If a person desires to escape hair loss there are different ways to do so and a good specialist usually advises the best treatment for an individual case. Some patients do fine if they just change a diet, start taking more vitamins required for hair growth. The others should overcome certain life conditions like stress, disease, etc. which leaded to hair loss. In some cases drugs do a really good job: after six months with Propecia many men have noticed that their hair was restored and stopped falling out.

However, there are cases when surgical hair transplantation is the best decision. Surely there are some advantages that make people think the surgery is the best way to go. This procedure usually helps to re-grow hair permanently especially at the hair line with which many drugs are helpless. The new hair keeps growing naturally and even hair stylists do not notice whether they deal with transplants or person’s natural hair. As the rest of the hair on the scalp, transplants grow and require care, haircuts and styling.

The hair restoration surgery should be done by physicians only. The procedure is very complicated and takes a lot of time and skills of even highly qualified stuff. Only a minority of hair restoration surgeons succeed in doing the transplantation.

During the operation the physicians take hair from the back of the head and move it to the balding areas of the top and front. This hair is bald resistant and is considered to be dominant donor hair that successfully grows after transplantation for the lifetime.

The idea of hair transplantation was first introduced by Dr. Okuda from Japan in 1939. He offered to move hair to repair scarred eyelashes and eyebrows. It was closely connected to his job: Dr. Okuda was working with severely burnt patients and transplanted round pieces of skin with hair follicles from the permanent hair-bearing areas into small round openings of scalp. The hair continued to grow after the operation. The surgeon’s discovery was published in a Japanese medical journal, but unfortunately he died during World War II and his research and experience were lost.

The modern technology which is similar to what was offered by Dr. Okuda was discovered by Dr. Norman Orentreich in New York in the beginning of 1950’s. Many doctors of that time did not believe that the operation was possible this is why Dr. Norman’s research was rejected by several medical journals before it finally was accepted by the Annals of the New York Academy of Science in 1959.

The study has shown that hair keeps its characteristics and grows in the new area as it used to before the graft was transplanted. This is why only hair from the back of the scalp is sufficient to replace the balding areas at the front and top of the scalp. Unfortunately not every person can qualify for the surgery, but only those who have enough of donor hair in the back of the scalp.

Over the decades the hair transplantation surgery has developed a lot. Modern technologies allow making the process faster, more accurate and less painful. If Dr. Orentreich has come up with the optimal graft of 4 mm, modern surgeons can move micrografts with 2-3 hair follicles. This allowed expanding the number of candidates who could qualify for the surgery because these little areas can be taken from almost everybody.

Hair transplantation surgery sometimes ends up with side-effects like mild pain, discomfort, swelling and formation of scabs over the grafts, but all of them fade away with time. Such serious problems as bleeding, scarring and infection happen very rarely. Thanks to the advanced technologies the hair surgeries are comfortable and the results of them pleased many patients.

Mel Tyler

Hair loss has been bothering people for thousands of years and all this time they tried to figure out the best remedies for its treatment. Although it is not a deadly disease and baldness does not bring any physical discomfort, many people prefer to hide signs of hair loss.

Nowadays many people know that they should take vitamins, stay on a good diet or use medications to improve hair growth, but there were some really interesting ideas centuries ago.

For example, Cleopatra really wanted to help her friend Julius Caesar to avoid male pattern baldness and mixed up some unique ingredients. Nobody knows whether she read about it in the numerous manuscripts in her library or got a piece of advice from “doctors”. The mixture was made out of horse teeth, bear grease, deer marrow and burnt mice. Unfortunately she did not succeed.

The queen of Egypt was not the only one to fight hair loss. Ancient Egyptians have saved several “remedies” in the manuscripts. Some of them though that pieces of chopped lettuce could help because this vegetable was a symbol of virility. In other times Egyptian experts thought that castor oil was the only remedy, but since it smelled badly, they were mixing it with sweet almond oil.

Depending on the territory one comes across hair remedies vary according to the products provided by nature. Taiwano Indians, the natives from South America believed that heated banana extracts helped to avoid hair loss. The people of India believed in the boiling mixture of sage leaves and coconut oil which had to be cooled off and applied to the area.

