Promises. Promises. Promises. People have been promising a cure for hair loss forever. Don’t be fooled. Remember, if it’s too good to be true… it probably is.
Surf the Internet or channel hop late-night television and you’ll be amazed by the number of products and procedures that promise to stop hair loss. You’ll see herbal solutions and high-tech tonics, creams and more. You’ll see infomercials for so-called hair systems that are really nothing more than elaborately attached wigs and weaves. Most of these purported solutions are about as effective as the crown of leaves Julius Caesar wore to conceal his baldness — or the flamboyant wigs of centuries-dead European kings. The fact is there are only three solutions to hair loss that work and there’s only one that’s permanent.
Minoxidil | Rogaine®
In the late 1970s, the drug company Upjohn introduced minoxidil – a prescription tablet used to treat severe blood pressure. Inadvertently, it was discovered that minoxidil reduced and, in some cases, regrew hair. In 1988, Minoxidil in a lotion form became the first pharmaceutical ever to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for hair growth. Marketed under the trade name Rogaine, a prescription was initially required. Rogaine helps to reverse hair follicle shrinkage, which characterizes inherited pattern hair loss. In 1995, 2% minoxidil lotion was approved for sale in the United States without a prescription. Currently, it is available for men and women as an over-the-counter lotion in 2% and 5% concentrations. If applied in the early stages of hair loss directly to a peach-fuzz covered balding spot in the crown area, Rogaine can reduce the rate of hair loss, and sometimes regrow hair.
The success of re-growth of hair has been limited. It has not proven to be effective in the frontal portion of the scalp or hairline. Rogaine must be applied twice daily. In some cases it causes scalp irritation. If discontinued, any hair that was retained or re-grown will be lost.
Finasteride | Propecia®
Finasteride, marketed under the trade name Proscar by its manufacturer Merck & Co., was first developed to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. It was later discovered that a side effect of Proscar was that it actually grew hair. This discovery lead to the clinical studies and trials that would bring finasteride to market as the first FDA approved pill for hair loss. It is marketed under the trade name Propecia. Clinical tests revealed that Propecia stopped hair loss in over 80% of test cases and actually re-grew hair in over 64% of the test cases – unprecedented success rates.
A scientific and medical fact is that male and female pattern hair loss is due to the effects of Dihydrotestostrone (DHT) on genetically predisposed hair follicles. DHT causes increased hair shedding, gradual miniaturization of hair, and eventual hair loss. Propecia works by inhibiting 5-alphareductase – the enzyme that produces DHT. By reducing the production of DHT, Propecia prevents and eventually, to some extent, reverses hair loss.
Propecia is only a treatment, not a cure. If discontinued, any hair that was retained or re-grown will be lost.
Follicular Unit Transplantation
Surgical hair replacement is the only permanent solution for hair loss. Follicular Unit Transplantation is the latest, state-of-the art hair restoration procedure superseding Mini and Micro Hair Transplants, Flap Surgery and Scalp Reduction. It is the only treatment that provides a full, natural looking head of hair.
Follicular Unit Transplantation is only possible through the use of the stereo-microscope. The stereo-microscope is used to dissect the follicular units, which grow in naturally occurring groups of one to four hairs. The microscope ensures accurate and undamaged dissection.
The benefits of Follicular Unit Transplantation are immeasurable. The ultimate benefit for the patient is the creation of the most natural hair transplant possible. The stereo-microscope makes it possible to trim away the greatest amount of epithelium (top layer of skin) from the follicular unit graft. This produces significantly smaller grafts than mini and micro grafts which can then be placed in tiny puncture sites situated closely together. The growth of the transplanted hair often starts sooner and is generally considerably faster as a result of less shock to the follicular units and the scalp.
Cloning and gene therapy may very well be the ultimate treatments for hair loss. Cloning would allow hair transplant surgeons to have an unlimited amount of available donor hair, which would be surgically implanted using current stereo microscopic techniques. Gene therapy could "turn off" the actual gene that causes hair loss. Unfortunately, we are not yet technically able to clone hair follicles or modify genes.
It will probably be many years, perhaps not in our lifetimes, before these procedures are perfected. In the meantime, highly motivated and dedicated surgeons will continue to perform Follicular Unit Transplants, the only permanent solution to hair loss.
