Hair fall Causes and Medication Treatments

Androgenic Alopecia means when you are in Adult age, and your hair fall occurs due to testosterone then it is called Androgenic alopecia. And for its treatment, doctors usually give Finasteride tablets. The finasteride tablets block this hormone and due to blocking of this hormone, the hair fall gets stopped. Now you got the concern if the testosterone hormone will get blocked, then other side effects like erection problem and less sex drive can occur.

So it is like stuck between a devil and a deep sea. Whether to take this or shouldn’t take. If you will not take it, then the hair will fall due to androgen and if it will be taken, then the hair will be saved but what will happen with other things. So these are the things we will discuss in this article here on Factscoops

Testosterone Paradox

Testosterone Paradox

When you come into your young age, the male sex hormone testosterone production gets increases. And due to the increase of testosterone in the body the breath growth started, growth of hair on chest and other body parts too. Testosterone is responsible for the growth of hair on all the body parts but on the head, testosterone responsible for hair fall. This behavior of testosterone is known as “Testosterone Paradox”.

This is because, in our hair follicles, there is an enzyme present which is known as 5-Alpha Reductase. This works with the testosterone present in the blood and changes it into an active product called 5 DHT. This is stronger than testosterone. This DHT goes in the root of the hair follicles and shrinks the roots and gradually with time, the hair follicles become so small, and then it falls down. 

Prevention from Excess DHT

This androgenic alopecia generally starts when a person is 18-19 years old. In some people, it happens around 21-22 years of age and after 6-7 years, the spot of baldness becomes visible mainly the reduction of frontal line and the crown area. So to prevent this, you have to stop the DHT enzyme from reaching the hair follicles. And to block DHT, we use medicine which has Finasteride. 

Finasteride | Finpecia | Propecia

Source: Nick Gray- Flickr.com

The second class of Finasteride is called as Dutasteride. Both medicines are used for treating this but most commonly, Finasteride is used. So, I am telling you about Finasteride here. The dose which we use is 1mg per day. Generally, Finasteride affects the whole body if you will take a 5mg dose a day which doctors usually suggest in Prostrate and that only for the elderly patients of around 50-60 years because they have the exposure of testosterone from a long time span. And because of this their prostrate gland size gets increases. And 5mg Finasteride is used to make their gland restore to normal size. 

But for hair fall, the recommended dose of Finasteride is 1mg per day. The negative effects of testosterone due to lack of testosterone like loss of libido. It means that you do not want to do sex and there will be no morning erection and tightness of the penis. These symptoms will not occur with 1mg of Finasteride. So, you can take 1mg Finasteride safely. 

Study Related to Use of Finasteride

In 2012, Tokyo University, Japan, their plastic surgery department done a study on 3000 patients. The doctors prescribed them Finasteride and they studied how many percentages of people face these side effects. 

If you understand the medical terminology, then you can visit this link and read about the study –

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15319158/

The conclusion of this study was that the chances of 1mg of Finasteride have not any side effects of Testosterone. In 3000 patients, this only happened with 80 patients. So, if we look at the percentage then it is very low. So you can take 1mg of Finasteride without any fear. And 1mg of Finasteride is approved by US FDA for male pattern baldness.

Another Treatment – Minoxidil

Minoxidil - Factscoops

With Finasteride, US FDA also approved Minoxidil. Minoxidil is a name of a medicine that is available in the market with various names like Mintop Lotion, Minoxy F, Minofall, Rogaine, and there are a lot of many names of this but the medicine which is used in every lotion/solution is Minoxidil. 

History

In 1950, Minoxidil gives to control Blood Pressure to BP patients. Then doctors concluded that BP is controlled but after 3-6 months, there was the growth of hair on the faces, backs of patients. That will not be problematic for the male patients but the female patients who were taking these medications to control BP, this minoxidil creates a problem for them. And that’s why doctors stopped giving Minoxidil to BP patients. Later on, the side effects which was generated in the treatment of blood pressure becomes the medicine for hair fall. So, Minoxidil also approved by US FDA. 

