Many people are turning away from drugs because of the bad side effects they can provide and instead are turning to natural hair loss treatments as a way to deal with natural hair loss and thinning. The feeling is that we should only be putting natural ingredients in our bodies, and on our bodies for that matter, and doing anything else can be harmful. We have lived for millions of years without fancy drugs and chemicals so there are probably natural remedies around which would help us to treat baldness naturally. There are lots of hair loss treatments around but most of them don’t really do what they are advertised to do, so why not try a natural remedy.
Natural Hair Loss Treatments
One of the most effective and exciting hair loss products is Saw Palmetto. This extract comes from a short palm bush that grows in the extreme South East of the US and also around the Caribbean Sea. It has been known for centuries by the indigenous peoples that this plant can help in the treatment of urinary problems in men but it has just recently been utilized as a hair loss treatment for male pattern baldness. This actually mimics what happened with one of the most popular hair loss drugs on the market today.
The number one oral medication for hair loss in men is called Finasteride. This drug was originally developed to deal with male urinary problems, in particular it was designed to shrink an enlarged prostate in men. During clinical trials on men who were having prostate problems an interesting thing was discovered. Men who were suffering from male pattern baldness, also called androgenic alopecia, saw a decrease in their hair loss. This got the attention of the researchers and more studies were started to find out what was going on. It turns out that prostate problems and male pattern baldness are actually tied together because there is a normally occurring hormonal substance in the body which affects both. This substance is called DHT.
DHT, dihydrotestosterone, is produced when the male hormone testosterone is metabolized in the body. So this means that baldness is really tied to higher levels of testosterone which means bald men are more manly than men with lots of hair, if you want to look at it that way. The DHT actually bonds with receptors on the hair follicles (hair roots) and causes an interruption in the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the hair. This slowly causes the hair follicles to stop producing keratin which is the substance hair shafts are constructed of. As production slows down the hair shaft becomes thinner and thinner. Eventually it either breaks off or becomes what is known as peach fuzz. Either way, the man experiences hair loss.
It appears as though Saw Palmetto actually blocks production of DHT similar to Finasteride. This only makes sense if you are looking to treat your hair loss. If you have less DHT in your system you should have less of it to attack the hair follicles. One thing to remember, Finasteride is not prescribed for women due to the possibility of birth defects and there may be the same problems with other DHT blockers so be sure to check with your doctor.
Another Natural Hair Loss Treatment
There is another naturally occurring treatment for hair loss that is becoming more popular as time goes on. The root of the stingy nettle appears to act in a similar way to saw palmetto. Again, the idea is to limit the amount of DHT in the system so there is less to attack the hair roots.
If you are like most people today you are starting to get leery of the claims made by big pharmaceutical companies about their drugs. It seems like they will say anything in order to make a buck and they don’t really care how their products affect you or your family. It this is how you feel the check into natural hair loss treatments before spending big money on drugs that may or may not do what you want.
Thu, Apr 8, 2010
hair growth products, hair loss