Is There A Cure For Male Pattern Baldness?
Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) affects 50% of men before they reach the age of 40 and 80% by age 70. Perhaps you are one of them and already have significant hair loss. Or maybe you have just started to notice that things up top are not as luxuriant as they once were.
There is No Cure for MPB
Depending on the importance a man places on having a full head of hair for the purposes of his own self-image and confidence, the greater the likelihood that he may resort to desperate measures to both stop any further hair loss and initiate regrowth. This could mean that he ignores a very simple fact, there is no cure for MPB.
Cause of MPB Still Unknown
The medical name for Male Pattern Baldness is Androgenic Alopecia. Scientists have noticed that a higher than normal level of the male sex hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) can shorten the growth cycle of hair and delay new growth. They have also established that genetic predisposition plays a part. However, the real cause of MPB remains unknown
Don’t Believe the Old Wives Tales
Throughout history strange concoctions have been applied to the scalp in the hope of encouraging hair to grow once more. Even today, things such as onion juice, aloe vera, liquorice root powder and paste made from fenugreek are applied to the head by men looking for a miracle cure. None of them work of course.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil is marketed under a few different brand names. When it is applied to the
scalp it does appear to slow down hair loss in around 40% of users, some of whom also claim to have experienced new growth. Results are by no means universal and are open to question. More worrying are the potential side effects, including rashes, acne, itchiness and other skin irritation. The products are usually quite expensive and once the user stops the treatment any perceived improvements are soon reversed.
Finasteride
Finasteride is the second common product marketed under various guises to treat hair loss and is reported to be more effective than Minoxidil in slowing hair loss. Finasteride comes in tablet form and again, once the treatment stops any benefit is lost. Potential side effects are more worrying than Minoxidil and include chest pains, erectile problems, cold sweats and a fall in libido.
A Hair Transplant
If you really want to tackle your hair loss, stop looking for an old wives
remedy that used to work back in the day but everyone has forgotten about, you won’t find one. Don’t spend considerable amounts of money on off-the-shelf products to rub on your scalp, or worse, ordering goodness knows what from an overseas supplier trading on the Internet. Instead consider a hair transplant.
The Only Way to Address Baldness
A hair transplant is the only way to give you back a full head of hair. The transplant is done under local anaesthetic and small patches of hair are moved from one area of the head to the bald spots. You are likely to need a number of sessions, but the good news is, results are effective and permanent. It is, of course, important to go to acknowledged experts who hold the proper qualifications, licensing and insurance.
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