Avoid   Baldness

Lots of sportsmen seem to have a thing towards hair re-growth treatments. Ryan Giggs is one such sportsmen recently photographed walking out of a hair clinic, clutching on to a report.

Other sportsmen to get hair replacement treatments include cricketers such as Shane Warne, Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch, while rugby players Wayne Rooney and Austin Healey have also resorted to similar treatments, all costing around £6,000-£10,000 each.

Giggs’ treatment involves a laser therapy session lasting 40 minutes which will encourage the re-growth of hair follicles, while a special re-growth formula and shampoo is rubbed into his scalp at least twice per day.

Vaughan’s hair re-growth option is far more expensive than Giggs’ and costs around £10,000 for a remedying thinning hair. Vaughan’s thinning scalp is woven in with Russian hair which is carried out over a number of treatments.

These hair loss treatments might sound fancy, but they all do not provide the expected results. One such salon was censured twice last year for misleading advertisements which featured Gooch and Warne implying that this salon was able to curb hair loss and re-grow lost hair.

A consultant dermatologist, Dr. Andrew Messenger from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield said he advised those suffering from baldness to think twice before resorting to a private clinic that made claims that sounded too extravagant to be true. According to him, there is nothing that exists that could possibly grow hair back on bald spots. The only two medicines – Minoxidil and Finasteride used to treat baldness are only capable of increasing hair density by 5-15%.

Apparently light can grow hair, or as is suggested by the latest hair loss treatment using laser light. The new treatment for hair loss problems experienced in both men and women apparently aids the growth of new hair, combats thinning hair and even scalp problems. The laser is made based on a very basic theory which is that light stimulates the function of cells. Therefore, with the use of the laser, cells will begin to function healthily and this in turn will stimulate the growth of new and healthy hair.

The laser hair loss treatment is fairly energy efficient, requiring very low power. The equipment is fairly easy to use and is quite simple. All you need to do is place the hood over a patient’s head and then press the ‘start’ button and that is it.

The laser therapy consists of various doses of light in order to produce the hair growth needed, be it thinning hair, bald patches, etc. The treatment needs to be continued for around nine to ten weeks, with each session lasting only thirty minutes. It is important that you ensure that the person meting out the treatment uses the right amount of light on your problem areas – otherwise, the treatment will not work for you.

Problem areas on your scalp should show some kind of improvement following your laser treatment during week five or six. If you are suffering from extreme hair loss, then week six and nine should show results. Once hair re-growth has been achieved, you will need to go in for routine follow-ups and maintenance sessions. Monthly ‘booster’ treatments are also recommended.

Hair transplants for women are quite possible, but it does have its limits. Hair transplants are popularly advertised for men, as men are the gender most affected by hair loss.

For a woman to be able to have hair transplants, the hair loss needs to be androgenetic alopecia, scarring alopecia, traction alopecia, alopecia due to cosmetic surgery faults, accident trauma caused alopecia or cosmetic correction needs such as deficient eyebrow hair growth. These types of hair loss are permanent and thus qualify for hair transplant procedures.

Doctors will first remove and/or transplant all the affected sections. The only issue with women being treated with hair transplantation is the availability of a good donor area from which healthy hair follicles can be taken. Another issue is that women expect to regain a full head of hair following a hair transplant procedure however, this is impossible to achieve. With hair transplantation, hair follicles are merely redistributed and this does not mean that new hair follicles will grow. The procedure will of course improve the density of hair, but achieving the original density will depend on the level of alopecia and the available donor hair area on the scalp. This means that the larger the affected scalp area, the more limited will be the donor area – making the task that much harder and in regaining the original density of hair impossible.

Therefore, it is important that you take the careful advice of your surgeon before you decide on opting for a hair transplant, as you will need to assess the success rate and understand fully the limitations of such a procedure.

Effective hair loss treatments are hard to come by unlike the plethora of lotions, oils, and other products available in the market, which provide no relief.

Herbal products on the other hand are far more effective. Take for instance sage and rosemary – they have been used for centuries in the Mediterranean region to counter hair loss. Generally, it is applied topically. Although not much scientific research has been carried out on their effectiveness – rosemary does contain antiseptic properties and is also known for natural skin conditioning agents. The only drawback is that both herbs tend to tighten skin tissues, but can be used to condition the scalp, clean pores and stimulate hair follicles.

Saw Palmetto is another herb that could cure hair loss problems. This herb, which must be taken orally, is recommended for men only. A common substitute used for women is the extract of nettle root. Used first by Native Americans, Saw Palmetto is used to heal prostate disorders, stomach aches and dysentery. Today, it has become well known as a smart herbal cure for baldness and is known to slow down the hair loss problem and in some cases, even curing male pattern baldness.

Saw palmetto has been likened to Finasteride or Propecia – prescription hair loss medication – which works with damaging hormones and stimulates new hair growth. Saw palmetto slows down the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), thus lessening damage to hair follicles and gives that all important push to the hair replacement cycle.

Discovering the relationship between baldness and testosterone has provided much insight towards finding a possible cure for hair loss.
Essentially a male defining hormone, testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) via a complicated biological procedure. DHT is also a hormone, a by-product of testosterone in the prostate gland and in the glands contained under the scalp. The existence of DHT in these glands under the scalp has always been a matter of worry for dermatologists.

Prevalence of DHT in the scalp means that skin pores leading to hair follicles become inundated in DHT, almost to the point of being congested so badly that hair follicles are completely over spent. This results in a complete stop of the process of hair growth, especially in men with a large concentration of DHT in their body.

Minoxidil is one cure for hair loss. Not only does it stimulate hair follicles and promote hair growth, it wipes out DHT by debilitating it. With the use of Minoxidil over a period of time, DHT will stop being a threat to hair growth, and by this time, hair growth should not be a problem for you.

If on the lookout for a more natural cure for hair loss, try Saw Palmetto. It also counters the production of DHT, acting as a roadblock of sorts in your body and inhibits testosterone from converting to DHT. Saw Palmetto is generally recommended only for men and must be taken orally.