Proven Products Combatting Hair Loss for Men and Women

Nowadays hair loss is not only a concern for males but also for females. Hair loss affects directly one’s self-confidence and also creates mental humiliation. Hence there are lots of really good hair loss products available on the market.

Hair growth products are available in many forms: natural essential oils, natural herbs, conventional drugs, shampoos, serums, lotions and conditioners. Nowadays there are so many hair loss products available on the market with the intention to stop or prevent hair loss. Finasteride, Minoxidil, and Rogainne are the commonly used best hair loss products. Finasteride is extensively used for treating hair loss and is sold in pharmacies as Propecia. This product should be used by men only.

Another very popular hair loss product is called Rogaine and is available at drugstores. Rogaine has to be applied twice daily for 3 to 4 months to get any positive results.

Minoxidil is very much used for hair loss among younger men. It is also considered to be a very effective hair loss product. But using hair loss products such as Minoxidil continually may lead to side effects such as a itchy scalp. There might be other complications if these products are used for hair loss treatment for a long time.

Dr.Proctor’s Hair re-growth shampoo is one of the best hair loss products made naturally without any chemical mixing. It has been widely used by hair loss sufferers due to its easy application. People around the world use re-growth shampoo for treating hair loss. There is another product called Life Extension Shampoo that supports healthy hair.

ViViscal shampoo, Thymuskin, and Hair genesis are some of the best hair loss products, which are used for hair treatment. Thymuskin is more effective (95%)) in female than male (67%) for treating hair loss. This hair loss shampoo clears the hair follicle from debris, dirt, oil and other waste. The main advantage of thymuskin is that it consists of thymus peptides that diffuse deep into the hair follicles to clean them.

Viviscal shampoo also helped a lot of people treating hair loss. This shampoo helps to maintain the hair hale and healthy. Apart from this, the shampoo treats hair loss and thinning of hair. Viviscal products are available in all forms including scalp lotion, conditioner and tablets. Hair genesis products are also available as conditioner, topical serum, oral supplements, and hair re growth shampoo. Hair genesis is especially favored by females. The main action of Hair Genesis is stopping the action of DHT blockers. Revivogen, Tricomin, and Nisim products are also available for treating hair loss.

48% Of Women Have Thinning Hair!

How your hair grows

Your hair is made of keratin (KER-uh-tin), the same protein that makes up your nails and the outer layer of your skin. The part you see and style is called the hair shaft. It's actually dead tissue made by your hair follicles tiny bulb-like structures beneath your scalp's surface.

We have all heard of someone who has thinning hair problem, but do we really know how extensive this thinning hair problem is? Let us take a look at the figures here..

1. 70 million Americans Have Fine or Thin-looking Hair And it's Growing
2. 4 million more women and 4.7 million more men will have noticeably thin-looking hair by 2005
3. By age 65, 48% of all women report they have thinning hair and 75% of all men report they have noticeably thin-looking hair.
4. Research has shown that the problem of thin-looking hair can begin as early as age 17.
5. The problem will grow more extreme as our population ages.

How does hair loss start?

Hair loss is a normal symptom. 50 to 60 hairs are shed each day from a normal scalp. Losing more than 60 hairs a day is called excessive hair loss and leads to generalized thinning of the hair. Hair becomes fine in texture. Loss of hair in men is often determined by heredity or by the Allopetia Androgenetic hormone. Hair loss in women is often caused by pregnancy, stress, fatigue or medical treatment.

Can Thyroid Disease Cause Hair Loss?

An overactive or underactive thyroid can cause hair loss. One may get her thyroid numbers in order after beginning a regimen of thyroid medication. However, there have been reported cases of women experiencing hair loss FROM the thyroid medication.

Hot Tips!

Coloring: If you inherited a tendency for hair loss, you likely have very healthy hair overall. Therefore, your hair can benefit from permanent or semi-permanent color to give body and volume to hair.

