How do I Grow Head Hair After It Has Been Gone for a Long Time?

Baldness can be distressing.

Baldness can be caused by a number of things, including chemotherapy, stress or male pattern baldness. Regardless of the reason for the baldness, regrowth after a long period of hair loss may sound unrealistic. Fortunately, science and technology have come up with ways to grow hair on heads that have been bald a long time.

Things You'll Need

• Minoxidil
• Aloe Vera

Instructions

1. Learn stress management. According to Medline Plus, emotional and physical stress can lead to hair loss. While stress management alone isn't enough to regrow hair, it helps once the hair starts to regrow.

2. Talk to a doctor about prescription regrowth medications. Make sure the medication won't interact with other medications you take. If there are potential interactions, wait until you use up your other medications before taking the regrowth med.

3. Massage your scalp with aloe vera. Damaged hair follicles are a major cause of non-genetic baldness. Aloe can help heal some damage, while it rehydrates the scalp. Massaging also stimulates the flow of blood to the scalp.

4. Look into hair transplants. Transplant surgeries take the hair from one area of the body and transplant it to the head. Once transplanted, the hair starts to grow naturally.

5. Apply minoxidil to the scalp. Minoxidil is a topical hair regrowth option after baldness or during hair loss. If hair loss is caused by chemotherapy, talk to your doctor before using minoxidil to avoid possible complications. According to the Mayo Clinic, using minoxidil doesn't prevent hair loss during chemotherapy but can result in faster hair regrowth once the chemotherapy is over.

Tips & Warnings

• Hair loss caused by hormones, such as hair loss during pregnancy, often reverses when hormone levels decrease.

• Hair lost during chemotherapy typically grows back soon after the patient goes off the treatment.

• Hair loss due to medications will reverse itself when you change or go off the medication.

References

• Mayo Clinic: Chemotherapy and Hair Loss
• Medline Plus: Hair Loss
• American Academy of Dermatology: Hair Loss
• Hair Finder: Hair Coming Back