Men are more likely to suffer from baldness due to the high sensitivity of the hair roots to sex hormones in the body. In addition, internal disturbances in the body, systemic diseases, vitamin deficiency, bad habits, and poor ecology can affect the health of the hair. To determine the methods of how to deal with male pattern baldness, should be after finding out the causes of alopecia.
Alopecia is the medical name for the disease, which is expressed in accelerated hair loss and lack of regeneration, restoration of new hair growth. If a man’s hair falls out, the problem requires immediate diagnosis and comprehensive treatment. Today, baldness is treated with drugs, cosmetics, mesotherapy, physiotherapy, and in extreme cases, surgery is used.
Why do men go bald?
Statistical data confirm that men suffer from baldness much more often than women, since in the latter the hair follicles are located deeper in the scalp. And before determining the methods of treating baldness, it is important for a specialist to identify all the causes and provoking factors of such a disorder. Among patients with alopecia, in about 60% of cases, doctors diagnose hereditary alopecia.
In addition to the genetic predisposition, doctors note a number of reasons leading to baldness, namely:
- abuse of bad habits;
- prolonged neurosis and stress, severe shock, depression;
- hormonal fluctuations in the thyroid gland or testosterone jumps;
- wrong choice of cosmetics and illiterate hygiene;
- malnutrition, abuse of animal proteins, deficiency of vitamins and minerals;
- a dynamic lifestyle, passive pastime, which leads to stagnation of blood and various psycho-emotional states;
- long-term use of potent drugs;
- systemic diseases (diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, cardiovascular pathology, etc.);
- scalp injuries, chemical exposure, burns.
Often, the causes of hair loss are unfavorable environmental conditions in the area where a man lives, as well as harmful professional activities. Due to such a large list of provoking factors, the course of therapy for alopecia can be different, but necessarily complex and long-term.
How to treat baldness
What to do in case of hair loss and insufficient restoration of their growth can be determined by trichologists only because of the patient’s diagnosis. At the initial stage, the patient is prescribed sparing methods — a complete and balanced diet, vitamins and minerals, an active lifestyle, as well as professional medical products for hair care and treatment. In the future, with insufficient effectiveness, drugs, physiotherapy, mesotherapy and even a surgical method of treatment are used.
The most radical way to treat alopecia is to transplant bulbs or healthy tissue, which normalizes hair growth at the same pace. Surgery is practiced everywhere in many clinics, it is performed for both women and men with severe baldness, if conservative methods have failed.
Medications
Medications can be different, a lot depends on the type of alopecia and the reasons that led to hair loss. If we consider male pattern baldness of the androgenetic type, hormone therapy is most often used to eliminate the pathogenic effects of dihydrotestosterone on the hair follicles. Most often, trichologists prescribe Finasteride tablets for the treatment of such alopecia, which inhibit substances that convert testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.
If vascular disorders and blood stasis have become the cause of baldness, Minoxidil tablets are used, they are ways to stop baldness due to local vasodilation, an increase in blood flow and nutritional components to the hair follicles. Numerous shampoos and hair masks also contain minoxidil if they are intended for topical treatment of alopecia.
Alopecia areata is treated in other ways, if baldness is caused by autoimmune disorders, the doctor prescribes immunosuppressants, anti-inflammatory or antihistamines. These can be hormonal corticosteroid ointments Hydrocortisone or Prednisolone, an immunosuppressive agent for Diprospan injections for injection into the focus of alopecia.
Vitamin complexes will help to consolidate the result of therapy, they must contain B vitamins, since they are responsible for the health of the tissues of nails, teeth, and hair. For example, Neurovitan complex, Neurobion or B-complex. Particular attention should be paid to the minerals magnesium and calcium, as well as zinc and selenium, these substances are critical for hair health.
Physiotherapy methods
Physiotherapy procedures prescribed by a trichologist doctor as necessary have a direct effect on the scalp and hair follicles. Today, several types of physiotherapy are practiced to get rid of alopecia and prevent further hair loss, for example:
- Darsonvalization — a weak current of high voltage and frequencies is passed through the scalp, increasing the tone of tissues and accelerating local blood flow.
- Electrophoresis — a popular procedure that involves enhancing the effects of medications due to electric current. Hair can be made to grow by injecting preparations under the scalp and subsequent exposure to a painless current.
- Cryotherapy — the specialist affects the scalp with liquid nitrogen, thanks to a cryo applicator the substance is evenly distributed. The principle of exposure is similar to previous methods, but the danger to the nervous and cardiovascular systems is several times lower.
- Massage – to improve blood microcirculation, the specialist massages the scalp with circular movements, vibrations, and also with point pressure. For massage, auxiliary tools such as vacuum suction cups or a laser comb, aroma oils, attachments and special brushes are used.
Physiotherapy is always carried out with other methods of baldness therapy, and only in a clinic setting. About whether it is possible to stop hair loss with physiotherapy at home, no doctor gives a definite answer.
Mesotherapy
A popular technique today, how to preserve hair and its normal growth rate, is mesotherapy. It is used for any patients who have begun to lose their hair, regardless of the reasons and the treatment prescribed by the doctor. The essence of mesotherapy is a course of injections into the scalp, where bald patches, bald spots or pronounced baldness are observed.
