Hair Restoration and Replacement

In order to prevent hair loss you must first know what causes it. Usually, for men the main cause is a substance called DHT which is a component of the male hormone testosterone. In 95% of the cases of hair loss in men this metabolite from the male hormone is the cause. Of course there are many other reasons like stress, medicine, and lack of proper nutrition including low levels of iron and proteins. For women the main causes may be: births, thyroid problems, severe diets, chemotherapy, birth control pills and in some cases the chemicals in the dying and bleaching products along with the same condition that men face. Also, some hair styles such as the ponytail (when you severely straiten the hair) can cause hair to break off or fall out.

In order to prevent hair loss you should know that for men the condition usually appears at 20-30 years of age and will continue to get worse if not treated. The hair usually begins to thin on the top of the head and at the hair line and eventually you can end up with no hair on the upper portion of the scalp at all.

Multivitamins and omega3s supplements are important to help prevent hair loss but they are generally not the main cause. Iron, zinc and B vitamins are very important for hair health but usually the western diet has these in great enough abundance to not cause hair to fall out. The main culprit is the levels of DHT in the body which act on the hair follicles to shut their production down. This condition is known as pattern baldness or pattern hair loss and it can effect both men and women.

Prevent Hair Loss naturally

Are you asking yourself how to prevent hair loss naturally? Well, the answer is of course to first check your diet and eat more fish and nuts and use olive oil for cooking. These foods contain omega 3 acids that can help strengthen your hair. You should also take multivitamin tablets regularly. Once you have controlled the nutrients in your diet the next step is to find a natural product that will limit the effects of the DHT on the hair follicles. Two natural supplements that seem to do this are Saw Palmetto and Stingy Nettle. Both can be found in any health food store. You also need to remove any of the potential causes mentioned above. If you are using hair care products such as dyes then stop using them and see if that helps. Also, if the cause is because of some other reason such as hormonal changes at birth, medical procedures or hair straightening the problem should relieve itself when these triggers are taken away.

How To Prevent Hair Loss With Medications

If you are interested in using drugs to prevent hair loss then there are only two which have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as actually being effective at treating hair loss. One of these is only recommended for men but the other has been shown to be effective for both men and women.

The first drug, Finasteride, actually works to limit the amount of DHT in the blood stream. With less of this substance available there is less to bond with hair follicles and stop the production of hair. This drug is never prescribed to women though because it can cause birth defects. In fact, women are not even allowed to handle the tablets for fear that the active ingredient will be absorbed through the skin. If you are a woman this treatment is not available and you will have to try the second drug.

The one that is approved for both men and women is Minoxidil. Minoxidil works to limit the affects of the DHT on the hair follicles. Instead of limiting the levels of DHT it actually stops the receptors on the hair follicles from accepting the hormone. This means the hair follicle can continue to produce hair like normal. Minoxidil is most popularly found in the product Rogaine. You can find regular strength Rogaine, extra strength Rogaine, and Rogaine for women. The female version has a 2% solution of the active drug while the male version contains 5%. These levels seem to be most effective for the different sexes.

The key to both of these treatments is to start them as soon as you notice unnatural hair loss levels. If you start early enough you can usually save most of your hair from falling out for years. But if you wait till you actually have bald spots then neither of these hair loss products will do much to help you. At that point, instead of determining how to prevent hair loss you need to look at how to replace the hair you have lost. The best method for this is a hair implants procedure.