Volumizing Products: Many volume-building hair products contain paraffin, which is beeswax. That's not good for hair, because it builds up and can make hair break.

However, volumizing products sold in salons do help. They won't weigh hair down, and they won't damage it. Mousse, for example, can be applied at the root area for support. Then, begin blow-drying the root area, applying tension with a brush to build volume. Use a light finishing spray to hold it.

What Is Hormonal Hair Loss? Can It Be Controlled?

People lose hair for various reasons. Illness and medication, like chemotherapy to treat cancer, can cause hair loss. Hair loss can also be inherited from a parent. Often, hair thins because it is fine-textured, or because too many harsh chemicals have been used on it, so it breaks easily.

What if I have hormonal hair loss?
The following photos show typical female hormonal hair loss patterns.
Typical female baldness begins with a generalized thinning of the whole scalp. Contrary to male pattern baldness is that no receding hairlines or hair loss on the crown takes place.

A generalized thinning of the hair occurs. It is seldom that a man displays the same type of hair loss pattern as a woman

The thickened hair root prevents the hair bulb from returning back to its place in the skin. Because of this, new hair will be produced, but will not be able to settle. The growth phase will then be disrupted and the hair bulb will continuously produce new hair, which, instead of lasting the normal five years, will only become a few weeks or months old. Now you have constant hair loss!

Personally, I prefer products by L'Oreal, such as Excellence. It's easy on the hair. It never made my hair feel any thinner and adding some auburn highlights to my brown hair always makes me feel like a new person. Because my hair is fine, I never use the enclosed conditioners with hair color products. Hair conditioners often make fine hair feel thinner and unmanageable. On the other hand, if you do want to use some conditioner, use only a fraction of what's recommended! And never use conditioners on your scalp, just put some at the hair ends.

Another great product that I highly recommend is Rogaine. Rogaine has gained a reputation of being able to reverse the hair thinning process!

Bottom line: While we're feeling the way we do during the menopausal years, I think it's important to try anything to help ourselves feel and look better.

Now that you know a little more about what are the causes for hair loss, we urge you to find out more about how hair loss, or hair thinning can be prevented! Yes, it is true, there are many effective products on the market right now which has been proven to be truly effective in reversing thinning hair problems! Come! Find out more!

Understanding Hair Growth Cycles and Hair Loss

We all lose a certain amount of hair each day - anywhere from 50 to 100 to 125 hairs. True hair loss occurs when these hairs we lose don't grow back, or when the amount of hair we lose each day exceeds this normal range.

Hair loss can occur as a result of medications, such as chemotherapy treatments or blood thinners, which can damage the telogen hairs, or stop the natural cell division that then produces weakened hair that is susceptible to breaking. High doses of vitamin A can also lead to hair loss as well. The most common type of hair loss, however, is where more and more hair follicles enter what is called the resting phase (telogen phase) in the hair growth cycle.

Overall, hair grows continuously from the scalp, but it moves away from the scalp in 3 phases. Hair is not all uniformly in one phase. Different parts of the scalp will be in different phases, so at any one time you should have hair follicles in all 3 stages. Generally, most (90%) of the hair will be in the anagen phase, 10 to 14% of the hair will be in the telogen phase, and only 1 to 2% of hair in the catogen phase.

The first phase is the Anagen phase, which is the growth phase. This can last anywhere between 2 and 8 years. A shorter anagen phase will limit how long your hair can grow. Hair cells at the root divide rapidly, which lengthen the hair shaft.

In the next phase, the catagen phase, the outer root of the hair follicle shrinks and attaches to the root of the hair. Hair growth stops here. This phase lasts 1 to 2 weeks.

The telogen phase is the resting phase. This lasts from 5 to 6 weeks in normal hair. Hair doesn't grow in this phase, but it stays firmly rooted in the scalp as long as the follicle stays in a resting phase below it. New growth begins at the end of the resting phase, and this is when natural hair shedding will happen, as the new growth pushes the old hair out.