Surf the Internet or channel hop late-night television and you’ll be amazed by the number of products and procedures that promise to stop hair loss. You’ll see herbal solutions and high-tech tonics, creams and more. You’ll see infomercials for so-called hair systems that are really nothing more than elaborately attached wigs and weaves. Most of these purported solutions are about as effective as the crown of leaves Julius Caesar wore to conceal his baldness — or the flamboyant wigs of centuries-dead European kings. The fact is there are only three solutions to hair loss that work and there’s only one that’s permanent.
Minoxidil | Rogaine®
In the late 1970s, the drug company Upjohn introduced minoxidil – a prescription tablet used to treat severe blood pressure. Inadvertently, it was discovered that minoxidil reduced and, in some cases, regrew hair. In 1988, Minoxidil in a lotion form became the first pharmaceutical ever to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for hair growth. Marketed under the trade name Rogaine, a prescription was initially required. Rogaine helps to reverse hair follicle shrinkage, which characterizes inherited pattern hair loss. In 1995, 2% minoxidil lotion was approved for sale in the United States without a prescription. Currently, it is available for men and women as an over-the-counter lotion in 2% and 5% concentrations. If applied in the early stages of hair loss directly to a peach-fuzz covered balding spot in the crown area, Rogaine can reduce the rate of hair loss, and sometimes regrow hair.
The success of re-growth of hair has been limited. It has not proven to be effective in the frontal portion of the scalp or hairline. Rogaine must be applied twice daily. In some cases it causes scalp irritation. If discontinued, any hair that was retained or re-grown will be lost.
Finasteride | Propecia®
Finasteride, marketed under the trade name Proscar by its manufacturer Merck & Co., was first developed to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. It was later discovered that a side effect of Proscar was that it actually grew hair. This discovery lead to the clinical studies and trials that would bring finasteride to market as the first FDA approved pill for hair loss. It is marketed under the trade name Propecia. Clinical tests revealed that Propecia stopped hair loss in over 80% of test cases and actually re-grew hair in over 64% of the test cases – unprecedented success rates.
A scientific and medical fact is that male and female pattern hair loss is due to the effects of Dihydrotestostrone (DHT) on genetically predisposed hair follicles. DHT causes increased hair shedding, gradual miniaturization of hair, and eventual hair loss. Propecia works by inhibiting 5-alphareductase – the enzyme that produces DHT. By reducing the production of DHT, Propecia prevents and eventually, to some extent, reverses hair loss.
Propecia is only a treatment, not a cure. If discontinued, any hair that was retained or re-grown will be lost.
Follicular Unit Transplantation
Surgical hair replacement is the only permanent solution for hair loss. Follicular Unit Transplantation is the latest, state-of-the art hair restoration procedure superseding Mini and Micro Hair Transplants, Flap Surgery and Scalp Reduction. It is the only treatment that provides a full, natural looking head of hair.
Follicular Unit Transplantation is only possible through the use of the stereo-microscope. The stereo-microscope is used to dissect the follicular units, which grow in naturally occurring groups of one to four hairs. The microscope ensures accurate and undamaged dissection.
The benefits of Follicular Unit Transplantation are immeasurable. The ultimate benefit for the patient is the creation of the most natural hair transplant possible. The stereo-microscope makes it possible to trim away the greatest amount of epithelium (top layer of skin) from the follicular unit graft. This produces significantly smaller grafts than mini and micro grafts which can then be placed in tiny puncture sites situated closely together. The growth of the transplanted hair often starts sooner and is generally considerably faster as a result of less shock to the follicular units and the scalp.
Cloning and gene therapy may very well be the ultimate treatments for hair loss. Cloning would allow hair transplant surgeons to have an unlimited amount of available donor hair, which would be surgically implanted using current stereo microscopic techniques. Gene therapy could "turn off" the actual gene that causes hair loss. Unfortunately, we are not yet technically able to clone hair follicles or modify genes.
It will probably be many years, perhaps not in our lifetimes, before these procedures are perfected. In the meantime, highly motivated and dedicated surgeons will continue to perform Follicular Unit Transplants, the only permanent solution to hair loss.
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