Maybe these ancient remedies would sound helpful to somebody, but in the modern world hair loss is treated differently. First of all hair loss might occur due to lack of nutrients. The diet of a balding person should be full in vitamins A, B-complex, C and E, iodine, zinc, iron, and trace mineral silica. When the body will start accumulating the needed nutrients, the hair will start growing back and looking good.

Hair starts shedding after stress, serious illness, surgery or some prescription medications. In this case after some time the hair grows back without treatment.

In order to improve hair growth and take a better care of hair one can try some natural hair remedies. Ancient Egyptians were not wrong about lettuce. Even now people are recommended to try a mixture of lettuce and spinach juices which should be applied to scalp in big amounts: about one half a liter per day.

Amaranth is also believed to help hair. The juice out of leaves of this plant should be rubbed in hair and scalp to improve the growth of new hair and soften the existing strands. The juices of alfalfa and margosa leaves work in the same way.

If one can find henna leaves, here is an interesting recipe for abundant hair growth: bring 250 ml of mustard oil to boiling, slowly add 60 grams of henna leaves till they burn in the oil. Filter the mixture through a piece of cloth and store in a bottle. Regular scalp massage with the oil improves hair growth.

Onion juice was even scientifically proven to be effective. It should be applied twice a day for several months. Some people recommend rubbing in some honey after this to increase the effect.

And finally a person should try to mix refined coconut oil with lime water and lime juice. They guarantee to prevent hair loss or at least slow it down.

Before making a decision on what remedy would work best on a particular person the reader should understand that hair growth is a slow process and all the treatments should be applied for months till significant result becomes visible.

Ella Stringfield

Hair loss affects many people in the world. Some feel uncomfortable about losing hair, the others understand that it is common and do not try to hide it. Hair loss affects both men and women of all ages. Sometimes it is temporary and can be treated, but for others it is a permanent event that is unpreventable.

There are approximately 35 million men and 21 million women in America that get affected by hair loss in various degrees. If you consider permanent hair loss, 40 percent of men in the age of 35 have visible patterns of hair loss and 60 percent of women get it at around 60.

The medical term for hair loss is alopecia. The most common types are Alopecia Areata and Androgenic Alopecia. There are also other kinds like: Telogen effluvium, ringworm or Tinea, hair loss caused by the lack of most important vitamins and minerals like Vitamins A, B complex, C and D, iron, iodine, and protein.

Alopecia Areata is an unpredictable autoimmune skin disease which results in almost instant hair loss. Sometimes the patients acquire bald patches within one night. At least 2% of all people have this problem which is 5 million patients in U.S. only.

This disease has not been studied completely and its sources have not been found so far. A person with this disease usually gets perfectly round bald patches, but the follicles in the circles are not dead and ready to start producing new hair as soon as they get a chance. Very often the disease goes away by itself without any specific treatment, but in other cases it grows to Alopecia Areata Totalis which symbolizes the total scalp hair loss or even to Alopecia Areata Universalis with which the person loses all body hair.

Unfortunately due to lack of studies there are no medications approved by Food and Drug Administration specifically for this disease. At this moment no drug was proven to stop hair loss. However, in order to restore the hair in the bald patches a specialist might recommend crèmes or drugs which increase the speed of hair growth.

Androgenic Alopecia is a very common type of hair loss. Both men and women suffer from it primarily after the age of 40. Men have a higher risk to have this problem. Androgenic Alopecia is considered to be a cosmetic disorder and it does not affect human’s health or psychological condition as some people might think.

Since the hair loss usually starts in the same way and follows a well-set pattern, people gave this problem other name: Pattern Baldness. Dr. James Hamilton has presented a scale of patterns for those who experience Angrogenic Alopecia in 1950s. Later it has been improved and updated by Dr. O’Tar Norwood in 1970s. Now it is known as Hamilton-Norwood or simply Norwood scale.

It is impossible to cure this type of hair loss completely, but it might be slowed down. The data shows that 85% men use Minoxidil such as Rogaine, while the other 15% try Finasteride which is a steroid that rejuvenates hair follicles. None of these treatments helps instantly; the patient has to use medication for at least a year in order see the difference.

Ladies tend to develop Androgenic Alopecia in pre menopause period. Since the level of hormones changes and the body restructures itself, some hair falls out and never grows back. The statistics says that 13% of women have noticed the signs of hair loss in the pre menopausal time. However, Androgenic Alopecia can come even later: 75% women older than 65 have said they had some degree of hair loss.

