There are many options for people who are suffering from hair loss. Options include: shaving it all off like Kojak or Michael Jordan, growing the remaining hair as long as possible and attempting a “comb-over”, or enrolling in the Hair Club for Men and taking the toupee route. If none of these choices work for you, there are medications that can stimulate hair growth.
Minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia) are the two best-known medications to try to regain that shaggy look. Minoxidil was a drug originally used to treat high blood pressure, that is, until it was found to increase body hair growth. This side effect led to the development of a topical solution that could be applied directly to the scalp. The exact mechanism of action of minoxidil is unknown, but somehow it stimulates the follicles to create new hairs. The treatment must be continued indefinitely in order to maintain hair growth, because we keep getting new hair follicles and we need to continue exposing them to the medication.
Although minoxidil is a topical treatment, some of the drug can be absorbed into your system, and unwanted body hair has been reported. If you are not careful when applying it and it gets onto other body parts, they can also get hairier.
Finasteride is a prescription drug that comes in tablet form to treat hair loss in men only. (Minoxidil works for men or women.) it was originally used for the treatment of prostate enlargement. Finasteride works by blocking an enzyme responsible for the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Men with male pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia) tend to have miniaturized hair follicles and increased amounts of DHT on their scalps compared to those with hairier heads. The reduction in the amount of DHT can help reverse the balding process and stimulate new hair growth. Results are usually seen in about three months. The specific enzyme that is blocked by this drug is only found in the prostate, the liver, and the scalp, so there shouldn’t be any effect on hair on other parts of the body.
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"Is Propecia or Rogaine helpful for hair loss?" was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 3:22 am.
hey hi,
I read your post and it is really informative. The way you have stated the reason for hair loss is commendable.I was not aware about some of them factors which i got to know through your post.In my opinion whatever information you have given is useful but at the same time would could also mention about some of the remedies that can be used to deal with hair loss problems.As in you have mentioned about Medical treatment but It would be great if you could also give some of the tips to get rid of hair loss in general.For example:coconut oil helps to keep your scalp cool which im sure will help deal with hair loss problems too.Similarly some other home remedies that could be used to tackle the problem it would be really nice.Well m talking about home remedies cause i read about it through the link http://www.parachutethearpie.com and as we all know natural remedies are easily available and pocket friendly too.