Hair Loss Drugs
The internet is swamped with products that promise to combat hair loss easy, fast and cheap. How many times have you checked online and found an advertisement for a hair loss remedy? Laser treatments, natural herbal extracts, powders, drinks, botanical tinctures, hair growth boosters, food supplements, elixirs… the list of products that promises to stimulate hair growth is infinite. The hair loss industry as a whole is worth billions of pounds, however, the truth of the matter is that there are only two hair loss medications that are proven to work.
Minoxidil
One of these two medications is called minoxidil, marketed under the brand-name Regaine® as well as Rogaine® (in the U.S.). Developed in the USA, it was the first product for the treatment of hair loss cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 1988. Originally it was available in a 2% topical solution that, when applied to the scalp, has been proven to slow down hair loss and promote regrowth. Nine years later a more potent version with a 5% minoxidil content was approved, boosting an astonishing re-growth rate of 45%, multifold that of its forerunner. Minoxidil was originally marketed toward men, however, but the 2% formula is now also used to treat female pattern baldness.
Minoxidil is the only medication recommended for women as the efficacy of Finasteride in women is controversial and the potential side effects outweigh the benefits.
Finasteride
Finasteride is the first oral medication that gained FDA approval to fight hair loss in 1997. It is more effective than minoxidil in that it has shown effectiveness for approximately 67% of those that take the medication. Subsequent studies have shown an even greater response rate.
Finasteride, sold under the brand name Proscar® and Propecia® amongst others, was originally released to combat BPH (benign prostate hyperplasia – an enlarged prostate). This condition is caused by dehydrotestosterone (DHT) that enlarges the prostate in older males which happens to be the same hormone responsible for hair loss in men.
Finasteride blocks DHT production and is the only oral medication proven to be effective in the treatment of male pattern baldness.
Perhaps you believe that there is a choice to be made between having a hair transplant and taking medication, however, this is definitely not the case. Whilst having a hair transplant will help you restore already bald patches, it does not prevent the other areas of your scalp to be affected by hair loss.
Hence, when undergoing treatment at Medikemos, Dr. Lupanzula will educate you on your choices and will develop an individual hair restoration plan for you so that you can have long-lasting results.