Balding in men is exceedingly common. It is estimated that somewhere around 4 in 7 men will experience some form of balding in their life. Therefore for a huge number of men want to know the answer to the question of how to stop balding. The same applies to women with thinning hair.
There's a range of causes of baldness in men and in women. The vast majority of causes of thinning hair in men is what is known technically as androgenetic alopecia, or what everyone knows as male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness is a condition inherited by a man from others in his family who came before him. Equally the same applies to female pattern baldness however this is not as common in women as it is in men.
The method by which male pattern baldness operates to cause thinning hair in men is now well known. It relates to an oversupply of the male hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone) which is derived from the male sex hormone testosterone. Men with pattern baldness have increased supplies of DHT and this attaches to their hair follicles on the head causing them to shrink, shrivel, thin and die prematurely. Whilst all hair dies it is normally replace by more healthy hair but for men or women with pattern baldness this supply of replacement hairs is inadequate. This leads to a gradual thinning of the hair on the front, top and sometimes the sides of the head leading to a degree of balding.
The answer to the question of how to treat baldness in men or women with pattern baldness is actually found in providing optimum hair nutrition. The reason that DHT slowly strangles the hair follicle is that it starts to limit the ability of the follicle to take up essential nutrients. Hair is like other organs of our body and requires an optimal supply of nutrition to be healthy and to look good. Hair with inadequate levels of nutrients is unhealthy and dying hair.
There are 2 products approved by the FDA as a hair loss treatment for men to prevent baldness. One of these is finasteride marketed as Propecia and the other is minoxidil marketed under a range of different names. Minoxidil is the only hair loss treatment that is recommended by the FDA for use as a balding treatment in women.
Minoxidil can be used as a balding treatment for men at either a 2% solution or a 5% solution but for women the FDA only recommend a 2% solution. Studies have clearly shown that minoxidil works to stop baldness in some men and women however it does not work for everybody. There is no hair loss product that works for everybody.
If you're looking to find out how to stop balding you have 2 options for approved products if you're a man and one option if you're a woman. Both men and women can use minoxidil. Minoxidil was originally intended as a blood pressure treatment but it was found that subjects in studies demonstrated increased growth of hair when using minoxidil. It is not fully understood how minoxidil works to increase growth however it is suspected that it increases the supply of blood to the follicle allowing the follicle to absorb higher levels of nutrients.
Minoxidil on its own has been shown to work to stop balding in men and women. However if minoxidil works to improve the ability of the follicle to absorb nutrients then it would make sense that supplying a range of nutrients essential to hair health is also a big part of the equation and one clever company now supplies a proprietary product combining the use of minoxidil with a wide range of essential hair nutrients and one natural ingredient which has also been shown to limit the effects of DHT.
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