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 most exciting new hair loss treatments available today involve the transplantation of hair follicles into the balding area in such a way that does not cause scarring and a long recuperation period. Historically, hair transplantation has been used for about 60 years to treat hair loss with some mixed results. Originally the hair restoration surgeon was forced to actually cut out a part of the scalp which had good hair growth and then implant that entire scalp section into the balding area. The micro-surgical techniques of today were not available so this was the only method possible. As you can imagine this left a very spotty solution with tufts of hair sticking up in all directions. In fact, the nickname for this procedure was the hair plugs method because it looked like the patient just had hair plugged into his scalp like a cheap doll’s head. Many people thought the results of the procedure looked worse than the baldness it was meant to treat.

Over the years the surgical techniques have been improved as hair treatment doctors experimented with different Hair Loss methods that would give a full head of hair without the negative affects of the original hair transplants. This has resulted in the best hair loss treatment available today. The name of this procedure is the follicular unit extraction method and it is making waves all over the hair loss community.

The idea behind this hair loss treatment procedure is really quite simple and elegant. After it was determined that removing and inserting an entire section of scalp was not giving the results desired, the hair growth doctors started to look at manipulating individual hair follicles instead of the scalp section itself. This method still required that a portion of scalp be removed, with the resulting scarring from the suture area, but it also involved another step besides just implanting the scalp piece. A team of medical assistants would take the scalp and remove the individual hair follicles and all their support structures including the blood vessels and nervous system component. These units, as they were called, would then be cleaned and prepared for the insertion into the balding area of the patient’s head. The hair restoration surgeon would next insert these follicular units into very small incision in the scalp being careful to match the directional growth of the surrounding hairs. This hair loss treatment for men gave very good results but it still resulted in scarring where the hairs were removed from. A technique needed to be developed that removed the individual hair follicles without causing scars that would be noticeable.

This new follicular unit extraction method was what was needed. This procedure, which has turned into the best hair loss treatment, uses a specially designed medical instrument to actually remove the hair follicles and support structures directly from the living scalp. This leaves no scarring and the removal site looks like a pin prick which easily heals within a couple of days. No longer will the procedure be noticeable because of the resulting scar at the back of the head. If you are looking for a new hair loss treatment that is effective then look into this form of hair transplants and see if you don’t agree that this is the best hair loss treatment available.

First a little primer on Hair Loss. If you are a man then there is a 95% chance that you will be losing your hair because of male pattern baldness. This is the common name of a medical condition that is passed down from generation to generation called androgenic alopecia. When a person suffers from this terrible condition your hair on certain parts of your head are susceptible to falling out. The is because the hair follicle, also called hair roots, can be attacked by a hormonal substance known as DHT. If you are looking for a natural hair restoration solution it needs to deal with this element.

DHT is the bad guy when it comes to hair loss due to androgenic alopecia. The key to stopping your hair loss is to either lower the levels of DHT or protect the hair follicles from attack. There is a drug that is used to control your levels of this substance. The drug is called Finasteride and it was originally developed to treat male urinary tract problems, in particular enlarged prostate. What happened during clinical trials was the men taking the drug found out that their male pattern baldness improved along with their prostate. Further studies found both hair loss and male urinary problems are tied to DHT so it makes sense that they would both have positive results. Finasteride is effective but it has some nasty side effects. In men it can lower the sex drive which kind of makes growing more hair a waste of time. But the real bad problems are in women. In fact, women can’t even touch the tablets for fear of the chance for birth defects in male babies. The drug causes their sexual organs to not develop correctly. Fiansteride does not sound like something I would want in my body.

Natural Hair Loss Treatments

As nature would have it, there is actually a natural treatment for hair loss that seems to mimic the effects and mechanism of this drug. The Saw Palmetto plant has been used for centuries by Native Americans in the Southeast to treat male urinary problems. Recently it has also been tried as a natural hair loss treatment and many people are reporting good results.

It appears as though the saw palmetto extract works on the DHT in a similar method as the Finasteride does. If this is true, then this could be one of the natural treatments for hair loss that a person could use instead of the expensive drugs with bad side effects. If this interests you then do more research and talk to your doctor. You should always discuss any health remedies with your doctor to be he or she is aware of all the substances you are putting in your body.

The first of these usually gets the majority of the attention when people look for a way to get hair growing in a bald spot again but in reality the most effective use of these is while there is still some hair growth. It is much easier to keep the hair you have than it is to try to re-grow hair once it has fallen out. In fact, none of these drugs or remedies are very effective at all for restarting hair growth.

Male Hair Loss Treatment

The number one oral drug prescribed for men suffering from male pattern baldness is Finasteride. This drug, originally developed to treat male urinary problems, is a DHT blocker. DHT is the hormone that bonds to receptors on the hair follicles causing them to shorten their growth phases and eventually stop hair shaft material production all together. Another FDA approved drug that is topically applied is Minoxidil. This is usually sold under the brand name Rogaine. It is a vasodilator which means it causes the small blood vessels in the body to increase in size which reduces blood pressure and provides more blood flow to all areas of the body including the hair follicles.

Natural Hair Loss Treatment

There are some natural substances that have been used to treat high levels of DHT in the blood stream. Saw Palmetto Extract is produced from a short palm found along the southern coast of the US. This plant has been used for years to treat male urinary problems and has recently been shown to help with hair loss. Stingy nettle root is also used as a treatment for hair loss that is not based on some manmade drug.

Female Hair Loss Treatment

Unfortunately, women are limited in what treatments for hair loss then can use. Finasteride is not recommended for women as it can cause birth defects. In particular, it can cause problems with the development of the sex organs in male fetuses. There is also a concern with women using natural DHT inhibiting compounds. The main hair loss treatment for women is Minoxidil. Women seem to receive good results from a 2% solution although a 5% solution is recommended for men.

Women also have not had as good a results with hair treatment surgery. The standard hair transplantation surgery is predicated on there being a healthy growth of hair at some point on the head to be used as a donation area. With men this is the back of the scalp. Women though tend to have thinning hair over the entire scalp so the standard hair implant method may not work well for them. They may need the follicular unit extraction method which targets individual hair follicle units instead of strips of scalp. In general though, hair implants surgery is one of the best hair loss treatments especially if the person is experiencing baldness as opposed to just thinning hair.

The last treatment involves using low level laser light to stimulate the growth of hair. The idea is the hair seems to grow faster in the summer than the winter so the suns rays may have an affect. The laser comb and laser brush are in clinical trials now and everyone is awaiting the results. Early anecdotal evidence indicates hair growth by people who use this method.

Choosing the best hair loss treatment is really a matter of finding out what works best for your situation. There are many options to choose from. The best thing to do is try them out until you find the one that is right for you.

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