The following types of drugs are administered by injection:
- (A, E, vitamins of group B, PP, C, etc.);
- minerals and trace elements (zinc, selenium, magnesium, calcium, iron, etc.);
- amino acids for the removal of toxins and accelerated blood flow;
- homeopathic remedies for general strengthening effects;
- herbal extracts.
In the complex, mesotherapy guarantees a quick rejuvenating and restoring effect, the speed of its onset is due to 100% of all the beneficial substances of the drug entering the hair follicles. To date, experts practice two types of mesotherapy to stop alopecia:
- Hardware — the introduction of drugs is carried out by a mesoinjector, most often practiced in complex cases of baldness in large areas of the scalp.
- Manual — the doctor injects into a certain area of the skin pointwise to nourish the hair follicles with vitamins, amino acids and minerals.
Manual mesotherapy is distinguished by a high accuracy of hitting vitamin cocktails, but only in the case of the initial and middle stages of baldness. If, after therapy, the hair does not grow for 6 months or longer, in this case, the doctor diagnoses the complete extinction of the bulbs, respectively, mesotherapy is inappropriate.
Hair transplantation
Stopping hair loss is paramount in the treatment of alopecia, but what if new hair growth does not resume? If the doctor has tried every conservative method that helps with baldness, and there are no results, it is worth considering the possibility of radical treatment. We are talking about surgery, namely, hair transplantation from other parts of the body.
Recently, specialists are increasingly resorting to two methods of transplantation — surgical and non-surgical, which helps to solve the problem, considering the patient’s state of health and the degree of neglect of alopecia. The main disadvantages of this method of therapy are scarring of the sutures, that is, the aesthetic aspect, as well as periodic headaches. If we consider the non-surgical method, it is more loyal and harmless.
Non-surgical hair transplantation is an HFE method, as a result of which about 98% of transplanted hairs take root in a new place. Transplantation is performed strictly in clinical conditions using ultra-thin needles 0,5-0,8 mm wide. The operative method of transplantation involves the transplantation of not only hair, but also tissues, thanks to which hair growth is established, dormant follicles are activated.
Cosmetic preparations
For men who have severe hair loss, cosmetics manufacturers have developed a whole series of products aimed at improving the dynamics of new hair growth. Among them are shampoos and masks containing components that accelerate local blood flow, improve metabolic processes and intercellular metabolism, saturate the skin and bulbs with nutrients and valuable substances.
The following products are recognized as the best cosmetic products to cure baldness:
- Aminexil — ampules with a solution that need to be rubbed into the scalp, after which the vessels expand, the blood flow accelerates and the bulbs are nourished with valuable substances. Such a substance is contained in special shampoos and masks for baldness from the brands Vici, Kerastase and L’Oréal.
- Trikamin — spray against baldness, which contains a component that suppresses the synthesis of testosterone. The product also contains copper peptides, due to which there is an anti androgenic effect. The spray activates dormant follicles, restores damaged hair roots.
- TRX2 — provides a molecular-based treatment for baldness, but is only used against early male pattern baldness. The composition is rich in metabolic stimulants, as well as natural energy-generating substances.
When choosing a product, special attention should be paid to the type of hair and the condition of the scalp. In the presence of dandruff, it is important to choose a product containing an antifungal agent, there are also antibacterial agents. With diffuse alopecia, cosmetics with a synergistic effect are used. Selenzin shampoo with a regulating and stimulating effect promises good results.
Advice! Also, doctors advise shampoos and masks with tricosaccharides (regulate metabolism in bulb cells), biovitamin complexes (compensate for the lack of necessary resources) and zanthin (a natural remedy for activating hair growth).
Hair loss prevention
Treatment methods can only be used as prescribed by a doctor after a diagnosis has been made. But prevention is a voluntary measure that will help prevent baldness if a man is at risk. The basic rule in this matter is the replenishment of important resources in the body that are responsible for the growth and health of hair. To prevent male pattern baldness, you need to take:
- iron in food products to saturate hair and roots with oxygen;
- zinc, which acts as a building material of hair;
- calcium, which is involved in the formation of hair;
- vitamin A, which moisturizes hair, stimulates their growth, protects against external factors of irritation;
- B vitamins that make hair thick and strong;
- vitamin c, accelerating local blood flow in the scalp, due to which the hair is fed with the necessary substances;
- vitamin E for nutrition from the very roots to the ends, moisturizing the hair, as well as giving it silkiness, shine, elasticity.
Particular attention should be paid to the choice of cosmetics for hair care, they must be suitable for the type of hair and the characteristics of the scalp. The main condition for healthy hair is a balanced diet, balance of hormones, an active lifestyle.
Conclusion
Baldness is an urgent problem among men of all ages, so it is important to diagnose it in a timely manner by consulting a trichologist. When confirming the diagnosis of alopecia, the specialist will establish the exact causes of such a violation in the body, after which, based on this information, he will select a course of therapy. Treatment should be complex, it can be medications and cosmetics, physiotherapy, mesotherapy, in extreme cases — surgery.
