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Preventing and reversing male pattern baldness
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In this article I
will discuss Male pattern baldness, its cause and solutions that work.
I will talk about pros and cons of different methods as well as ways of
making excessively expensive methods very affordable, all that is
needed is a bit of knowledge. This article might get updated as I learn
more about the subject.
Contents
What causes Male pattern Baldness
Cures
Finasteride (Propecia)
Minoxidil (Rogaine)
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)
What causes Male pattern Baldness
male
pattern baldness (andro alopecia) is caused by the androgenic hormone
dihydrotestosterone (DHT). How susceptible a persons hair is to DHT
depends on ones genetics. Susceptibility to male pattern baldness is
most common in Caucasoids it is less commonly found in Mongoloids or
Negroids. Genetically men and women are equally as susceptible to DHT
the only reason woman rarely suffer from male pattern baldness is
because they don't have the male hormone testosterone which converts in
to DHT.
There
are only two FDA approved products that can stop male pattern baldness
or regrow hair. They are Finasteride (Propecia) which is taken orally
and Minoxidil (Rogain) which is applied topically. There is also "low
level laser light therapy" LLLT which has also bean FDA approved.
There
are many shops and websites that will try to sell you products that
don't work. Unfortunately there aren't any known and effective natural
or herbal alternatives to the drugs Finasteride and minoxidil. To your
surprise if you go the right way about it finasteride and minoxidil
will probably even wind up costing you less than dodgy alternatives
that don't work. One herbal remedy you might be tempted to try is saw
palmetto do to its ability to reduce DHT. What you probably don't know
is that saw palmetto reduces DHT only in the prostate but blood DHT
levels remain the same which makes it a possible solution if you suffer
from a enlarged prostate but sadly because the blood DHT level remains
the same it will do noting for your hair.
Finasteride
was initially given to patients with enlarged prostates in 5mg doses.
Finasteride is a drug that prevents testosterone from converting in to
DHT it reduces DHT not only in the prostate but blood DHT levels are
also significantly reduced by the use of finasteride. One of the side
effects patients on finasteride experienced was fine regrowth of lost
hair due to male pattern baldness. Tests where done to find the
smallest dose of finasteride necessary against male pattern baldness.
The the resulting drug was a 1mg finasteride tablet marketed under the
name Propecia, only one fifth the size of the prostate drug which was a
5mg. The user takes the one 1mg tablet of propecia once a day.
Finasteride
is a prescription medication that stops further hairless in about 80 –
90 % of its users. About 40 – 50% of finasteride users experience some
regrowth of hair that they have already lost. It is not uncommon for
people starting to use finasteride to initially experience some
shedding of hair over the first couple of months, the shedded hair will
later regrow stronger than it was. It takes about 3 to 6 moths for
finasteride to have any visible effects. If you discontinue the use of
finasteride you will loose any gains you have made within the last
year.
The 1mg Propecia medication is extremely expensive. One way
to get the same medication for a lot less is to buy the generic 5mg
finasteride tablet used for enlarged Prostates. You can split the
tablet with a racer blade in to two 2.5mg pieces. And take half a
tablet daily. This will be more than twice the dose that propecia would
give at a much smaller cost than propecia. You cannot effectively take
half a tablet every second day because finasteride has a half life of
only about six hours and will not stay in the system long enough. If
you are very skilled at splitting tablets you can split the tablet in
to four 1.25 mg pieces. This will give you a daily dose only slightly
higher than propecia.
Finasteride prevents testosterone from
converting to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The body responds by slightly
increasing Testosterone levels in an attempt to get more DHT.
Testosterone and DHT are both male hormones but only DHT makes you
loose your hair. DHT is a more potent Sex hormone increasing libido,
sex drive sperm production and so forth. Testosterone is superior to
DHT when it comes to Muscle skeletal functioning. Testosterone is more
anabolic causing muscle hypertrophy strength and power.
Sid effects
This
brings us to the possible side effects of taking finasteride. These
side effects include. Loss of libido, loss of sex drive, erectile
dysfunction, reduced sperm count. These side effects occur only in
about four percent of its users and subside in about half of those
effected as they continue using finasteride. If these side effects
persist and if they bother you you can discontinue the use of
finasteride and things will return to normal just the way they where
before you took the medication. DHT will return to normal and so will
your sexual function along with your hair loss. In extremely rare cases
the medication might cause sore testicles or gynecomastia (man boobs).
If you experience these side effects discontinue immediately.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil
was first used as a oral medication called Loniten for patients with
high blood pressure. One of the side effects was regrowth of hair in
people suffering from male pattern baldness. Minoxidil was then
manufactured as a topical solution which one puts on the effected area
externally. The product was marketed under the name Rogaine in the USA
and Regaine in Europe. The trade names Avacor and Mintop have also bean
used for minoxidil. Rogaine and Regine are very expensive but
cheaper generic minoxidil products which are identical in minoxidil
content and effectiveness are available such as Kirklands costing only
a fraction of the price. Topical Minoxidil products are available over
the counter, no prescription is required.