In male pattern baldness, more hairs enter the telogen phase. This effects of this are an increase in hair shedding. Hair gradually becomes thinner and shorter, and in the end, the hair follicles shut down.

How Stress Causes Hair Loss?

The problem of thinning hair may be caused by a genetic predisposition that comes from a family history of thinning hair. Health problems such as Hyperthyroid or Hypothyroid conditions; medications such as chemotherapy, any hormone replacement medications including birth control pills are culprits often overlooked.

It is normal to shed some hair each day as part of this cycle. However, some people may experience excessive (more than normal) hair loss. Hair loss of this type can affect men, women and children.

Are you Stressed?

Thinning hair can also be attributed to stress and trauma that can cause constriction of blood supply and poor vitamin assimilation to the scalp and hair. Or, simply from poor nutrition and diet that can include a high consumption of animal fat, high protein and fad diets. Even external environmental toxins and pollutants, such as chlorine, metals, minerals and water pollution cannot be ignored. All these factors can be causing your clients' hair to look thinner.

Under a microscope

The hardening prevents hair growth. The hair cycle slowly becomes disrupted and more hair is shed than normal. In time hair growth stops completely and baldness results. Here you see an example of a hair follicle as seen under a microscope.

Age and hormones

Most people naturally experience some hair loss as they get older. But age, changing hormones and heredity cause some to lose more hair than others.

Female-pattern baldness starts with the replacement hairs becoming progressively finer and shorter. They can also become almost transparent.

It has been recorded that about 50 percent of women experience hair loss have female-pattern baldness! Unfortunately, it is often permanent just as in men. Not all hair thinning and loss must be permanent. There has been various cases of perimenopausal women, for example, experiencing thinning and lost hair who, once their hormone levels become balanced, can experience the thickness of previously thinning and the regrowth of lost hair that occurred during the ebbing and flowing hormonal years.

Hot Tips

Get Wavy! Permanents can help give volume to fine-textured hair -- but hair must be healthy, not dry or brittle. Only a gentle body wave is advised, because tighter waves can damage the hair. Because chemicals in permanents are harsh, a permanent should be only a last resort for fine-haired people.

Hair Loss Myths

Not surprisingly, hair loss myths are more well known than hair loss facts.  Since hair loss is such a common and unwelcome condition, the public has been flooded with hair loss myths to promote sales of hair loss prevention products.  Many companies have jumped on the hair loss bandwagon because of our own enormous desires to eliminate hair loss from our lives, not to mention the unlimited amount of money that we (the public) are willing to spend on this quest.  This makes the hair loss market ripe for perpetuating myths that will increase sales.  But, for the most part, they are just that, myths.

Some of the more common hair loss myths are as follows:  Male Pattern Baldness comes from the mother’s side of the family and skips a generation.  Not true.  There is no one single gene that causes baldness.  Most researches believe that MPB is a result of several different genes, inherited from both parents, interacting with each other to cause hair loss.

Hair loss myth #2:  Pattern baldness affects only men.  Just ask any women suffering from pattern baldness, it’s not true.  In fact, hair loss is just as common in women as it is in men, it just usually occurs in a less virulent form and is easier to hide.  Also, women’s hair tends to thin out over the entire scalp area, whereas men’s hair thins in patches and at the forehead.

Hair loss myth #3:  Poor blood flow to the scalp area causes hair loss.  This is a misconception that has been perpetuated by companies selling hair loss products for years.  Ask any dermatologist and they will tell you, bald scalps have just as much blood flow as scalps full of hair.  It is because of this blood flow to the bald scalp that hair transplants work so well.

Hair loss myth #4:  If you haven’t lost your hair by 40, you aren’t going to.  Again, not true.  Age has nothing to do with it.  If you are genetically predisposed to loose your hair, you are going to.  Just be grateful you made it to 40 with your hair still intact.

