How to Regain Lost Hair

Hair loss can be an extremely traumatic experience, as our hair is so much a part of our personal appearance. Several factors can cause hair loss: an autoimmune condition, hormonal changes, or a genetic predisposition. It's natural to want to restore your hair to its previous condition. Fortunately, there are several medical treatments that can help you regrow lost hair, if you're willing to consider possible side effects.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Buy Minoxidil from your local drugstore. Minoxidil (brand name: Rogaine) is a non-prescription drug that helps stop hair loss and regrow lost hair. It's easy to use, as it comes in liquid or foam form and is simply rubbed into the scalp twice a day. Minoxidil can take up to 12 weeks to work, and if you stop using it your hair will return to its previous state. Hair that grows back may be thin and short. Common side effects include changes in hair texture and color and an itchy scalp. Both men and women can safely use minoxidil.

2. Try finasteride (brand name: Propecia). This prescription pill treats male-pattern baldness. Like Minoxidil, finasteride can slow hair loss and promote new hair growth---and your new hair will fall out if you stop taking the drug. It may take months to work, and some men experience low sex drive and poor sexual function.

3. Receive corticosteroid injections. Corticosteroid injections help with hair loss caused by alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that makes the immune system attack the roots of the hair. Monthly treatments can produce hair growth after about a month's time. Corticosteroid creams and pills are also available, but they are less potent.

4. Apply anthralin cream to your scalp. This sticky medication can regrow hair in people with alopecia areata. Results usually occur after 12 weeks of use. Side effects include skin irritation.

5. Undergo hair transplantation. In this procedure, small amounts of the scalp that contain healthy hair are grafted into bald areas. There is some risk of scarring and skin infection. However, unlike hair regrowth associated with finasteride and inoxidil, results are permanent.

Tips & Warnings

• Finasteride is dangerous to women, especially women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant. If a pregnant woman touches a broken finasteride pill, serious birth defects may occur. Before you start any course of treatment, visit your doctor. Your hair loss may be caused by an underlying medical condition. If the condition is treated, your hair will regrow.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• National Alopecia Areata Foundation
• MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia---Male Pattern Baldness