Hair Loss Treatment – Top 10 hair loss medications

Hair Loss Treatment, hard to say – easy to do !

In this article we will talk about some of the best hair loss treatments and take these types of hair loss treatment one by one to

Hair Loss Treatment

Difference After Hair Loss Treatment

explain it:

A quick list about the common treatments for hair loss used:

  • Cyproterone Acetate
  • Spironolactone
  • Cyproterone Acetate with Ethinyloestradiol
  • Nizoral/Ketoconazole
  • Propecia/Proscar
  • Minoxodil 2% Topical Treatment
  • Aldactone/Spironolactone
  • Tagamet/Cimetidine
  • Oral Contraceptives
  • Estrogen/Progesterone

Cyproterone Acetate

It is an anti-androgen ( it blocks the effects of male hormones in women ), it should be used only in women. Also there are some studied that show the mild effectiveness of cyproterone acetate in the treatment of female pattern hair loss and also hirsutism ( excessive hair ).

The availability of cyproterone acetate is in combination with estrogen for oral contraceptive in Europe. As a side note you whould know that it isn’t approved by the FDA and not available in U.S. There are also some side effects like liver toxicity and the drug was linked to increased rate of blood clots.

Spironolactone

The brand name of this medication is Aldactone and it is an oral diuretic that is FDA-approved to treat congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.Also it has been shown in some small studies to help reduce unwanted hair in females and it has been studied in women that had pattern hair loss – the results were mixed.

There is nothing sure at the moment but it may have some effect in reducing the thinning in women with very limited pattern hair loss. Some side effects that this medication was associated with is an increased risk of bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract but the result isn’t definitive.

Cyproterone Acetate with Ethinyloestradiol

This product is sold under a different name ( diane 35 and 50 ) and it is prescribed in Europe for women’s androgenetic alopecia. This drug blocks some actions of the male hormones present in women and it is quite possible to stagnate further hair loss and to make it grow back within a year. The using of this drug needs to be frequent to maintain the regrowth. Like many drugs, there are also some possible side effects like headaches, decreased libido, breast tenderness. Different from other drugs, this drug also has if we can name them “good” side-effects because it prevents osteoporosis. This drug is not available in the us and it is as effective as spironolactone. The Diane 35 and 50 contain different quantities of medications, Diane 35 contains 0.035 mg of estradiol and Diane 50 contains 0.050 mg of estradiol.< /span>

Nizoral / Ketoconazole

The Ketoconazole is available as a topical treatment and used as an antifungal agent.It can cause reduction in testosterone and other androgens because it has anti-androgenic effects.

There are some researches made with ketoconazole shampoo ( also named Nizoral ) that suggests it can be useful in men that have androgenic alopecia. Also in other study from 1998 which compared minoxidil 2% with ketoconazole 2% in men that had androgenic alopecia showed that ketoconazole if it was used 2-4 times per week was almost as effective as mixonidil 2%.

This shampoo can be prescribed for the treatment of scalp conditions and to treat androgenetic alopecia in combination with other treatments. As we know, at the moment there are no significant side effects shown.

Propecia / Proscar

Both of these medications are summing up the same ingredient and that’s finasteride but each drug has quite different ammounts of finasteride.

Propecia is available in 1 mg tablets and proscar in 5 mg. The ingredient finasteride is inhibiting the 5-alpha reductase enzyme ( the result is the inhibition of making prostate-harming follicle ). The medication works very well in men and it prevents progression of hair loss and also helps growing it back. For women’s, they should not use this medication if are pregnant and also avoid getting pregnant in the  course of it’s use. Even if you respect the guidelines, it only work for some women not every one. Each medication having different doses, you may want to consult your healthcare provider.

Minoxodil 2%

If you didn’t knew, minoxodil was the first FDA- approved medication for hair loss treatment ( topical minoxodil also known as Rogaine ). Rogaine and generic minoxodil solution comes in concentration of 2 % for women and 5 % for men and it is available without a prescription.

At first minoxodil was an oral blood pressure medication, but as the time passed, some doctors observed that many people talking minoxodil also had a good side effect of growing body hair, so from here comes the application of minoxodil directly to the scalp ( they believed that applying minoxodil on the scalp may cause a progression of hair growth in this area without the side effects of the oral medication )

The mechanism of growing hair with minoxodil is unknown but we know that this drug is a vasodilator ( vasodilators dilate blood vessels ) which improve the blood flow to the hair follicle.Minoxodil improves the quality of the hair by increasing the diameter and length of miniaturized hair and also increases the duration of the growth cycle and is currently one of the best hair loss treatment available.

Aldactone / Spironolactone

Aldactone also named spironolactone is a drug that is in the class of potassium-sparing diuretics ( more easy, it’s a water pill ).It works by reducing the amount of water in your body and the potassium is retained inside your body ( it doesn’t affect the quantity of it ). This drug is used to treat potassium deficiency and hypertension.

Tagamet / Cimetidine

This drug is mainly used to treat gastrointestinal ulcers. Cometidine has been used to treat excess facial hair in women and it shows positive results against androgenetic alopecia.

Oral Contraceptives

Another “enemy” of androgenetic alopecia in women, the oral contraceptives are mainly used by women for birth control ( but since they decrease the production of ovarian androgens, they can be used for androgenetic alopecia ).

As a note that should be taken into consideration, only low androgen index birth control pills should be used in case you want to treat hair loss, because the high androgenic index pills can cause hair loss.

Estrogen / Progesterone

Used and prescribed for women who hit menopause, it is known as HRT or hormone replacement therapy. In women’s that are lacking estrogen and/or progesterone, this is a common treatment for androgenetic alopecia.

We just scratched the surface in listing a hair loss treatment and as you will find out, there are many more methods which can help attenuate or stop the degree of hair loss and also natural solutions for hair loss.

 

 

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