Propecia: Getting All the Help You Need
Propecia works in 80% of men, either preventing further hair loss or actually growing more hair. Recent studies in
Primary Causes of Hair Loss
Hair loss, or male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia), is a result of several factors. Genetic predisposition plays the larger role. Aging is also a cause of hair loss, primarily because men who are genetically predisposed to hair loss begin to convert testosterone into DHT as they age, and DHT is the prime culprit in hair loss. DHT shrinks hair follicles on the scalp, eventually to such an extent that the follicles stop producing hair.
Propecia should be the first weapon in a man’s arsenal against male pattern baldness, but it does not have to be the only weapon. Hair loss is often exacerbated by other factors, including general health, diet, activity, and stress. Let us examine these factors, and plan a combination defense with Propecia.
Hair…and Everything You Wanted to Know About It
There are roughly 100,000 hairs on an average head. Each hair shaft is about .0001 inches in diameter; with black hair being thicker than red hair. Hair, like skin, goes through cycles. The cycles generally run seven years. Hair grows about one quarter-inch per month. Ninety percent of the hair on your scalp is in a growing phase, the rest is in a resting phase. After two to three months, the ‘lazy’ hair falls out gradually, and new hair grows from the follicles to replace it. This becomes “active” hair, and then a portion of the already active hair goes into a resting phase. At the end of six or seven years, all the original hair on your head will have fallen out and been replaced – again, gradually – by relatively new hair.
If the follicles do not replace lazy hair with new hair, you will experience balding, which is when you should start Propecia treatment. Propecia not only renews growth, but prevents hair from falling out before its allotted time is up in the cycle.
Other Factors in Hair Loss
You may have male pattern baldness, and Propecia will help you keep the hair you have left (and frequently even restores lost hair), but there are other factors that may also be resulting in your hair loss. You can do something about those factors as well.
You may have an underactive thyroid. If you recently had surgery, you may experience sudden, traumatic hair loss. You may have a hormone imbalance (androgens or estrogens), unrelated to the thyroid. You may have a fungus, which thrives on skin and can cause patchy baldness on the scalp (ringworm is a fungal infection). Severe cases of thrush, or candida, can affect the entire body, causing rashes and hair loss. You may have diabetes, or lupus (men do get lupus, too). Your doctor, being conscientious, will probably give you a physical and conduct tests before prescribing Propecia, as male pattern baldness and a disease process are not mutually exclusive.
Hair dyes can also cause hair loss. If you are currently using Propecia, and you want to be in the 82% who experienced hair regrowth, you might want to stop dying your hair for a while.
Medicines such as blood thinners, ones that treat gout, antidepressants, chemicals used in cancer therapy, and even excessive use of vitamin A can provoke hair loss.
General Health and Hair Loss
You are using Propecia faithfully, yet you are not getting the same results as your neighbor, who already looks 20 years younger. You have considered all the factors mentioned above, obtained a physical and blood work, and your doctor has discovered no disease process affecting your hair. What are you doing wrong?
It could be as simple as diet. Your hair loss may be associated with what you are putting into your body.
- Hair is almost 100% protein; are you getting enough?
- Do you eat a balanced diet with complex carbohydrates (grains, vegetables, fruits) as a mainstay, and proteins and fats for energy?
- Do you eat regular meals or eat on the fly, with incipient heartburn necessitating Tums in every pocket? There is a correlation between heartburn, heart activity, and hair loss.
- Do you get regular exercise? Hair follicles are nourished by blood, but your heart has to be pumping optimally to provide it.
- Do you have “downtime,” or is your life one long flight from task to task, until you drop into bed exhausted? If so, it is no wonder your hair is falling out.
Even if you are not eating or resting properly, Propecia will still re-grow your hair, but it becomes a longer uphill battle, as you can see by the shiny spot at the top of your head.
If you want to optimize the benefits of Propecia, you may need to change your eating habits and lifestyle. Doing so will provide not only better hair – and more of it – but it may also prevent you from being a fatal statistic due to poor health and high levels of lifestyle stress.