It has been noticed that Androgenic Alopecia is more common for Caucasian people than representatives of other races.

Alex Bright

Although postpartum hair loss is normal to many new moms it is shocking news. During pregnancy women enjoy having thick beautiful hair, but after the baby is born they are surprised to see more hair falling out than usually.

Since hormonal balance during pregnancy causes thick hair many moms start thinking that breastfeeding is the reason for alopecia. However, nursing a baby is not related to hair loss, even though the baby takes a lot of nutrients, vitamins and minerals from mom in her milk, it does not have any effect on her hair.

In order to see clear picture of hair loss during postpartum period and understand how to go away from it one should know how the hair grows. At all the times around 90% of all hair is in growing or Anagen phase which lasts for two years. After this the hair prepares to fall out by going into resting or Telogen phase. In two or three months this phase is over and 10% of hair falls out giving room to new strands to grow.

The rise of various hormones like estrogen elongates Telogen phase, preventing normal hair loss, so women notice less hair strands on the brush after combing and feel good about having thicker hair. However, after the baby is born, hormones slowly balance out to their previous amount and all resting hair needs to fall out. It feels like the woman loses too much, but in fact the hair just catches up with whatever did not fall out within previous nine months.

Excessive hair loss after pregnancy is called Telogen effluvium. About 40 to 50 percent women experience it after having a baby, but as most changes altered by pregnancy the hair loss is temporary and normal hair cycle will be restored in three to six months. Besides, the good news is that this kind of alopecia does not lead to complete baldness. The studies show that up to 60% of growing hair might move to resting phase and stay there while the level of estrogen is high. After the hormones level out, hair loss takes place, but at the same time the old hair is replaced by new growth almost immediately.

Although many new moms experience postpartum alopecia it is not a reason for everybody to worry. The hormonal levels are different for people and their influence on the body processes varies, so there are women that do not have this problem. The hair loss is more obvious for those who have longer hair which is also the reason why some women do not notice it at all.

It is impossible to stop hair from falling out, but there are some tricks which might be helpful. First of all hair stylists advise to cut hair short to so called “wash-and-go” style. This way the long hair strands will not be seen everywhere in the house and the hair brush will not have to hold as much. Short hair is also more comfortable when new mom’s hands are so busy taking care of the baby that there is no time for much hair care. A big problem of long hair is that babies like to pull it as soon as they have a chance to do so and short hair eliminates this trouble.

If the woman is not satisfied with the thickness of hair during the period of hair loss, many hair products will be useful. Mousses and crèmes that add volume are good helpers in this matter.

In order to provide healthy “food” for hair and stimulate its growth it is recommended to eat a lot of vegetables, herbs, berries and fruits rich in flavonoids and antioxidants. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, plums, cherries, apples, garlic, parsley, broccoli and tomatoes are the good sources of them. Drinking green tea and red wine, eating almonds and chocolate and using extra virgin olive oil in dishes is beneficial for the same reason.

Hair is extremely responsive for vitamins A, B complex, C and E, so if the fruit and vegetable intake is not enough, a new mom should use the vitamins in her everyday diet.

Lynn Street

Hair loss in children is more common than people think. Three children out of every hundred have alopecia problems; however, if it is diagnosed right, the hair loss can be successfully treated. If the problem occurs, the child should be taken to a pediatrician or pediatric dermatologist.

Here are various types of hair loss in children:

1.    Tinea Capitis or ringworm of the scalp is the most common case of hair loss in children. This disease is caused by fungi which affect hair shafts in the skin of scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes. There are three types of tinea capitis, but black dot ringworm is most widely spread in the U.S. Children with the disease have very brittle hair that breaks off and falls out leaving patches of black dots. As a rule the patches are either round or oval. However, even if the patches are uneven, the possibility of ringworm is not excluded. Itching, crusting are scaling of the scalp are other symptoms of the disease.

The ringworm might go away without treatment, but in order to reduce the possibility of spreading some measures are strongly recommended. When a doctor finds out that a child has tinea capitis, he or she will prescribe some antifungal medicine that is taken by mouth. The most common one is griseofulvin. In order to decrease hair shedding and itching, it is recommended to use shampoos with selenium sulfide (2.5%) or zinc pyrithione (1-2%) two or three times weekly. Such shampoos are Head & Shoulders Intensive Treatment, Selsun, Selsun Blue and Nizoral are the best treatments.

