Most Effective Treatments for Hair Fall & Hair Loss

Medications

If your hair loss is caused by an underlying disease, it is necessary to treat that disease. If a certain medication is causing the hair loss, you may need to stop using it for a few months after consulting your doctor. Ultimately, the treatment will depend on the cause which can be variable. To know more about the various causes of hair loss, click here.

The most common type of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia. It is a poly-genetic pattern of baldness but the most common options to treat it are listed below.

1. Minoxidil.
   • Minoxidil and Finasteride are the only 2 medicines approved by the US-FDA for the treatment of male-pattern baldness
   • Minoxidil comes in liquid, foam and shampoo forms. The most effective is the solution form, however, there is a chance that it causes dryness due to the alcohol content in the solution.
   • Apply the product onto the scalp skin (once daily for women and twice daily for men). Your doctor can explain how to apply the solution in a detailed manner.
   • Products with minoxidil help many people regrow their hair or slow the rate of hair loss or both. It’ll take at least six months of treatment to prevent further hair loss and to start hair regrowth.
   • It may take a few more months to tell whether the treatment is working for you. If it is helping, you’ll need to continue using the medicine indefinitely or at least for a long time Once the medicine is stopped, the hair shedding may occur in the next 2-3 months.
   • Possible side effects include scalp irritation and unwanted hair growth on the adjacent skin of the face and hands if the solution is not applied properly. Some people also complain of headache. To know more about minoxidil, contact your dermatologist today.
     
     
2. Finasteride.
   • This is a prescription drug used for men (and rarely women). It is to be taken daily as a pill.
   • Most men who take finasteride experience a slowing of hair loss and some men even have regrowth of hair up to an extent.
   • It takes a few months to give optimal results so again, patience is key. Like Minoxidil, this medicine is also to be taken for a long duration and has to be continued to retain the benefits. Finasteride may not work effectively for men over 60 as far as hair loss is concerned.
   • Although it is rare, one of the important side effects of finasteride are diminished sex drive and sexual function. You must also remember to consult your doctor in case you have any prostate cancer as it can interact with the detection of certain antigens.
   • Women who are in childbearing age or pregnant need to avoid taking finasteride tablets as well as touching crushed or broken tablets.
     
     
3. PRP Therapy.
   • This is a novel therapy that involves separating the plasma rich in platelets which contains various growth factors.
   • On injecting the growth factors onto the scalp, either with needles or with mesotherapy, the growth factors boost the hair growth and increase the density and strength of the hair.
   • Because the blood is the person’s own blood, it is natural and there is no chance of allergy to the PRP.
   • To avoid pain, the doctor may apply a numbing cream.
   • In itself, it is effective but usually, a combination approach is preferred by the doctors.
     
     
4. Other medications.
   • Other medicines like spironolactone and oral dutasteride are used in certain scenarios. Be sure to consult a specialist to know more about which option is best for you.

Cosmetic Options

There are many options and alternative cosmetic treatments for hair loss if you want a quick response or the medicines are contraindicated for some reason. Some of these are listed here and include hair-fibre powders, hairpieces, synthetic wigs, human hair wigs, hair extensions, hair weaves as well as laser and surgery.

• Hair-fibre powders:
  Coloured, powdery fibre sprinkles are commercially available and may work to camouflage balding areas. They have special properties allowing them to attach to the hair and give a fuller appearance. These products are available without a prescription and some of the products are good as well as cost-effective and quite safe with minimal risk. Often these may be used in addition to medical treatments like Minoxidil, Finasteride and hair transplants, and they are a great temporary measure to tide one over for special occasions.
  
  
• Hairpieces:
  One of the ways to add hair temporarily are hairpieces or hair weaving, in which a mesh is attached to the remaining hair and artificial or human hair of similar colour and texture is woven with existing hair. Quality varies considerably with the price. The hairpieces and weaves may stretch, oxidize, and loosen.
  
  
• Laser Therapy:
  The Food and Drug Administration has approved a low-level laser device as a treatment for hereditary hair loss in men and women. A few small studies have shown that it improves hair density. More studies are needed to show long-term effects.
  
  
• Hair Styling:
  You may try various hair care methods to find one that makes you feel better about how you look. For example, use styling products that add volume and choose a hairstyle that makes the hair loss areas less noticeable. Use wigs or extensions, or shave your head. Talk with a hairstylist for ideas. These approaches can be used to address permanent or temporary hair loss.
  
  
• Scalp Micropigmentation:
  It is a type of cosmetic camouflage technique where the specialist will make cosmetic tattoos which last for up to a year or more. This technique is often used when hair transplant is not viable or sometimes even in combination with hair transplant if the donor area is less. It is also commonly used for designing better eyebrows after colour matching. Contact your dermatologist to know more about this technique.

Hair Transplant Surgery

Sometimes, the pattern baldness progresses to a stage at which very few hair follicles are remaining and there are areas of permanent hair loss which cannot be preserved or treated with medical methods. In that case, hair transplant is the best surgical modality.

During a hair transplant procedure, a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon removes hair follicles from a part of the head that has hair (usually the back of the head) and transplants it to the areas of balding. Each patch of hair has one to several hairs (micro-grafts and mini-grafts). This procedure doesn’t require hospitalization, but it is painful so you’ll be given local anaesthesia to ease any discomfort wherein you will be awake and alert but the area will become numb.

Possible risks include bleeding, bruising, swelling and infection. You may need more than one surgery to get the effect you want. Hereditary hair loss will eventually progress despite surgery so the medical management will need to be started in addition to the surgery for longer-lasting results.

Surgical procedures to treat baldness are not usually covered by insurance.