Common hair loss problems and treatments

By far the most common cause of hair loss is simply the very familiar male pattern baldness. It's inherited, and it's caused by the hair follicles being sensitive to a chemical derived from testosterone. Sadly a bald man doesn't have more testosterone .. just sensitive follicles. And no, doing headstands won't help.

There's an equivalent for women, too, female pattern hair loss, which is characterised by a more general thinning of hair over the whole of the top of the head.

A third common hair loss problem is alopecia areata, characterised by the sudden appearance of small round bald patches on the scalp. It's not contageous, it's thought to be linked to the immune system, and it could get worse or better if left without treatment.

There was a time when the stars' attempts to hide their baldness was the subject of derision in the newspapers, Elton John was certainly subject to some of that. But that was a long time ago.

Nowadays there are two proper, bona fide drugs approved by the FDA (the American body that approves drugs for market if they are effective and safe) for hair loss treatment. Minoxidil stimulates the blood supply, while Propecia stands between those testosterone chemicals and your hair follicles so they can't do their damage. Combining the two is a good strategy for men to halt the progress of hair loss and to encourage regrowth, but women are restricted to Minoxidil.

It's not as simple, though, as trying to buy creams or lotions containing those ingredients. At London's Belgravia Centre we deliver the most effective (and cost-effective) hair loss treatments by building those proven medications into a personalised programme that starts with determining the right dosage and regime for the drugs mentioned above (and the dosage is very important in determining success), has regular monitoring built-in, and often includes other beneficial products and therapies, for instance, the use of a laser comb (provided free with most of our treatment courses), a number of in-clinic therapies such as infra-red light therapy or massage, and herbal supplements and hair care products. But don't worry, because we have our very own pharmacy, our entire programme works out more effective and less expensive than any other London clinic. We know this because we send out secret shoppers to establish the best value hair loss clinic in London.

Having said that, for people worldwide who are losing their hair and can't get to our London hair loss clinic, we ask them to complete a comprehensive online diagnostic questionnaire that lets us diagnose the problem and determine the best course of treatment. We can then provide the treatment course for use at home.

It's all down to the life cycle of the hair follicle. Basically it goes through growth, stopping growth, and rest and the back around again.

At the end of the rest phase, the hair in the follicle falls out. So the length of the whole cycle determines how long the hair grows before it falls out.

On your head, it can grow for seven years before falling out which, at 0.4mm per day, means the maximum head hair length is about a metre.

Eyebrow hairs only grow for a maximum of about seven months.

(Image courtesy Maidaise on Flickr, some rights reserved).

In our experience, the biggest problem in treating hair loss is scepticism. Because of the snake-oil history of hair loss treatments, people are sceptical that anything can be done about their hair loss. That's partly why we keep and publish our routine hair loss 'before and during treatment' photo scans showing how effective modern treatments can be.

But the key is that scepticism keeps people from acting quickly. The more hair you lose, the less you are going to get back and once the scalp becomes smooth, there's not a lot that will work. The trick is to catch hair loss early when it can almost always be halted and often reversed.

In the early stages of hair loss, people often try out the 'natural' remedies, herbal treatments and nutritional supplements. Everyone wants a 'natural' solution, of course.

The problem is twofold. Firstly the marketing people know that's what you want. And secondly, no 'natural' solution has demonstrated that it works (so until then, we have to conclude it doesn't).

Take a look at this video:

That product was marketed as a natural product (because that's what people want) while secretly it contained Minoxidil (because that's what works). The perfect hair loss product :-) Interestingly, it's now being marketed quite clearly as a strong Minoxidil formulation.

The point is everyone wants a natural solution, so most people try out natural treatments before ending up with what works: Propecia (if you're a man) and Minoxidil.

If natural products don't work, one way to save money is not to waste it on natural remedies. Controversial, I know, but that's the way it is.

At London's Belgravia Centre, we ran secret shopper tests around London's hair loss centres. Of course, we came out with the best cost treatment program. We knew that.