2.    Alopecia Areata is the most sudden type of hair loss. Sometimes it happens as quickly as within one night: a child wakes up with bald patches which are absolutely smooth without any signs of scaling, itching or inflammation. It is believed that the alopecia is caused by the immune system that attacks hair follicles. Another symptom of the disease is pitting or ridging nails.

Although it is shocking and unexpected the parents should not panic because with the proper treatment most patients’ hair grows back within a year or even sooner. However, 5% of children experience a further development of the disease: they lose all scalp hair (alopecia totalis) or even all body hair (alopecia universalis).

There has not been any special medicine developed to treat this disease because alopecia areata is so unpredictable that it is hard to make any studies on it. However, there are some drugs which might be prescribed because they are known to help certain percent of people with the disease. Some medications help to increase hair growth, but they cannot stop new patches from appearing. A child with alopecia areata should be under intensive care of a dermatologist.

3.    Trauma of hair shaft happens with children a lot. One of the most common cases is when a baby rubs the back of his or her head on the bed and loses some hair which grows back as soon as the baby starts sitting up and spends less time in bed. There are two reasons for trauma: the above mentioned case is caused by friction; the other reason is traction which happens a lot with those who wear tight braids or pony-tails.

Trichotillomania is commonly misunderstood as another reason for trauma hair loss. Children that have habit to twirl or pluck their hair are usually hard to treat especially if the habit is old or occurs every time in the moments of despair.

Hair loss caused by trauma gets healed as soon as the trauma stops.

4.    Telogen Effluvium is usually caused by stress, severe medical problems, certain prescription drugs or excess of vitamin A. When these things happen many hair strands “decide” to stop growing and fall out.

This hair loss condition is not a big thing to worry about: the hair will grow back and will be fully restored in about 3-6 months after the stress or other conditions are gone.

John Meyer

One of the main aspects of good hair care is oiling. While applying the best oil, a person massages scalp improving hair strength and health. If oiling is done right with the full understanding of hair kind, the hair stays longer in Anagen or growing phase, looks shiny and luster.

The right hair care is built on the combination of things: there has to be good hair cosmetics that works with one’s unique hair structure, the person should eat healthy food which provides vitamins and minerals for the whole body and hair in particular, and the right everyday care should be provided, such as combing, protection from sun, massage, etc.

Hair oiling is a part of an everyday routine which provides shine and strength to the damaged dull hair. If everyday oiling cannot be done due to various reasons, one should do so at least three times a week. The most important factor is that the person does this on regular basis.

The oil is applied in the evening with slight massage and left overnight. For a better result it is recommended to cover the oiled hair with steamed towel for about thirty minutes.

There are several positive effects of the hair oiling. First of all it is applied with a massage which improves blood circulation that brings vitamins and minerals to the follicles. Secondly, oil protects hair from strong hot and harmful sun rays. And finally, it adds gloss to hair.

Several kinds of oil can be used for hair, each of which gives unique improvement. The most common oils are jojoba oil, coconut oil, olive oil and rosemary herbal oil.

Jojoba oil is the best for dry hair. It moisturizes and softens hair. The legend says that Incas used to massage this oil into their scalps to promote thick and luxurious hair. Besides leaving overnight, one can apply the oil before shampooing to detangle the ends. Being a part of hair conditioner jojoba oil softens the strands, which is especially good if one uses hair blower a lot. This oil is one of the best things one can use as a beauty product: it is colorless and odorless, it is easy to find and does not cost much.

Coconut oil is a perfect lubricant which is an ideal quality for dry hair or the hair that suffers from dandruff, lice or similar problems. This oil has lots of “hair” minerals: magnesium, calcium and iron. Thanks to these nutrients the oil is believed to regrow damaged hair and provide thickness. The biggest popularity as hair care product coconut oil gained at the Indian sub-continent.

Olive oil strengthens and nourishes hair. It also adds elasticity to it helping the hair to get less fragile and breakable. Olive oil takes away frizz and works as anti-static in hair. It has proven itself as a remedy that makes wonders. While some people think oils work on dry hair only, they could change their mind after trying olive oil, because it does well with oily hair too. Excessive amount of oiliness is a sign that something went wrong and scalp started overproducing. Olive oil gets rid of stress and restores the proper balance.

