confirmed in any significant clinical study and many of them are associated with hair scams.

The two medicinal treatments that have been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US for treating hair loss are topical minoxidil (trade name Rogaine/Regaine) and oral finasteride (Propecia). These two hair loss drugs have been also approved by national health supervisory authorities in many other countries. Topical minoxidil is suitable for both sexes, whereas finasteride can only be prescribed to male patients. Minoxidil is a vasodilator, originally used to treat high blood pressure, which was later found to stimulate new hair growth when applied topically to the scalp. Its exact mechanism of action is not known, though.

Finasteride (better known as Propecia) is an antiandrogen that was initially applied to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as prostate enlargement. It acts by inhibiting conversion of the male hormone testosterone to the follicle harming didydrotestosterone (DHT). The discovery of finasteride’s positive influence on hair growth led to finding the true cause of hereditary baldness, which are the harmful attacks of DHT on our hair follicles. Since making this discovery, a quest for other alternative DHT inhibitors has begun, especially amongst antiandrogen drugs and herbs that have, in the past, been used to treat urinary problems.

Dutasteride (trade name Avodart) is a drug similar to finasteride and has been studied extensively for treating hair loss. It is currently undergoing phase III clinical testing. It has been approved for treating BPH and is therefore available in pharmacies in many countries around the world. Although it has not yet been approved for treating hair loss by any national health supervisory authority, it is being prescribed by some clinics and doctors to male patients who no longer respond to finasteride. Dutasteride is believed to be a more powerful hair loss drug than finasteride but also with more severe side effects.

Flutamide (trade name Eulexin) is an extremely powerful antiandrogen used to treat prostate cancer. It works by binding to the androgen receptors and thus competing with DHT. Oral use of flutamide can cause serious side effects but it is believed that topical applications might have less adverse side effects and could be, in the future, used to combat hereditary hair loss. More research is needed to verify such claims.

Spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) is another antiandrogen that works by binding to androgen receptors, competing with DHT. It is used in women to treat acne, excess body hair and hair loss and although there are some generic topical applications designed for treatment of male pattern baldness containing spironolactone, it has never been approved to treat hair loss in men and should better be avoided.

Aminexil, was developed by L’Oreal to treat baldness in men and women and its molecule is very similar to that of minoxidil. Its mode of action is not exactly known and it is believed to be a less powerful weapon in the fight against hair loss than minoxidil.

NEOSH101 is one of the most promising novel hair loss drugs under development. It is in phase II clinical trials and is supposed to be a hair growth stimulant, distantly related in its actions to minoxidil. Although not expected to become an ultimate cure for baldness, it could improve the chances of many hair loss sufferers of regrowing some of their lost hair.

The above list of medicinal treatments for hair loss is not exhaustive. There are also other drugs though to help treat hereditary baldness, such as superoxide dismutase, fluridil, ketoconazole, alfatradiol, etc. but none of them has ever been proven in any serious clinical study to promote hair growth and further studies will be needed to evaluate their actual effects on hair loss. Therefore, for the time being, minoxidil and finasteride remain the main weapons in the fight against genetically-determined hair loss conditions in male patients.

Men have been seeking an ultimate cure for hair loss for thousands of years but until very recently with relatively little success as most available cures were either cosmetic cover-ups or unsophisticated vitamin/mineral pills and herbal lotions, with quite many of them just being scams. It was only with the advent of finasteride and minoxidil and improvements made in hair transplantation techniques in recent fifteen years that the new era began, enabling hair loss patients to halt the further progression of the balding process and replace the missing hair on top of their head using the hair left at the back of their scalp. However, to this day no ultimate cure for hereditary hair loss exists. There are presently several promising drugs and techniques under development but none of these new therapies is expected to hit the market before 2013.

NEOSH101 is being developed by the US company Neosil and it is currently undergoing phase IIb clinical testing. It has been shown to be a more potent and faster-acting hair growth stimulant than minoxidil and it only needs applying once daily. Though considerably improving the current hair loss treatment options, NEOSH101 is unlikely to become an ultimate cure for hereditary hair loss. The clinical trials seem to be advancing slower than most hair loss sufferers would like to see and, hence, do not hold your breath for it hitting the market anytime soon. NEOSH101 is mainly expected to replace minoxidil and other currently available hair growth stimulants.

Another promising area of development is genetics research, especially the telomerase research. Telomerase is an enzyme that puts natural caps on telomeres and thus protects them from shortening. Telomerase thereby maintains the genomic integrity. Shortened telomeres are associated with the premature aging processes. However, the uncontrolled activation of telomerase can cause cancer growth. Cancer research is the main focus of the telomerase study but scientists are also looking for other applications, such as anti-aging drugs and drugs against hereditary hair loss and premature grey hair. Although still under development, there are already some generic products available on the market that seek to emulate the mechanism of telomerase action but they have no scientific backing and should better be avoided. Telomerase research could really change the world of medicine but its commercial application might be a good decade away.

Hair multiplication, often called hair cloning, is the next hopeful treatment approach being developed. This technique involves extracting the healthy hair follicles from the back of the patient’s scalp, culturing and multiplying them and injecting the newly-grown hair cells into the bald scalp. Among several teams of scientists on three continents researching hair multiplication, the UK healthcare firm Intercytex appears to be the frontrunner. Intercytex reported results of the latest stage of the clinical phase II study of ICX-TRC (a suspension of a patient’s own dermal papilla cells) in March 2008 and they were positive. The next release is expected by the end of 2008. However, since the aforementioned data release no substantial progress has been reported and the company seems to be struggling, having serious difficulties to secure financing for its ongoing projects. This therapy might hit the market in 2013 at the earliest. The main benefit of hair multiplication would be solving the shortage of donor hair that is the main limiting factor in hair transplantation.

Generating hair follicles in wounds of hair-free skin is a completely new approach to growing new hair. It was discovered accidentally as wounded skin in mice started producing new hair. This technology is currently being developed by the US medical device company, Follica, which licensed this technology from the University of Pennsylvania. Though this technique may sound weird it is said to use only common instruments and drugs that have already been medically approved and thus it should not take too long for it to become commercially available.

This is the list of the main promising lines of research and development in the area of treating hereditary hair loss that are being currently developed but some others seem to be in the pipeline. It appears that becoming bald will one day be by choice rather than destiny.