Hair loss myth #5:  Stress makes your hair fall out.  Okay, in some part, this is true, but it takes a very traumatic event to cause enough stress that your hair falls out.  The common stress we experience on a daily basis will not make our hair fall out.  In fact, some stress can actually increase the production of hair.

Okay, I could go on and on about hair loss myths and not run out of things to talk about.  My point is this.  Most of the facts we think we know about hair loss are actually hair loss myths.  If you are suffering from hair loss, consult your doctor.  Your physician will be able to give you a factual reason for your hair loss and advise you on what types of treatments would work in your specific case.

Can Too Little Protein Cause Hair Loss?

Hair usually grows about half an inch per month, although this slows as you age. Each hair remains on your head for two to six years, and during most of this time is continually growing.

But many factors can disrupt this cycle. The result can be that your hair falls out early or isn't replaced.

A new discovery has been made in finding out what actually causes hair loss, namely: the hardening of collagen. Persons who do not suffer from hair loss have supple collagen and persons who begin showing signs of hair loss have hardened collagen. Collagen hardening interferes with the healthy functioning of the hair roots. The vital exchange process of the hair follicle cycle is disrupted and the hair becomes suffocated.

But What Causes Hair Loss?

Diet: Too little protein in your diet can lead to hair shedding. So can too little iron. Bottom line: Too strenuous dieting can result in hair loss! If you want to lose weight, do it the sensible way, especially if you have a hair thinning/loss problem to begin with.

Childbirth: Some women lose large amounts of hair within two to three months after delivery.

Hot Tips!

One great tip is after washing your hair, dry it in whatever manner you normally do. Then turn your head upside down, give your head a vigorous shake, and once back in a standing position, either "place" your hair using your fingers, rather than a brush or comb. You can also use a hair pick to style your hair. The upside down, shaking, also gives a great deal of fullness to otherwise flat looking thin hair. You'd be amazed at how creative you can be with your fingers without pulling at the root of the hair!

To protect hair, the best practice is to shampoo only when hair is dirty. Because fine hair gets dirty faster, people with fine-textured hair need to shampoo more frequently -- even though fine hair breaks more easily.

For that reason, fine-textured hair benefits from a good shampoo and volume-building conditioner

Can Female Hair Loss Make Me Totally Bald?

View the pattern that affects women only. Loss of female hair is not the same as male hair loss determined by heredity. Female hair loss is temporary and is seldom an advance warning of baldness. Transient loss of hair should not, however, be ignored. It is possible for a woman to suffer from hormonal hair loss leading to baldness.

Some of the most common causes are:

1. Pregnancy
2. Severe emotional stress
3. Under medical treatment
4. Hormonal hair loss
Is there a relationship between hair loss and menopause?

The most common cause of hair loss is low thyroid function, which is common among menopausal women.

Other causes include, but are not limited to: changes in hormone levels, increased testosterone, increased stress, which can either be physical stress, or emotional stress, various medications, scalp/dermatological issues and heredity.

Any time sudden hair loss is experienced, one must consider events which took place up to three months prior to the hair loss, as factors affecting hair loss can often take up to three months to have an effect, i.e., were you diagnosed with something new in the past few months? Did you start taking medication during the past few months? Did you go through a traumatic experience. Subsequently, any treatments for hair loss should be given at least three months to have noticeable effects.

There are of course various ways to solve hair problems, such as:

1. Wig / toupe
2. Hair-weaving (weaving in extra hair)
3. Hair transplant
4. Cosmetic hair treatment courses
5. Therapy

There are only a few products available worldwide which have been conclusively proven to combat hair loss. They are Aminexil, Alopesan 400, Maxilène, Minoxidil and Finasteride. It’s very important for you as a consumer to know this if you are thinking of taking steps to combat your hair loss. Rogaine is another one of the more popular brand names in the hair loss industry.