Rosemary herbal oil is a good remedy for dandruff. Being warmed up and applied with massage (no scratching) the oil is supposed to be left on hair for a while. The treatment works best with a hot towel on. Rosemary stimulates the health of the follicles and hair growth. It is believed to work well on hair loss and stop gray hair; they say it even helps to darken gray hair for some time. However, due to this reason it is not recommended to use this oil if the person has blonde hair.

If he or she decides to use one of the oils for hair, some precaution should be mentioned. First of all, if the hair is washed with oil, it is advised to use sink, not shower, because oil drops make the floor slippery increasing the danger to fall. Most recipes require a hot towel: oil would leave stains, so it is recommended to use old towels. Although oils are good for hair, excessive amounts are not required because they will be wasted and instead of oil being soaked in by hair, it will have to be washed off with additional amount of shampoo.

Katherine Jackson

Tinea is more known to everybody as a ringworm. It is a fungal infection that affects skin. Tinea Capitis is a scalp ringworm and is considered to be the most common hair loss reason in children throughout the world (50% cases).

Long time ago it was believed that this disease is caused by a worm which gave a name to the infection (tinea is a Latin word for “growing worm”). Although it has been discovered later that it comes from fungi, the name of the infection was already so common that it remained unchanged.

Dermatophytes, the ringworm fungi, are found in humans and animals, especially house pets like cats and dogs. They also live in the skin of farm animals and in soil. The infection is very contagious and is usually spread from person to person through objects like towels, hair brushes, scissors and other barbershop instruments, clothes, theatre or car seats, etc. As a rule, a simple contact with one of these objects might not result in infection, however, together with minor scratches or tight braiding dermatophytes get through the top layer of skin and start growing causing various kinds of discomfort.

All types of ringworm infection cause reddening, intense itching, crusting and scaling of the scalp. However, there are other symptoms which vary due to different origin of the fungi.

•    Black dot ringworm is the most common infection nowadays in the U.S. The reason to it is Trichophyton, which mostly affects hair shaft. In this case the hair becomes brittle and breaks at the scalp resulting in bald patches. The disease received its name because the parts of the hair that are left in the follicle look like it has been shaved off a few days before, appearing like “black dots”.
•    Gray patch ringworm is also wide spread. It was dominant in 1940’s and 1950’s in the United States. These days it is less common is America, but is a primary ringworm infection in Eastern Europe. Microsporum is the fungus that brings this infection, the main first symptoms of which are intense itching and red bumps around hair shafts. The infected patches slowly increase in size, resulting in red scaly “rings”. The hair in the patches becomes gray and dull, eventually breaking off.
•    Inflammatory ringworm is another variety of the infection. It is caused by different fungi which come from animals or soil. Although it is the least common one, it hurts the most. The symptoms of this kind of infection are fever, pain, itchiness and enlarged lymph nodes. The infected areas look like they have small pustules, abscesses or kerion formations (elevated soft places which ooze pus). If not treated in time, inflammatory ringworm might result in permanent hair loss and scars.

Sometimes the infection can go away without any specific treatment; however, doctor consultation is required especially if a child has intensive scalp itching, scaling or starts losing hair. As a rule, specialists prescribe oral antifungal medications together with special shampoos. Primary drug for ringworm is Griseofulvin (Fulvicin, Grisactin), but if it does not bring effect or the patient is allergic to it, some alternatives might be used. Prednisone helps to relieve the symptoms of the inflammatory ringworm and is prescribed along with Griseofulvin.

In order to decrease hair shedding and itching, it is recommended to use shampoos with selenium sulfide (2.5%) or zinc pyrithione (1-2%) two or three times weekly. Such shampoos are Head & Shoulders Intensive Treatment, Selsun, Selsun Blue and Selsun Gold for Women.

John Meyer

For centuries men have lost their hair as they aged and no one could do anything about it. They were destined to be bald, and the majority of them accepted hair loss as a normal event that should happen to them sooner or later. In the last few years medicine has made a big step forward to alopecia treatment. Modern men do not have to be bald if they do not want to be.

