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.

The first problem with finding a women hair loss treatment is the fact that the medical establishment has not spent much time and effort on trying to find a solution. One cause of this is the fact that women did not make public their need for balding treatments until just lately. This was a personal matter which was not talked about. Instead, the woman with the hair loss was expected to try to hide the problem as much as possible. Thus women wore wigs, scarves, and hats to cover up their balding and thinning hair. While men were having several different hair loss treatment options discovered there was no work on finding answers to the problems directed at women. It was almost like the problem didn’t matter. Society did such a good job of keeping this problem under wraps that most people have no clue as to the percentage of hair loss cases that involve women, it is 40%. Almost half the people with bald spots or thin spots are women. Surprising, huh?

The second problem that makes finding hair loss treatments for women possible is the manifestation of the hair loss in women VS men. 95% of men, and a like percentage of women, who complain of hair loss have a medical condition called androgenic alopecia. The genetic medical problem is passed down from either the patient’s mother or father or both.

In men, androgenic alopecia is called male pattern baldness. The name is derived from the fact that male will tend to lose their hair only in localized patches on the head instead of over the entire head. In fact I am sure you have seen the results of this problem in men with hair on the sides and back of the head but nothing on top. This pattern hair loss makes possible the hair transplantation surgery because the surgeon can remove some of the hair at the back of the head and implant it into the balding area. This give a very good result for attacking male pattern baldness.

When women suffer from androgenic alopecia it is called female pattern baldness but in reality there is no pattern effect. Instead the woman will tend to have hair fall out over the entire scalp causing thinning hair. This means there is no good hair donation area in which to harvest hairs to implant into the balding spot. And in fact it wouldn’t help anyway because the entire scalp will be having thinning problems. This fact has kept women out of the hair transplantation market since is was initiated over 60 years ago.

The womens hair loss treatment that shows the most promise is a drug that has been approved by the US FDA as a treatment for female hair loss. Minoxidil is the name of the drug and seems to be an effective hair loss product. This is really the only treatment for hair loss in women that has gone through the trials to prove efficacy. Minoxidil is applied topically to the scalp twice a day in a 2% solution. Men use a 5% solution, and many women have with good results and no side effects, but the FDA only recommends a 2% solution as a hair loss treatment for women.

There are many different situations that can require the use of male hair loss products.  These can be a condition known as Traction Alopecia which is caused from pulling on the hair.  An example of this is when hair is weaved into a toupee to keep it on and to make the toupee hair look more natural.  The hair is pulled very tight and this can cause the hair shafts to break off and fall out.  Or it can be caused by medications or other medical procedures.  The fact is there are several potential causes but the one that is most likely is Androgenetic Alopecia or Male Pattern Baldness.  Most good hair loss products are designed to treat this condition as it is the most common one found.

Male pattern baldness is a condition is which the hair follicles, the part that produces the hair shaft, actually become unable to continue to grow hair.  People who suffer from this problem have a preponderance for premature hair loss due to their genetic makeup.  They carry a gene, or a few genes, that causes hair follicles in some areas of the scalp to be susceptible to a hormonal metabolite known as DHT which bonds with receptors on the hair follicle and stops the normal production of hair.

Hair Loss Products For Men

When looking at a hair loss product review you need to determine what the product is trying to accomplish.  There are really two different methods for treating Male Pattern Baldness and it is important to keep clear which is being used.  The hair growth product can either limit the production of DHT or counteract the effects of the hormonal metabolite.

If a man is trying to limit the production of the DHT then he should look into a drug called Finasteride.  This drug works to stop the metabolism of DHT from the male hormone testosterone.  Finasteride is very effective but it can only be employed to treat male pattern baldness not female pattern balding.  The drug can cause birth defects in male fetuses so is not prescribed to women.  Two natural hair loss products that work along the same lines as this drug are Saw Palemetto extract and Nettle root.  These natural hair treatments have both been used for years to treat male urinary tract problems which is exactly what Finasteride was originally developed to do.  Both of these are not recommended for women though and they are not as concentrated as the drug Finasteride.

Hair Loss Products for Women

If you are suffering from female hair loss then you will want to look at a drug called Minoxidil.  This works as both a hair loss product for women and for men.  It is a topically applied product that stops the DHT from bonding on the hair follicle receptacles thus allowing the follicle to continue to produce hair.  Men usually use a 5% solution of this drug and women a 2% solution.  The higher concentration does not seem to help the women to treat their hair loss any better.

Depending on your situation both of these drugs can help limit hair loss and even allow some hair to grow back.  If you have been suffering from balding for long, though, then you will be forced to look at hair transplants as a way to get hair follicles that will continue to grow hair for years to come.  These are more expensive but they will stay active for years to come.

First lets look at what causes hair loss in men and women.  Although there are several causes the overwhelming majority of cases involve a genetic condition known as Androgenetic Alopecia.  The common name for this ailment is Male Pattern Baldness for men and Female Pattern Baldness for women.  This is a genetic condition which means it is passed down from the parents to the patient with all the other genes that makeup a person’s genetic code.  For years it was assumed that only the mother could pass this gene but now it has been proven that it can come from either parent.

When a person suffers from Pattern Baldness they have a situation in which the hair follicles that reside in certain areas of the scalp are susceptible to being shut down by a hormonal metabolite known as dihydrotestosterone or DHT.  When a hair follicle is functioning normally it will use oxygen and nutrients from the blood supply to produce hair shaft material.  As this material is created it pushes on the hair shaft and that is how hair grows.  When a person has the genetic makeup that leads to androgenetic alopecia the DHT bonds with receptors on the hair follicles and interrupt the normal creation of hair material.  The hair becomes thin and whispy and eventually breaks off at the scalp or falls out.  A person will normally lose about 50 to 100 hairs a day but when suffering from Pattern Baldness they will lose over 500 per day.  The best hair loss product is one that will treat the causes of the hair loss and not just the symptoms.

Best Hair Loss Products

There are two ways to attack the problem of premature balding.  The first is to limit the levels of DHT in the body and the second is to counteract the effects of the DHT on the hair follicles.  For a hair loss product to be effective it must do one or the other.  A hair growth product that only treats the hair shafts instead of the roots is not going to have much effect in the long run.

The best way to limit the amount of DHT is to take a drug called Finasteride which has been proven by the Food and Drug Administration to be effective as a hair loss treatment.  This is the best hair loss product for men because it limits the levels of DHT which then can not interrupt the growth of hair from the follicle.  There are side effects that must be considered though.  Most importantly, women with hair loss are not approved to take this drug because of the possibilities for birth defects in male fetuses.  The active ingredient has been shown to affect the normal development of male sex organs in the babies.  It also has some side effects for men that should be considered such as lowered libido levels but these are mostly not very drastic.

The best hair loss product for women contains another drug that has been approved by the FDA.  This drug, Minoxidil, is applied to the scalp and it appears to inhibit the bonding of the DHT with the receptors on the hair follicle.  This allows the follicle to continue producing hair material in a normal and healthy manner.

If you are looking for a hair loss product that will be effective these are the only two drugs that have been proven by the FDA to be effective for hair growth.  If the product you are looking at is not based on these drugs then it more than likely will not be very effective.  There are a lot of good hair loss treatments that contain these substances but you will have to decide which is best for you by trial and error.