Baldness Treatments

There are several mainstream hairloss treatments that are on the market today, which are FDA-approved, and there are several others that are newer treatments that are on the horizon, and being tested for approval in the medical community. Here is a list of these treatements, along with pertinent references:

• Rogaine - Rogaine, which is the brand name for the drug minoxidil, is marketed by the drug company Pfizer, and is used to treat male pattern baldness. Currently, Pfizer makes a men's and women's variation of the drug (make sure you use the one made for your sex). Rogaine comes in both liquid and foam substances, and is applied topically. You should always consult a physician before its use, and never apply it to damaged or sunburned scalps. Typically, Rogaine is applied twice a day. It will not work for all people, but it could take several months before resurgence of hair is experienced. Possible side effects of Rogaine include allergic reactions, chest pains, irregular heartbeats, itching, headaches, and fainting. Rogaine does not require a prescription, and is sold over the counter.

  To purchase Rogaine on-line at a discounted rate, please visit the following site:

  Buy Rogaine Online

  For more information and studies on Minoxidil, please read the following page:

  Minoxidil Information

• Propecia - Propecia, which is the brand name for the drug finasteride, is an FDA-approved pill, demonstrated to treat male pattern baldness on the vertex (top of head) and anterior mid-scalp area (middle front of head) in men only. It is a prescription drug only, and was developed by the drug company Merck. Currently, there is not sufficient evidence that Propecia can fight against receding hairlines at the temples. It works by inhibiting type II 5-alpha reductase in the body. Of those men seeing results, most see them 3 to 12 months after starting the use of Propecia. Possible side effects of Propecia include decreased libido, impotence, and breast tenderness. Consult with your doctor if you are interested in using Propecia.

  Read about the clinical studies done on Procecia, at the following link:

  Propecia Clinical Studies

• Dutasteride - Dutasteride is a new drug prescribed for benign protatic hyperplasia (BPH or those suffering from enlarged prostates), but has also shown very positive effects as a hair loss treatment for those suffering from male pattern baldness. This drug was developed by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline, and is currently in a trial phase. Dutasteride, which is taken in capsule form, has shown dramatic sccess in restoring hair to bald men, in its trials. It interferes with 5-alpha-reductase enzymes that break down the male hormone testosterone and turn it into dehydrotestosterone (DHT) - which causes hair to thin dramatically in later years. Dutasteride has had better DHT supression results than finasteride in both Propecia and Proscar. If it becomes available, this drug will undoutedly be sold on a prescription basis. Possible side effects include sexual problems, enlargement of breasts, allergies, itching, swelling, dizziness, and trouble with breathing. Consult your physician for further details.

• Extreme Hair Therapy - Extreme Hair Therapy is a new hair restoration treatment, which helps hair growth and stops balding. It is a lengthy process and helps in improving the blood flow and reducing the free radicals. It improves the condition of your hair and scalp, and fights hair loss. It is offered by the Hair Club, under their proprietary name of EXT. EXT incorporates an FDA-approved hair loss remedy that stimulates hair growth in thinning areas by keeping hair follicles in the growth phase longer, growing thicker hairs and slowing further thinning. The appearance of thicker hair can be seen after 4-6 months. This treatment is not successful for everyone. About 35% of users experience noticeable improvement in the appearance of their hair. More than 90% of users either stop their hair loss (i.e. keep what they have) or significantly reduce the rate of hair loss. Hair Club's EXT regimen consists of high quality cleansers, a vitamin supplement and the FDA-approved hair re-growth agent, Minoxidil. This regimen, combined with in-house hair and scalp treatments, is a highly effective hair restoration program for many men and women.

• Follicular Unit Transplantation - Follicular unit transplantation is a treatment wherein a patch is taken from the back of the head where there is enough hair and put on the bald patch. The follicular units start growing and the bald patch is not visible any more. This concept developed based on the premise that hair doesn't grow individually, but actually in small groups called follicular units. These follicular units are naturally occurring climps of hair from one to four. In a follicular unit extraction, the doctors that perform it actually go down right on the hair follicle with magnification, score the edges and then literally extract these follicles from the back of the scalp. The grafts that are produced are so small that they can just be placed into very fine needle poke holes. And this leaves a lot of very small 1 mm holes that heal up in just a few days after the procedure. With follicular extraction, people resume physical activities right away. The healing that once took a couple of weeks is now compressed into just a few days.

• Hair Loss Surgery - For men and women with major hair loss, surgery is the final option. Dermatologists and plastic surgeons can remove some of the bald spot via scalp reduction surgery, which involves pulling the hair-growing sections of scalp together, and transplanting living hairs - often one at a time - from the thickest hair on the side of the head to a hairless area.

• Hair Cloning - This is a treatment that is still several years away from becoming mainstream. The premise behind hair cloning is as follows: The hair follicle is a tiny organ with an odd power. It contains stem cells that can regenerate it. At the base of the follicle is the hair bulb, where wildly growing matrix cells become hair. A little farther up the follicle is the mysterious feature called the bulge. That is where follicle stem cells live. When they get the right set of chemical signals, these self-renewing cells divide. They don't divide like normal cells, in which both halves become new cells that keep splitting and developing. Only one half of the follicle stem cell does that. The other half becomes a new stem cell, and stays put for future regeneration. The basic idea behind hair cloning is to harvest healthy follicle stem cells. But instead of transplanting them right away, researchers have learned how to make the stem cells or seeds multiply. It is not cloning, which uses different techniques. New follicle stem cells are grown in laboratory cultures. Then they are attached to tiny skin-cell scaffolds and implanted into bald areas of the scalp. The idea is to take these cells from the bulb of the hair, grow them in culture, and come back with an increased number of hair seeds you could inject into the scalp. You start with a small number of hairs and come back with a larger number of hair seeds, and inject them into one area, and just create brand-new hair follicles. Moreover, researchers have discovered that some follicle cells do more than regenerate. They give off chemical signals. Nearby follicle cells -- which have shrunk during the aging process -- respond to these signals by regenerating and once again making healthy hair. It works in lab mice, and it has been demonstrated in human skin cultures, as well.