Unfortunately, together with the invention of good remedies, many fake and useless medications also appeared, causing many men to lose both money and time. It is important to start with hair loss prevention as soon as possible, because there will be no hair to save if one waits too long. The right treatment can be provided only with the products approved by the FDA or recommended by the American Hair Loss Association.

The first drug which went through clinical tests and proved itself as a good remedy is Minoxidil (or Loniten). It is approved by Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for male pattern baldness. In a form of pill with trade name Loniten, this drug was used to treat high blood pressure.

Researchers found an interesting side-effect of Minoxidil: the participants experienced slower balding process, besides, and some of them regrew hair in unexpected areas such as their cheeks, back of their hands and even foreheads. This made the scientists try using the drug in alopecia treatments.

In order to control hair growth areas, Upjoin Corporation decided to apply Minoxidil topically. They made a solution that contained 2% Minoxidil and discovered that it really worked. Although it worked differently for various people because of the degree of their hair loss, at that time it was a great discovery.

Presently, the drug is sold under the brand name Rogaine in the U.S. and Canada and Regaine in Europe, Asia and Australia. The 2% solution is good for female hair loss and 5% treatment is created to fight male pattern baldness.

Although Minoxidil works fine, it does not deal with the hormonal level at all. Since male hormones cause hair loss, and their level has not been changed, the treatments done by the drug are temporary. So far there have not been any positive long-term results. The American Hair Loss Association does not recommend Minoxidil as the first try for those who experience male pattern baldness, but advises to try it if other methods have not brought any success.

Proscar and Propecia are other alopecia treatment drugs which have been discovered. They are sold under a common name Finasteride. It has been developed by Merck for the treatment of enlarged prostate glands. While the company was running tests on men with enlarged prostates, it discovered the same side-effect as those who were checking the work of Minoxidil.

Since Merck had had the FDA approval for Finasteride sales as a prostate medication, it started selling the same drug as the first pill that treated male pattern baldness. In 1997, the FDA approved that a 1 mg dose of Finasteride can be an effective treatment to male alopecia.

Unlike Minoxidil, this drug does affect hormone levels. It works against Type II 5-alpha-reductace, the enzyme that turns testosterone into DHT, the main purpose of which is to kill hair follicles. The participants lower their DHT with only 1 mg of Finasteride daily by as much as 60%. During 5-year studies, 48% of men have experienced hair regrowth with this medication and 42% had no further hair loss.

Unfortunately, even this powerful drug does not give a 100% guarantee that there will be no hair loss. It is proven to help 86% men with their male pattern baldness, the others should seek out other treatments because Finasteride will not affect them.

Jessica Bloom

Male pattern baldness is the most common hair loss diagnosis in men. It is a permanent type of alopecia (hair loss) which is caused by hormones and genetic predisposition. Millions of men on the planet go bald and if one pays attention, the patterns of their hair loss are typical.

As a rule, pattern baldness starts at the temples and/or crown of the head. One does not just wake up without hair, the process starts slowly and progresses until after several years it ends up in total baldness or hairless patterns on top of one’s head which is more common.

Why does it happen that men experience pattern baldness?

Almost every millimeter of our skin has hair follicles which provide hair growth. A new hair strand starts its life in a follicle, develops for a couple of years growing by one or two inches a month and goes to resting phase. Three-four months later it falls out being replaced by the new hair strand.

After puberty the level of male hormone, testosterone, increases. One of its derivatives, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is aimed to stop hair growth. Under the influence of the hormone, hair follicles shrink producing small weak hair. After several years the follicles get so little that they become unable to grow any hair. However, the follicles are not dead and even though they are very small, there is a possibility that one day they will still be able to grow hair.

It is usually easy to notice the beginning of pattern alopecia. At hair line the strands become thinner, shorter and weaker. With the time they lose color and fall out making and “M” shape. Simultaneously with this, crown hair starts getting finer as well.

The type of patter baldness is usually diagnosed by appearance. A dermatologist also would ask some questions about genetic background, medical history, etc. After this the specialist should examine the scalp with magnification to figure out the degree of the follicle miniaturization.

As a rule, hair densitometer can be used to determine hair density. This devise contains magnifying lens and an opening of predetermined size. Before the exam a small part of the scalp has to be shaved (to approximately 1 mm) and then the densitometer can be placed on this spot. Sometimes measurements have to be taken from several parts of scalp for the best result.

