“Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man - there's your diamond in the rough.” -Larry David
Hair loss--it happens. We all know celebrities that are losing their hair. From Bruce Willis (maybe he was bald from birth?) to Vince Vaughn and Jude Law to Matthew McConaughey, they have all dealt with hair loss. And yet, they all seem to “get it back.” How did they do it? In this article, we’re going to look at hair loss and what medicine can do about it.
How it happens
Hair loss is a complicated problem. As we age our physiology and body chemistry change along with hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, which can lead to additional hair loss. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, “people lose 50-100 hairs per day, and affects around 80 million men and women in the US alone.” Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a hormone produced by the body that blocks the production of hair. It comes from testosterone and blocks hair follicles from reproducing new hair. Products such as Minoxidil attempt to block this process and maintain hair production.
The expert
To do our homework, we reached out to facial surgeon Dr. Farhan Taghizaday, MD for some help on how to treat hair loss. Here is what he had to say:
Q: Do more men or women suffer from the condition?
Dr. Taghizaday: “Hair loss occurs in both men and women, but tends to be a larger issue within males.”
Q: What causes hair loss?
Dr. Taghizaday: “DHT blocks or shuts off a switch in the hair follicles signaling them to stop producing hair.”
Q: How can you deal with DHT?
Dr. Taghizaday: “There are several topical treatments and some dietary changes people can make to reduce inflammation and stress, which are both contributors to the problem.”
Q: What treatments are available?
Dr. Taghizaday: Growth factors are where medicine is moving towards. Injecting combinations of platelet rich plasma and amnion has shown some promising results. These growth factors have the ability to flip the switch back on for hair regrowth.”
Q: Comparing all the newer technologies for hair regrowth, where do you think we are headed?
Dr. Taghizaday: “There needs to be more research done, but it is very likely that the day will come where we can regrow hair on everyone. Up until recently most practitioners believed hair loss was permanent. Now, we are realizing that a lot of hair is just dormant and needs to be signaled to regrow.”
Conclusions
It seems fair to say we are living in exciting times. How amazing would that be if we could regrow hair? As the skincare and hair industry continues to develop we will continue to keep you informed. Make sure to visit here often for the latest and greatest developments in the industry!
To keeping your hair,
Team Reflect
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