Can you reverse balding

The insight and advice comes from Dr. His main point? You've got to be proactive. DHT clings to the follicle and then slowly shrinks it. This most commonly happens at the temples, the crown, and the front of the head.

It depends. But if the follicle is still intact, yes, it is possible to regrow the hair—or to improve the health of the existing thinner hairs. Finasteride is the generic version of Propecia, which can be prescribed by your dermatologist and is also available via mail subscriptions. Fusco says that even younger men can slow or delay hair loss by starting a daily finasteride prescription.

Topical Medication: There are a few alternatives to finasteride, should it prove to be ineffective or if it starts causing side effects some patients report losing their sex drive on the drug. In fact, with the right hair loss treatment program, you might be able to stop the dreaded receding hairline.

If you're not ready to do the comb-over or go completely buzzed and have been wondering how to reverse hair loss, keep reading. The sooner you spot the problem and start a treatment program, the better your chances are to stop hair loss. The challenge that a lot of people face is spotting the signs of balding before losing a significant portion of hair. The most obvious signs of balding are, well, bald spots. But when you start noticing a drastic amount of hairs on your pillow cases, at the bottom of your shower or even on your clothing at the end of the day, it may be time to speak with a healthcare professional.

Ah yes, the sneakiest sign of hair loss. Your hairline typically recedes around your temples and in an area called your frontal scalp. For instance, in male pattern baldness specifically , a sensitivity to a male sex hormone called dihydrotestosterone DHT causes the hair follicles to physically shrink, which then produces smaller, thinner hairs.

When you notice one or more of these problems, you might be experiencing hair loss. For more information on the different stages of balding, have a look at the Norwood Scale. There, you can see some of the common types of male pattern baldness. As hair loss progresses it becomes more difficult to keep your hair and potentially regrow lost hair.

Understanding how to fix thinning hair is a process, fellas. It takes time, patience, routine, dedication and, in many cases, medications. You may not know it, but stress affects your health in a number of different ways. It can zap your energy, make you feel physically ill, and even cause your hair to fall out.

On its own, stress-related hair loss is usually temporary and may grow back over time. There is still a surprising stigma attached to hair loss which can be tough to live through, especially at a younger age.

Although it is so common, the mental and emotional load of suffering from, or trying to hide, MPB can be heavy. Your self-esteem can take a hit. And this holds true even if studies suggest that bald men are often perceived as more attractive.

Managing a problem is so much easier when you know what it is you are dealing with. And MPB is a lot easier to understand when you consider that your hairs go through 3 distinct phases: growth , transition and rest. Individual hairs may grow for anywhere between two and six years before falling out — and the longer the growth period, the longer the hair will grow. The transition phase lasts approximately two weeks, during which time the follicles the root of each hair in your head renew themselves.

After this, they rest for up to four months before the growth phase starts again. In men suffering from MPB, the growth phase shortens and the resting phase lengthens. Hairs which do regrow, meanwhile, are thinner, weaker and more brittle, so are quicker to fall out.

Ultimately, this means that there is not enough new growth to outweigh the rate of hair loss and your hair will recede. Male pattern baldness is caused by two related factors. Firstly, your hormones — and specifically one known as dihydrotestosterone or DHT.

Secondly, your sensitivity — and the sensitivity of your hair follicles — to this hormone, which is something determined primarily by your genetics. In this way, it is the interaction of DHT and your follicles that causes the condition. Dihydrotestosterone DHT is an androgen, or a male sex hormone. DHT is to thank for your deep voice, your muscle mass, the development of your genitals as a child, and, as we mentioned, your hair.

At this point, though, we need to introduce another chemical with a similarly sciency name: 5-alpha-reductase or 5-AR. This enzyme is crucial in the process that causes MPB, because it is this that converts regular testosterone into the much more powerful DHT. DHT can be found in your hair follicles.

The trouble is that in a lot of men — i. In these cases, DHT actually damages the follicles, by weakening them in a process known as miniaturisation. Ultimately, the growth phase shortens and the follicles stop producing hair at all. Not every man, however, is sensitive to DHT. It may not even be all his fault at all — German research suggests that the tendency is carried through the maternal X chromosome, so male pattern baldness in your maternal grandfather is actually the one to watch.

That said, there are differing opinions on this. The genetics of hair loss is still an emerging field — and scientists admit that predictions of the possibility of hair loss are still pretty crude. With the right treatment plan to tackle thinning hair, most men will see a drastic improvement.

The first, and often most effective, treatment for MPB is Finasteride.