Sometimes expensive hair loss analysis might be offered, but it is not useful in usual pattern baldness, however, it shows the possibility of poison-induced hair loss (for example, if there is a high concentration of lead). For typical pattern alopecia this exam is not required and will only be a waste of money.

The following scale is a standard to classify male pattern baldness. It was developed by Dr. James Hamilton in 1950’s and modified 20 years later by Dr. O’Tar Norwood.

Type I. Minimal hair loss.

Type II. Insignificant hair loss at the temples.

Type III. The first stage of pattern baldness that requires treatment. The shown areas either have no hair at all or barely covered with any.

Type III vertex. Hairline patters are not as big as in the previous type, but there is a small pattern on the back of the head.

Type IV. Bigger patter on the vertex. However, hairline and vertex are divided by a thick line of hair.

Type V. The division line is thinner, but it is still present although the patterns at the hairline and vertex are bigger.

Type VI. The bridge is gone although it might be presented by several strands of short fine hair.

Type VII. The most severe form of hair loss. There might be little hair on the front or top of the head.

The treatment of male pattern baldness is not necessary if one feels comfortable with it. However if it brings stress and anxiety, there are specialists who can help with the problem right after they identify the kind and pattern of hair loss.

Jessica Bloom

When you get disappointed with another shampoo, maybe it is time to try a home-made remedy. Some skeptics will say, experiments with hair will make it only worse and can provoke hair loss. However we never think, by changing shampoos we also test our hair, trusting manufacturers. One should think, what is worthy more respect: shampoos designed by scientists or home remedies the result of which has been checked and proven for centuries? Is it better to spend hundreds of dollars on hair cosmetics or wash hair with simple products available to everybody like eggs, lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, vinegar, etc?

Healthy strong hair is not always equal to expensive shampoos and conditioners. There are dozens of various remedies that have been used by our mothers and grandmothers to care about hair. The ingredients for them can still be found in almost every kitchen or bathroom.

For the beginning it is fine to use some recipe which has received good feedback. One can search online and see what homemade shampoos people like the most. As a rule the ingredients there are already balanced out, the participant should only mix them and try on hair.

Use something simple, for example:

Egg shampoo needs 1 large egg and 3 tablespoons castile soap. Beat egg white until foamy, mix in the yolk and soap. Massage half of the mixture in wet hair and rinse well. Massage in the other half and leave it on hair for 2-3 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.

Herbal shampoo requires ¼ cup herbal tea strongly brewed and 8 oz liquid castile or any other essential soap. Mix the ingredients, warm them on low heat till they are blended well. Apply on hair as regular shampoo. Store the leftovers in a capped bottle.

If a person is not afraid to experiment, specialists recommend trying working on personal remedies which will be individual. This way he or she will learn better what hair wants, what vitamins and minerals work better on the hair structure.

In order not to ruin hair with experiments, one should consider a few simple rules:

•    Start with simplest mixtures. Do not create complex shampoos, but try one or two ingredients at first. It is important to watch what works on hair and what does not. For example, one can try rinsing hair with chamomile herbal tea as a conditioner. If it worked fine several times, in a few weeks another ingredient can be mixed in. Castile soap, olive oil or egg yolk can also be good start points.
•    Discover perfect basic mix for your hair. Try mixes based on various ingredients to get the best working one. Find out what vitamins contain the elements you are using to come up with a good two-ingredient mix from the very beginning. Sometimes the main one should be replaced, but do not take it out instantly, make it secondary in the mixture and this might already eliminate the problem.
•    Experiment with the ways the remedies are applied: use it as a shampoo, or conditioner, make it thicker or on contrary, add some water to it, massage it in scalp or spray it on the whole length of hair, rinse it as soon as the mixture was applied or keep it for a few minutes.
•    Do not ever apply ingredients that cause allergies or provoke any other destructive reactions to your body: neither food, nor soaps, nor fragrant. At the same time, specialists say what is good for your ingesting, should be fine for hair. If a person feels fine eating honey, fruit purees or adding vinegar to dishes, they should work great on hair too.
•    Read books, watch TV and search online for good advice and opinions on the ingredients you want to use. They also can give ideas about new ingredients if you think, nothing works.

Katherine Jackson