Minoxidil for Blood Pressure

Source: agilemktg1 – Filckr.com

Minoxidil Dose and How Long Will it Take to Grow Hair

Usually, for male patients, doctors suggest a 5% solution and for females, they can also take 2% Minoxidil, though they don’t have the androgenic alopecia. So when Minoxidil applies on the scalp, it reaches the hair follicles and it dilates the blood vessels which are near to the hair follicles and make it bigger. And due to this, the amount of nutrition to the blood vessels increases, and hair growth started. But this is the fact that the effect of Minoxidil is shown after 3-6 months. 

Minoxidil 5% and 2%

This is not true that if you are applying Minoxidil lotion today and you will have dense hair on the next day. Initially, you will notice the increase in hair fall after applying Minoxidil. This is because when you start using Minoxidil, the old stuck follicles are pushed by the new hair follicles. So, you will see an increase in the hair fall in 15-30 days. But after that, your hair growth will start. Hence, the second treatment which the US FDA has approved so far for hair fall is Minoxidil. 

Use of Multivitamins

use of Multivitamins for hair growth

Source:Pixabay.com

With that, a few patients have iron deficiency, some have the micronutrients deficiency like Vitamins and Minerals. So, if you will take the Finasteride and Minoxidil and you have the deficiency of micronutrients then your hair fall will not be cured. So, you have to take care of that too if you have a deficiency of minerals like Iron. Folic acid and vitamins like A, D, E then you have to take multivitamins too to control hair fall. 

Now, the thing comes up, what are the other treatments beyond this? 

Platelets Rich Plasma

PRP provides you growth factors. When Platelets Rich Plasma injection inserted in the scalp, the growth factor in PRP reaches the hair follicles and it increases the hair growth. But this is temporary and not permanent. If you stop the PRP, then hair fall will again start after 3-6 months. The same thing happens with tablets and lotion that how many days we should use these medications. This is for a lifetime. And you don’t have to worry about the Finasteride side effects when you are taking it only 1mg. 

But if you want to stop male pattern baldness, then these are a only few options and sooner the treatments get starts, then it will be good for you as the places where there is the availability of the hair follicles, only that place the hair will grow. It is well said that if you want to start your hair fall treatment then you must have to start when you notice the first sign of hair fall. If you start on early-stage then you will have many hair follicles that can be strong. If you don’t have any hair follicles left on the scalp, then only one option left and that is the transplantation of hair follicles and the thing known as Hair Transplantation.

Conclusion

To summarise this article, I want to tell, if you re having male pattern baldness in which there is the reduction of the frontal hairline and also you start losing hair on the crown area as shown below then you have to take 1mg Finasteride and apply Minoxidil solution in a gap of 12 hours i.e. twice a day on the scalp. 5% for gents and 2% for ladies. Never apply minoxidil solution with fingers as the medicine will absorb in your fingers and that will not good. Always use dropper comes with this medicine.

Frontal pattern baldness

Source: Pixabay.com

Apply minoxidil and don’t hope for 3 months that there will be a miracle. But after that, you will notice the difference. There are many people who start to use and after one month they stopped using that as they see the increase in hair fall. But no, all you have to do keep patience because these things are very complicated. Also, if you do smoking then stop it. Avoid Direct Sunlight. These are the minor things which you have to do and if you follow these things, then you will surely see the benefits. 

I hope you have cleared your confusion regarding the use and side effects of Finasteride and other treatments to control hair fall.         

Henry Jones

Henry Jones is a Blogger | Fitness Freak and Certified Part-Time Fitness Trainer at Gymbox, He is addicted to writing about health and various body problems.

One thought on “Hair fall Causes and Medication Treatments

  • August 10, 2020 at 8:21 am
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    Really very helpful. I’m using 1mg Finasteride and Monoxidil for 3 years and everything is in control

    Reply

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