Our goal is to provide the most effective hair loss treatment at the best possible price. I guess we succeeded.

Wikipedia says not and they're right. And they are wrong. Here's the story ..

Professionals (engineers, doctors) enact scientific knowledge .. pretty much by law. If your dentist started trying out alternative therapies on you, you'd complain or sue. Everything a medical professional does must be backed up by science that proves it will work.

Science, of course, progresses fairly slowly. So, if there isn't a cure yet, that's that as far as the established professions are concerned .. no cure.

However, in applying the scientifically proven hair loss treatment Minoxidil at a high strength together with Azelaic Acid, professional trichologists at the Belgravia Centre in London have found that Alopecia Areata patches that have set in for months have regrown hair within three months of treatment.

Now, that's not a scientific experiment so it doesn't change much. But for those clients, it changed a lot.

Minoxidil tablets were first used to treat high blood pressure. As a side effect, some patients experienced hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth) which prompted research into its use as a hair loss remedy. Further research showed that applying a Minoxidil solution to the scalp can help treat hair loss.

"How does Minoxidil help reduce hair loss?"

No-one knows, is the short answer, and the interesting thing is .. other circulation stimulants don't have the same effect. There's just something unique about Minoxidil.

"What strength Minoxidil do I need?"

Good question, success will partly depend on matching your condition with the best strength of Minoxidil. Belgravia trichologists provide a mild 4% lotion, a stronger 5% lotion, or an extra-strength 12.5% cream, which is what we use to treat very stubborn patches of thinning hair and baldness.

There are 'booster' compounds we can add to Minoxidil to make it even more effective, such as Medroxyprogesterone (MPG).

"What is Medroxyprogesterone?"

Inherited baldness (male and female) is caused by follicles being sensitive to a derivative of testosterone, a sex hormone naturally produced by men and women. Medroxyprogesterone (MPG) helps to stop that derivative interfering with hair follicles.

The combination is more effective but it becomes a prescription-only treatment. That's why Belgravia has its own pharmacy. We add MPG to our lower-concentration Minoxidil treatments.

"What is Azelaic Acid?"

Azelaic Acid (AA) has a similar effect, again it interferes with the process by which testosterone affects hair follicles to cause inherited baldness. We exclusively add this to our 12.5% Minoxidil cream and again, it's only available on prescription.

"Are there any side effects from using Minoxidil?"

At the Belgravia Centre, we've treated tens of thousands of men and women and we estimate less than one in one hundred (1%) people experienced side effects from Minoxidil. Those ranged from mild facial hair growth, headaches, rashes and palpitations. All were mild and needed no medical treatment. They either diminished in a short time during use of Minoxidil, or shortly after stopping use of Minoxidil.

This, however, is one reason some drugs in some concentrations are only available on prescription, so that clients can be monitored by a professional trichologist and a course of treatment can be adapted as required. The Belgravia centre stores scalp photographs so that progress can be objectively measured.

"And Propecia?"

Of course, Propecia is the FDA-approved (proven, safe) drug that works to prevent testosterone causing baldness, so if you're a man you can combine Propecia and Minoxidil and all the other advice and treatments that work to give yourself the best chance of keeping your hair and hopefully getting some of it back. Propecia is not approved for women, though, but it's not so bad .. Minoxidil is more effective for women.

In a nutshell, the most effective hair loss treatment involves not just Minoxidil, but a combination of drugs and treatments together with regular monitoring by a professional trichologist to ensure the course of treatment is safe and achieves the best possible result.

Well, drinking coffee doesn't, just look around.

This comes from a study published in 2007 where living human hair follicles were subjected in a lab to testosterone and caffeine and the caffeine stimulated hair growth.

The problem is, caffeine is harmful in large quantities, so there's a long way to go, and it's no certain it can be done, before someone works out how to deliver the most efficient dosage of caffeine to grow hair, without killing the patient.

Caffeine shampoos are available, but there's nothing proving their efficacy and it's likely the caffeine concentration used will have no effect.

So no. Nice idea, but caffeine doesn't prevent hair loss.