The Costs, Pros & Cons To Hair Loss Treatments

You have probably heard about androgenetic alopecia (AGA), commonly known as male pattern baldness, which is actually the most present form of hair loss among the male population. This unpleasant health condition is caused by the dihydrotestosterone hormone (DHT) that is in charge for shutting down the hair follicle growth.

Unfortunately, there is an array of reasons that make the dihydrotestosterone hormone cause the so-called “horseshoe” appearance on the scalp, including:

• medical illnesses (lupus, diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism);

• medications (cholesterol reducers, beta-blockers, antidepressants);

• emotional/physical stress;

• hair over-styling.

Today, there are few popular hair loss treatments that seem to show positive effects at people who suffer from androgenetic alopecia. Of course, they all have their pros and cons, so we did the legwork for you and created a list of effective hair loss treatments, including advantages and drawbacks of each.

• FINASTERIDE

This popular medication can be also found in pharmacies as an over-the-counter drug called 'Propecia'. Finastride is exceptionally prescribed to men with male pattern baldness, because it can cause severe birth defects in women.

Pros: Clinical reports show that 66% of men who have been taking 1mg of Finasteride every day for less than two years, were witnesses of new hair growth on their scalps; while 83% of Finasteride male patients reported hair loss cessation.

Cons: Common side-effects of Finasteride are impotence, decreased libido and depression. All cases claim that these negative symptoms disappear once the patient stops taking the medicine.

Price: from $60 to $80

• MINOXIDIL

Minoxidil is also sold under the name 'Rogaine' and it is said that this type of hair loss treatment works best at patients whose male pattern baldness condition is recent.

Pros: According to a special medical study, only 2% of Minoxidil solution is enough to produce visible hair growth in one-third of Minoxidil patients. Another third goes to fine hair growth.

Cons: One of the major drawbacks of the Minoxidil hair loss treatment is that there are no visible results in the first four to twelve months of use and benefits are ceased once the therapy is stopped. Other side-effects are: increased facial hair and itchy, dry or irritated scalp.

Price: $10

• HAIR TRANSPLANT SURGERY

When the above-mentioned medications do not seem to work or bring the expected results, men with androgenetic alopecia condition commonly turn to hair transplantation. Normally, there are two surgery techniques used in hair transplant surgeries – STRIP and FUE. Depending on the severity of the case, multiple hair transplant procedures may be required to achieve the wanted aesthetic outcome.

Pros: If turning to a skilled and experienced hair transplant surgeon, the patient has a lot of chances to get the most out of results, which is of course, youthful and attractive hair-appearance.

Cons: In most of cases, hair transplant surgeries fail to give the desired results, due to surgeon's non-experience mostly. The ugly truth is, there is a great number of surgeons with a lack of training and skills to perform this type of surgery, but they still perform it.

Price: STRIP technique – $4-8 per graft; FUE technique - $ 8- 12 per graft.  

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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