For some, baldness is an accepted part of the aging process. But for a lot of others, it’s a source of stress and social anxiety. And while a bald patch on the top isn’t the social banishment it used to be, it still is quite stressful, especially when it happens well before it’s supposed to be.
We have been promised for more than a decade that a cure thinning hair is just round the corner; that such potential hair-regrowth remedies are just seeping in through the horizon. But frankly speaking, it’s our patience that’s thinning along with our precious hair.
Now that’s not entirely true and by conventional standards, the hair regrowth methods available today are as effective as one would want them to be. They are just not very long-lasting and slightly limited in their abilities.
Stages of Hair Growth
Hair as we know it is made up of hair follicle and the fiber shaft that’s visible above the scalp. At the base of the follicle, cells divide and give rise to the shaft made up of Keratin protein.
Just like our cells, hair follicles have a functioning cycle. Hair continues to grow out of follicle for a period lasting about 5 years, all the while getting the desired nourishment from surrounding cells. And then comes the rest phase and the hair falls off. This hibernation lasts for about 6 months. Once through the healing process, the cycle continues.
Of the 100000 follicles on the scalp, no more than 10% of the follicles rest at the same time, while the others continue to function. Thus the hair fall is not noticeable.
The problem arises when the cycle is disrupted or reduced, or the follicle is replaced by a scar tissue.
So far, what we know is that hair follicles are over-sensitive to high levels of Androgen Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the blood. DHT binds to the receptors within the follicles and shrinks them over time. Subsequently, the hair becomes thinner and thinner and we reach a stage where it’s no longer produced.
Existing Hair Loss Prevention Treatments
Minoxidil: Minoxidil was initially used for treating high blood pressure, and its application for male pattern baldness was discovered by an accident. There’s however, a side-effect involved; growth in any unwanted area. As such, Minoxidil, when applied on the scalp, increases the blood circulation and nourishes the hair follicles.
Finasteride: It is known to inhibit the formation of Type ll 5-Alpha-Reductase, an enzyme responsible for the conversion of Testosterone to DHT. However, the effects remain only till the usage continues.
Hair Transplant: This process involves the implant of DHT resistant follicles back into the scalp wherever the follicles are inactive and impotent. The end result is a better-scattered hair growth.
However, the process is not only expensive but risky too, with the constant risk of scalp infection and scarring.
Low-Level Laser Therapy is a form of light and heat treatment that is known to stimulate the growth of hair in both men and women. It involves stimulation of epidermal stem cells within the hair follicle in order to shift back the follicle into the growth cycle, completely out of hibernation.
