Market is filled with many products and solutions that are supposed to help stop reducing hair number on ones head. The most popular and confirmed to be working are few of those: Finasteride, Minoxidil, Low-level laser therapy, surgery, hair multiplication or Ketoconazole.

Balding starting point

Minoxidil was originally used as an oral drug called Loniten in campaign to fight too high blood pressure. One interesting side effect of that drug was reversing baldness. In 1980s first 2% substance of minoxidil was used especially for hair lose treatment (marketing name of that drug was Rogaine in US and Regaine abroad). This drug proved to be quite effective, especially in healing frontal slap regions. The most interesting thing about Minoxidil is that method of action for this drug is still unknown.

Finasteride was marketed as Propercia or Proscar. It is a kind of steroid that inhibits DHT (binding to 5-alpha-reductase) and at first was used to cure prostatic hyperplesia. Wide research about this product shown very high quantity of reduced male baldness process. Those studies showed that over 83% of examined men taking 1 mg of this substance for two years noticed that their hairline stopped receding and 48% of all men taking part in research noticed even increased regrowth of their hairline. This steroid is not supposed to be used by pregnant women because of possible defects occurring in male fetuses.

The balding process

Dutasteride is another aza-steroid drug. It was marketed as Avodart in 2001. It works similar to funasterude and originally was supposed to cure benign prostatic hyperplasia. The important thing about this drug is that it is not in sale for baldness treatment.

Ketoconazole is preventing skinf and fungal infections. It is being proposed to AIDS suffering patients and it has multi-use. It prevents fungal infections and can be a hair growth stimulant to slow becoming bald. There are brand new studies from 2009 that show new results. Tested men used 2% KCZ lotion everyday while hair washing. And they all reported the process of hair losing stopped. Even regrowth a part of lost hair after three months of continuous use.

Our hair is our business card and our first impression often depends of our hairstyle condition. There is nothing wrong with being bald, but we can be sure that receding hairline is not looking very attractive and could have some negative input on our effectiveness. So it is important to show other people that we care about ourselves – just to prove that we are able also to take care of other things.

Brush with hair - first sign of losing hair

Important thing is that a person that is supposed to judge our appearance does not need to know that pattern baldness is mostly generated by genetic background. Some modern myths about baldness include believe that it is crucial for hair to develop in proper environmental conditions. Science studies showed that environmental factors have no effect on hair condition (except the most negative factors like radiation or pollution).

Other studies including results achieved from research did on citizens living in Maryborough, Australia showed that mid-frontal hair loss is increasing with age. That condition affects 57% of women and 73,5% of men (in age of 80 or greater). Placing those number in US we would achieve and effect of almost 40 million men being victims of pattern baldness effect. About 25 % of men start balding in age of 30, and more than half in age of 60. More than half will become partially bald eventually. Genetic balding is supposed to become reality because of the DHT which is a sex hormone that allows sexual activity and also hair growth all over male body. There is well known mechanism that triggers DGT to proceed and initiate follicular miniaturization which is directly leading to hair lose. Some studies says that baldness is being inherited only from maternal grandfather but there are many opinions that both male and female contribute their offspring’s capability of loosing hair by genetic heritage.

Genetic baldness is caused by both parents

The aesthetic influence of baldness on our general appearance need to be combined with our ability to cope with naked scalp. It is crucial for us not to forget that we are still obliged to prepare ourselves to meet with other people and not to forget that sometimes our look could be even more important than that we say.

Sometimes it is not so easy to find answers for questions that are filling us up from inside. Even more complicated situation could occur when we find more answers than we expected. And then another problem occurs. Is one answer better from another? Are those combined with each other or are independent? And which one is better to choose?

Everyone could face baldness one day

Thinking about hair loss problem we could also find few answers for the most important question: how to avoid hair loss? There are some substances that could be very helpful. But which one is the best and why?

Provillus

This one of the most popular products available on market. As the producers says this is not a magic pill. Every human being is different and there will always be someone that drug doesn’t work on him. So there is no guaranty of effectiveness. But this must be said that it is better to admit that a product is not perfect than lie in the most offensive way. Even 90 day refund policy of the producer is not so convincing as a true word.

Procerin

Procerin is advertised as the most effective substance that prevents hair loss. Any results of using this recipe should be seen not sooner than after a month and even after that some additional time could be needed. The drug is of course for outer use only.

