Losing hair, every guy’s fear?
There is nothing like being a kid and not having to worry about hair loss. But you get old enough and you start to see a bit of hair falling out. You then remember you have a bald uncle or even worse a bald father. You immediately ask the web if your hair loss is normal. Then, you end up researching the cost of a hair transplant since you do not have a perfect hairline (since birth). Okay, I got carried away but you get the point. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you are a guy, i think the majority fear going bald. Maybe there is a small percentage that really doesn’t give it a lot of thought. But chances are, you do care and that is completely fine.
I have baldness in my family? Can I still prevent hair loss
Of course, baldness is a complicated subject and there are different types of hair loss. There are also proven ways to combat hair loss. One thing is that it is possible to prevent but just like anything in life you will need to have discipline and stick to a routine. I will outline what I believe is important when it comes to preventing hair loss and what I’ve noticed helped me the most, and I will also share proven ways to combat hair loss at any stage.
Why is there no “cure” for hair loss?
You would think that there is a definitive way to combat hair loss, but the reality is that there are mixed opinions (just like anything in life really) and that there is no definitive answer on what causes hair loss. My rule of thumb here is, if something is working for you, keep doing it. Of course to know what works for you, you should try different things. In this post I will share all the things I learned about avoiding hair loss and regrowing lost hair. The earlier you start the better and easier it will be to combat your problem.
Different hair loss theories
- Androgenic alopecia: This is the most common theory that explains hair loss, specially in men. It basically means that a derivative of testosterone called DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) binds to hair follicles and minimizes them leading to hair loss. You can block DHT either internally or externally if you choose to. I am not a fan of internally blocking DHT due to potential side effects and messing your natural hormone balance, but you can if you choose to.
- Chronic stress: There are two main ways that chronic stress may lead to hair loss. The first one is called Telogen Effluvium, which is a term used to refer to when hair follicles go in the rest phase prematurely due to a stress response, consequently, they fall out eventually leading to hair loss. The other is that cortisol will impact hair stem cells and the hair growing cycle, making stress one of the main components of hair loss by these two main mechanisms. You need to combat stress to optimize hair growth.
- Nutritional deficiencies: Hair is made of protein, and our body is also made of protein. If you are not eating enough quality protein then you may find that your hair loss is noticeable. Also key micronutrients like zinc, vitamin D, iron, copper, vitamin C are also important for hair growth and health. One of the best foods for hair loss is red meat since it contains pretty much all you need to regrow hair except for vitamin C. You need to fix your diet and have a well balanced one to optimally support hair loss and hair maintenance.
Shower filter
This one may have a bit of controversy since I was not able to find a direct study to prove this would help hair loss, only study claims without actual proof. But I like to think this way: where would any plant grow better? In a full of chemical substances surface and watering or under natural circumstances? I think the answer is pretty clear. A shower filter can create the ideal environment for hair growth. It has been proven to remove certain chemicals like chlorine from water and well, your skin is your biggest organ so it cannot hurt to place a shower filter.
Removing DHT From Scalp
One of the main hair loss theories is that DHT is the main enemy, as discussed earlier. There are proven ways to remove DHT from your scalp, this should theoretically help with hair loss caused by DHT, very simple stuff. What topicals could you use to combat DHT you may wonder. Here are some of my favorites but definitely not the only ones. We could use a single post for all of them:
- Rosemary Oil
- Ketoconazole Shampoo
- Topical finasteride
- Topical Saw Palmetto
- Pumpkin Seed Oil
Using natural shampoo and hair products
Using natural hair products will help you to optimize your scalp health. Many chemicals may cause irritation in some people and they may damage hair follicles. I am a big fan of castile soap, you can buy liquid castile soap and mix it with purified water in a shampoo dispenser and wash your hair with that, as a plus, add essential oils like rosemary to remove DHT. I have been using this method for about two years now and my hair looks better than ever.
Hair massage
Hair massage has been proven to help regrow hair and stimulate blood flow (just like minoxidil and peppermint oil) daily massages are key if you want to regrow hair. I find manual hair massage to be very tiring so you can use a silicone hair massager for this. Some will say you need about 10 minutes daily, but you can start and work up to that. Massage with light pressure but just enough to feel the area stimulated. Consistency is key.
Dermarolling
Dermarolling is done with a dermaroller (what a surprise huh). This procedure is done typically once per week and it stimulates hair growth. This tool has needles that vary from .25mm up to 2.5mm in length. I recommend and have seen results with .25-.30mm dermarollers. It is important to go slow with dermarolling.