Minoxidil has to be
applied twice daily on the affected area. And about 50% of users will
experience regrowth and thickening of fine hair. The user will see
results after about 2-4 months of continuous use. The product claims to
be effective only on the cervix. And tests have shown the cervix to be
the most responsive area. However many users of minoxidil have used it
in the front where their hairline is receding and reported good
results. Any improvement in hair gain from the use of minoxidil will
only remain as long as the person continues to apply minoxidil. As soon
as the individual discontinues the use of minoxidil he will loose all
the hair gained due to minoxidil. Because minoxidil does not prevent
DHT from attacking your hair, DHT will continue to do damage even while
on minoxidil. Therefore I would recommended to use Minoxidil in
conjunction with finasteride. Finasteride will prevent further balding
due to DHT while minoxidil will regrow lost hair improving its
appearance.
Sid effects
Common
minoxidil side effects are itching, irritated, red and dry scalp and
burning and irritation of the eyes. Minoxidil might also cause hair
growth on other body areas. Less common but more serious side effects
are less common and normally only experienced with oral minoxidil. They
are increased heart rate, irregular heart beat, trouble
breathing, swelling of face and limbs cardiac lesions, and
dizziness. If any of these more serious side effects occur discontinue
minoxidil immediately.
Minoxidil is highly toxic to cats and could potentially kill. Never ever expose a cat to minoxidil.
One
other side effect which is not mentioned on the package is as follows.
Some recent Studies have found Minoxidil to interfere with collagen
production in the skin. This is bad news as collagen is vitally
important in maintaining healthy and youthful looking skin. A search on
goggle will show many reviews of individuals reporting that minoxidil
did wonders for hair regrowth but made their skin look old wrinkly and
worn out. Many reporting black circles around the eyes much like those
of a smoker or drug addict. Human reviews are not always reliable as
many humans suffer from Placebo effects and are very prone to
suggestion. however these reports seemed to be fairly consistent. And I
am pointing this out so that you can make a more informed decision. The
fact that you would use minoxidil might be that you care about your
appearance and exchanging improved hair for ugly skin might not be a
good trade off. Especially considering that any improvement in hair
growth from using minoxidil will vanish when the product is no longer
applied. If you do use minoxidil I recommend that you keep a close eye
on your skins appearance and if you see your skin showing signs of
ageing discontinue the use of minoxidil immediately unless ugly skin
does not bother you. If you want to play it safe use finasteride
without minoxidil. Finasteride is really the preferred product of the
two anyway. And if you want another solution consider. Low level laser
therapy
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)
You
might have seen adverts from hair clinics offering LLLT. But the fact
that it costs thousands of dollars would have put you off thinking that
this is a solution only millionaires could afford. And knowing that you
would have to visit the studio on a regular basis is not very pleasing.
The machine that the studio uses costs around $40 000 US and visiting a
hair studio to use the machine might cost you around $4000 US a year.
LLLT is effective at preventing male pattern baldness and regrowing and
thickening hair. Due to the large cost involved this is clearly
something an ordinary citizen can not afford. There are various laser
brushes and laser combs on the market costing from several hundred to a
couple of thousand dollars. These brushes contain very view diodes some
have only one diode. The laser brushes contain the exact same type of
diode as the expensive studio laser the only difference is that the
studio laser contains many diodes and the brush which you can buy only
a couple. If you have ever owned such a brush you where probably
disappointed the reason is that the small number of diodes do not
generate a sufficient amount of light to have any significant effect.
And paying $800 for a brush that contains one or two diodes costing $4
each is disappointing especially considering the lack of light being
produces from only a couple of diodes.
Now comes the good
news. It is in fact possible for you to build your own Laser Helmet or
laser device. You can buy the exact same laser diodes found in the
studio laser for $4 a diode. What you do is buy 100 or 200 of these
diodes, and a 3volt power supply. Which will cost you a view hundred
dollars. With this quantity of laser diodes your laser helmet will be
equally as powerfully as the $40 00 hair studio laser. The good thing
is that you will own this laser helmet and you can use it for the rest
of your life in the comfort of your own home, without any extra cost
except the power that it uses which is no more than a light bulb. The
electronics of wiring the diodes is not much harder than hooking up
tiny light bulbs to a battery. For wiring and construction plans click
on this link www.overmachogrande.com. The owner of this website has
gone trough all the detail of constructing laser devices of every sort
imaginable along with a ton of information. Simply visit hes website to
find all the information you need to build your own LLLT device. Hes
website also contains numerous articles on the use and effectiveness
of LLLT.
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