Provillus vs. Procerin

Those two drugs work on very similar mechanism which is blocking the dihydrotestosterone working on hair follicles. With DHT lower efficiency rate it is at least possible that hair could stop become less and less visible. It could also cause visual increase of hair number.

Stages of becoming baldheaded

Conclusion

It is not obvious which substance works better and it is simply impossible to say which drug will work better on specified patient. Every human being is different and every genetic code lines the effectiveness of all drugs we use. So this is very individual case. For some people first one, for some other second one will be better. There is no “better”. There is only “more accurate for me”.

Rogaine is sometimes also known as Regaine or Minoxidil. This patented drug is widely known as a special medicine that is able to stop hair loss or even promote hair growing again on bald skin. This drug is supposed to help with many hair problems including androgenic alopecia and other kinds of baldness. Potential changes in hairline may disappear relatively quickly (even in few months).

Shampoo X

The past

Some interesting facts about Rogaine history shows that this drug could have multiple use. At first it was supposed to become high blood pressure treatment medicine and it was used as oral drug under trade name Loniten. On producers note written on package we could find description of side effects which was increased growth or even darkening of body hair. After that fact become noticed another corporation produced a drug with 2% solution of minoxidil as a solution for women and 5% concentration for men. As baldness treatment specific this substance was sold under brand name Rogaine in US and Canada, but a little bit different name was used in Europe and South East Asia, where it become widely known as Regaine. The old patent expired in 1996 and new formula was set to be sold in 2007 as a drug for male baldness. The drug can be purchased in UK, but only on private prescription.

How it works

There are some studies available about the efficiency of this drug on healthy males in age between 18 and 50 years old with a problem of male pattern baldness called androgenic alopecia. And there results showed that application of 5% concentration drug during 32 week campaign increases hair count by up to thirty nine hairs per square centimeter. The group that got a placebo got also increase of hair counts but at level of 5 hairs per square centimeter.

The specific mechanism that allows Rogaine to work has not been yet fully understood. Minoxidil causes the process of hyperpolarization of cell membranes – it is a potassium channel opener. The most impressive results are visible when there is not so large area of lost hair. And it is used for central balding.

Many people would like to have long and strong hair

Side effects

As all drugs this one is not devoid of side effects. The most common (and problematic) thing to feel is discomfort of itching. The medicine contains alcohol – and that may give dandruff effect because of drying the skin of the scalp. In oral version of minoxidil there could appear swelling of the face, rapid heartbeat, necrosis of subendocardial areas, cardiac lesions or lightheadedness. Every substance could also cause some allergic reactions. One particular side effect could be also… hair loss. This effect is a part of very special process called “shedding”. And there is no guarantee that lost hair will be replaced with new ones. It is important to notice that this chemical substance is lethal to cats, so it is important to prevent this animals from all contact with Rogaine.

Alopecia areata

The problem of baldness is a part of many lives. Especially men are touched by a hand of hair loss and it is the male sex that need to manage this problem. The question that comes to ones head when skin becomes more and more visible on scalp is: how to stop receding hairline? Is this possible?

Many men can't face the truth

The problem

The very first thing to say about that problem is that baldness is a natural process that comes from genetic recipe that is a part of our biological heritage. But there are also some cases of becoming bald because of other reasons. Alopedia is inducted by cancer chemotherapy. As we all know chemotherapy could cause major problems to physical and mental health. And baldness could cause some problems with many man still are not accepting their image without hair (or with major hair loss). Many psychological issues compared to baldness are one of the most recognizable symptoms of men who have problems with accepting their hair loss. But there are still many men who feel proud of being bald. There are many bald famous men who are encouraging them to increase their self esteem (these could be Yul Brynner, Sean Connery, Patrick Steward or Vin Diesel – among those men are legends, action-movie stars and unique skill actors).

The process of baldness

The solution

Many companies are building campaigns of products that are supposed to solve hair loss problem. Those products are made to prevent baldness, to reverse the process or to force hair to regrow. Other part of this branch is transplanting hair.

For all alopecia suffers there are many treatments that cause bigger or smaller success. Some techniques have proven to be successful for some people (e.g. finasteride or minoxidil). But there is one rule that seems to be the most important here: it is easier to maintain the hair that have not fall apart than to regrow. All the new techniques in transplant surgery are nowadays almost perfect and it becomes almost impossible to notice the difference between natural and artificial hair.

It is very important to notice that there are only two drug-based treatments approved by FDA (Propecia and Minoxidil).

Women could also face baldness