What About Hair Loss Drugs?

It has always been a problem for millions of people around the world. The reasons for this vary from aging to incorrect use of hair products and hormonal / vitamin imbalance. A common type of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, also called male patterned baldness, it being common to men. The reason of loss is dihydrotestosterone (DHT), or androgen, the excessive amount of which affects hair follicles in a way that they cannot produce enough biomaterial. Though this condition is prevalent in men, up to 40 per cent of women suffer from it at some point of their lifetime (female pattern baldness).Fortunately, this issue can be attended to using state-of-the-art treatment technologies. Hair restoration includes both surgical and non-surgical treatment. In case of non-surgical treatment of hair loss the so called hair loss drugs, such as Finasteride (Proscar, UK brand name Propecia), Minoxidil (UK brand name Rogaine), Dutasteride, etc., are widely used.Such medications work using different principles, for instance, a Finasteride pill is considered to block dihydrotestosterone production, thus reversing alopecia, while Minoxidil is a solution or ointment applied directly on the scalp which increases the size of hair follicles. Ironically as it may seem, these most popular hair loss drugs have been originally designed for other medical applications. Minoxidil was created as a high blood pressure tablet, and Finasteride was used to treat prostate problems (yeah, a bunch of senior citizens with unexpectedly growing hair and stuff, without an idea of what is going on). Reported side effects in the form of hair growth gave scientists the idea of creating baldness medication.A 2-5% Minoxidil solution can be obtained without a prescription. A 12.5% ointment as well as Finasteride tablets can only be prescribed by a qualified physician on individual basis.Effectively treating thinning hair in the crown area, these drugs, unfortunately, are unable to restore hair in the frontal area of the scalp, thus making surgical treatment to be the only solution. The visible result can be observed after several month of continuous use.Both of the drugs have been tested and approved by the FDA for treating the abovementioned condition. There are some minor side effects which might include skin irritation, dandruff, itching, headaches, dizziness and low blood pressure, though some sources claim hair loss drugs to have more serious impact on health resulting in recurring headaches, nausea, breast growth in men, damage to testicles, erectile dysfunction, shortness of breath, jaundice and others. Therefore, consulting a specialist is required before undergoing such type of treatment.