Hair Loss Treatments for Women

Combine Different Hair Loss Treatments for Best Possible Results

 

When it comes to halting women's hair loss and replacing lost hair, a little knowledge goes a long way. Get started today by learning which combination of hair loss treatments may be best for you ...

Because a single hair naturally grows in a cycle of active growth, fall-out and replacement, when hair fall-out exceeds hair growth and replacement, then thinning can become noticeable. Sometimes the thinning occurs all over the head (diffuse thinning) or around the hairline, and some women may notice their part line widening. Hair thinning is a common sign of women's natural aging as the production of hormones reduces, causing follicles to shrink and resulting in hair thinning. Women's hair thinning is often trickier than men's because it does not occur in a predictable pattern, but, rather, in diffuse thinning and hair loss.

Women's hair loss can also be caused by stress, diet, follicle diseases, medications and even the hormone fluctuations of menopause, all of which may be resolved by your doctor. If your diagnosis is more complicated, your doctor may refer you to a hair loss treatment specialist. No matter what the cause, there are many hair loss treatments a woman can explore.

Basic hair loss treatments: Reduce stress, eat well and maintain a healthy scalp

Physical traumas to a woman's body or scalp as well as mental traumas can cause hair loss and thinning, even three to six months after the trauma occurs. Also affecting hair loss and thinning are daily diet and stress, just as they negatively affect your heart and blood pressure. If you suspect a follicle infection or other scalp problem, a dermatologist can diagnose and successfully treat product buildup, excessive sebum production and fungal or other infections. These conditions can reduce cell respiration at the bulb and cause hair loss, shedding and thinning; so if this is the case, make some changes to your diet and stress levels and take care of your scalp.

Your doctor can prescribe effective, approved, topical, noninvasive minoxidil

Choose only FDA-approved and doctor-prescribed hair loss treatments because most advertised treatments do not prevent and treat hair loss in women. Minoxidil (Rogaine), prescribed at 2 percent for women, typically fights one of the main causes of hair loss and thinning, which is that as women age, their hair follicles are often robbed of the nutrients and blood flow necessary to produce healthy hair growth. (Beware: While men also can take finasteride (Propecia) to halt hair loss and regrow some hair, it is not for women, since it is based on male hormones!)

When applied externally, minoxidil increases blood flow to the follicles, which can improve hair growth, but it doesn't stimulate dead follicles to regrow. And once treatment is halted, the hair loss will resume. This product is often used safely and successfully with other hair loss treatments to amplify effects.

Hair transplant surgery can be a successful women's hair loss treatment

Because women's hair loss does not fall into a predictable pattern and is diffuse, women do not often find success with a hair transplant, unless they are transplanting eyebrows or an area or missing patch from a burn or other injury. Success depends largely on ethnicity, age and degree of hair loss, although a hair transplant can come with difficulty, challenge and cost because it is an invasive procedure and can involve local infection and scarring. African-American women's hair is even less transplantable owing to the nature of the hair follicles, and, therefore, this procedure requires a specialist. Hair transplant surgery can be safely combined with minoxidil or laser hair therapy to help halt additional hair loss.

Laser hair therapy, an external, noninvasive women's hair loss treatment

For women who are not ready to consider any type of hair replacement system (see below), laser hair therapy is a safe, effective and viable option. Laser hair therapy treatments, which are noninvasive, stimulate shrinking hair follicles to help them widen, repair and regain the ability to grow. Women who use laser hair therapy during the early phases of hair thinning will experience the best results because once follicles are dead, they cannot be stimulated to grow again.

Laser hair therapy can be a do-it-yourself, at-home treatment, or it can be administered by a hair loss treatment specialist through various strength levels of light diode exposure and time increments. Typically, laser hair therapy is administered three times per week, and sticking to a regular treatment schedule is considered essential to hair growth success. Many women claim a synergistic effect from combining minoxidil with laser hair therapy.

A hair replacement system, a woman's best option to restore a natural appearance

Because current techniques and technologies are so exacting, a total hair replacement system or an integration system, which works with your existing hair, can naturally and semipermanently address thinning, patches or even advanced hair loss, and the solutions can be adapted to any woman's head, individual hair loss condition, age, style, budget and lifestyle. A non-surgical hair replacement system is the most realistic way of giving a woman back her natural appearance. This approach is also noninvasive; however, periodic appointments for professional maintenance are necessary for the best appearance.

Hair extensions are a woman's best friend for the patchy hair loss of alopecia areata

For women suffering the patchy, permanent hair loss of alopecia areata, in stable condition with an otherwise healthy head of hair, sewn-in hair extensions can work with existing hair to cover small bald patches naturally and beautifully. Results need to be professionally attached and maintained, but many women find the cost and time investment ultimately worthwhile when a full head of natural--looking hair is the end result.

Hair replication, the newest women's hair loss treatment using tattoos

Modern tattoo artists and practitioners have such exacting tools, technologies and inks that they say they can replicate the "look" of hair follicles ... permanently. In women this works great in camouflaging a thinning hairline or a widening part line. But this tattooing technique is still in its infancy ... so, buyer beware!