You should start rolling about 7 times up vertically and horizontally and always lift the roller when you finish rolling once. Dermarolling is very extensive but effective. Make sure to always start slow and with these guidelines. How does it work? Similar to building muscle, injury to the skin makes it produce IGF-1 and improves blood flow. Microneedling has also been shown to stimulate hair stem cells in the hair bulge area.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil is perhaps the most studied hair loss drug. It is a vasodilator, and thus it helps with blood flow, we start to see a pattern here huh. The topical use of minoxidil has been proven time and time again to help regrow hair. It has also been shown in anecdotal evidence to help a lot of men grow beards. It has a high safety profile and it has years of research behind it. A topical minoxidil solution can be applied twice per day.
It has a slight alcohol smell. Apply it twice per day in the areas you want to stimulate hair growth. A 5% minoxidil seems to be better than 2%. Higher concentrations could lead to more side effects. Do not wash minoxidil after application, let it absorb in the scalp.
Peppermint oil
Peppermint oil works just like minoxidil, but it lacks some human research. Still, it has very promising results. I grew a beard using peppermint oil instead of minoxidil just because. I used it once in the morning and in about 6 months I grew a fuller beard. In this study peppermint oil was even more effective than minoxidil. I go more in depth in a different post but the guidelines are, use it once a day in the morning and do not wash it off. Test your sensibility in a small area and then start this protocol with a carrier oil added to ease the intensity of the oil.
Hair transplants
There was a time that seemed like everyone on instagram was getting a flight to Turkey to get a hair transplant. A hair transplant consists of moving hair follicles from a donor zone (where you actually have hair like the back of your head) and implating them into the areas you are balding. Of course this is a “quick” solution but by any means the easiest in my opinion. For one, it usually costs a lot more than having a hair growth routine and you could likely lose the hair since you don’t have good habits. The other concern is side effects and the cost of it. Still, it is a good option for some people to consider.
Thyroid function
A very underrated topic and one I learned a while ago was the importance of thyroid function and hair growth. It turns out that your thyroid hormones regulate the hair growth cycles. So make sure if you are losing hair you combat the potential thyroid issues you could have, or make sure if functions optimally with proper nutrition and stress management. If your thyroid is working just fine then you are perfectly fine and can skip this. I think the majority of people don’t have issues with their thyroids, but if you have known issues with this and notice hair loss its important to highlight.
Extreme dieting
Even though this is just temporary, extreme dieting may cause hair loss for various reasons.
One of the main ones is that you will decrease your calories and your micronutrient ingestion. This means that your body will have to work with “less than ideal” energy. Some bodily functions and hormones will slow down and these are important for hair growth.
So keep this in mind if you are in a long journey of losing weight, you could use multivitamin supplementation or go slower, but crash dieting has not been shown to cause permanent hair loss.
PRP therapy (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
For this procedure, you get blood drawn and then they use the platelet rich plasma and get it injected to the scalp. It has promising research and it can definitely be in your arsenal to combat hair loss. But the theory behind it is still that it will improve blood flow to the scalp, just as we have seen the majority of methods do. Of course, it is not the same and the injections have a lot of growth factors. You will have to go to a specialized clinic for this option.
Stress Management
It’s no surprise that chronic stress can affect not only your health and mental health. But as we saw earlier in the hair loss theories, chronic stress could cause hair loss to some degree. What can you do to relax? It really depends on everyone. But here are a few things i can recommend to an average person:
- Some type of physical exercise
- Meditation and relaxation techniques
- Social support (hanging out with family and friends)
- Therapy
- Engaging in hobbies
The ultimate way to change your habits
There may be a lot of methods in this post, I do not expect you to act on each one of them and do not recommend that. But you are doing great by looking for solutions. Find what you can start soon, and stick to it for at least 12 weeks. Watch new habits form. Set a reminder on your phone everyday and show up, make sure you stick to a plan.
You can try 2-3 things at a time and keep adding more. Once you stop or reverse hair loss, do the minimum you need to to keep that hair. Keep dermarolling, keep buying the shampoo that removes DHT and so on. Only by showing up everyday without exception will new habits be formed and you will see results, but results take time, take 12 weeks at a time, even if you do not see results at the beginning.
The best and most basic methods are:
- Dermarolling
- DHT removing shampoo
- Minoxidil or Peppermint oil
- Hair massages