If your hair is thinning out, you’ve probably begun to wonder if there is a male pattern baldness cure; if there’s anything you can do to help your hair keep growing strong and healthy.
You’ve probably asked your old man, your brothers or some good friends. You might have scoured the Internet, only to end up dizzy by all the different options, tutorials, brands, services and natural homemade remedies available.
Fear not. Here we wish to ease you into the topic of finding a male pattern baldness cure.
We wish to offer you a basic guide on male baldness and what to do about it so you can feel at ease and have a basic understanding of what is happening if your hair is thinning out, what could happen next and what you could do about it.
With a base like this, you could then go on to explore the myriad of options available to you and decide -with the counsel of a doctor or professional- which one is best suited for you.
What Is Male Pattern Baldness?
Let’s start with the basics. We can’t explain a male pattern baldness cure without first making sure you understand what male pattern baldness is. That way you can make sure if this is actually your condition or not.
Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss in men. It is also known as androgenic alopecia.
It is so common that the United State’s National Library of Medicine states that more than 50% of all men over the age of 50 will be affected by a case of male pattern baldness to at least some extent.
Male pattern baldness varies from man to man -spoiler alert, that’s part of why it’s so complicated to settle on a single male pattern baldness cure- but generally, it starts with hair thinning and hair loss above the temples.
This generates a well-known M shape. Usually, the hair loss will continue over time, taking the top of the head as its next victim.
Sometimes, it even takes the hair on the sides of the head, which could lead to complete baldness if left unchecked.
However, remember that the progress can vary drastically from person to person, and there is no one way in which male pattern baldness evolves or settles on a man’s head.
For example, some men will get only a single bald spot. For others, the hair loss could begin at the crown of the head.
Male pattern baldness Symptoms
It most commonly occurs in adult men, and the higher the age, the higher the likelihood of male pattern baldness.
However, in some extreme cases, male pattern baldness could begin in the teenage years. So, finding a male pattern baldness cure is an issue that should interest men of all ages.
The risk of male pattern baldness can also depend on other factors, like genetics. Genetics actually plays a huge role in this condition.
Studies have concluded that men who have close relatives with male pattern baldness have a higher risk of suffering the condition themselves.
This holds especially true if those relatives are on the maternal side of the family, in which case the risk rises.
Understanding male pattern baldness causes
How will you decide on a male pattern baldness cure if you don’t understand what is causing this condition?
There are so many options to treat male pattern baldness that it becomes necessary to understand what they’ll be up against in order to decide which method works best for you. So, what causes male pattern baldness?
Scientific research has found that male pattern baldness is associated with male sex hormones called androgens. One of the many functions these hormones have is regulating hair growth.
What actually happens with male pattern baldness is that the growth cycles of the hairs on your head begin to weaken and the hair follicles shrink.
This results in increasingly finer -and even shorter- strands of hair. With time, the growth cycle for each hair ends, which makes the new hair stops growing altogether.
The main androgen that scientists believe to be associated with baldness is dihydrotestosterone, also known as DHT.
The shortening of the hair’s growth cycle and the gradual discontinuation of hair growth on the head is believed to be caused by an increased level of DHT in hair follicles.
However, the exact cause that ticks off this process are unknown.
Lastly, there is another important cause of male pattern baldness, one that we have already mentioned before: genetics. It’s an important factor that will greatly increase the chances of baldness.
If your family has a history of baldness, then, you already know what to expect.
What Can I Do To Find A Male Pattern Baldness Cure
If you are looking for a male pattern baldness cure because you wish to maintain your hair in the best shape possible and maintain a nice appearance that you’re comfortable with, here we will describe different methods you can try.
Please choose the one that is best suited for you, and remember that you should always consult with a specialist before you decide to take any form of medicine or go through any kind of medical treatment. Although, remember that medical treatment isn’t always necessary. Knowing that, let’s explore the first options:
- Change up your hairstyle: Sometimes, the best solutions come in the simplest of forms. Ask your hairstylist for their opinion. Many times, male pattern baldness can be hidden with the right haircut or with the right hairstyle. Trying asking your hairstylist if they can recommend a cut or styling that will make your hair look fuller and more voluminous.
- Consider using a wig or a hairpiece: This is a simple, straightforward way of covering up anything from thinning hair to absolute baldness. Take advantage of the fact that wigs and hairpieces come in many different styles, colors, and even textures. If you’d like a natural look, choose styles, colors, and textures that look similar to your original hair. There are even professional wig stylists who could help you style and fit your wigs for a more natural look.
- Ever heard of hair weaves?: Hair weaves are a sort of “wigs” that are sewn into your natural hair. They always stay on, even during activities in which you move your head or move your hair like swimming, showering or sleeping. However, they must be sewn on again whenever new hair grows. This sewing process can sometimes even damage your natural hair if it is too intensive.
- Minoxidil or Rogaine: Here, we begin mentioning direct medication you could choose to try out.
- Minoxidil or Rogaine is a topical medication that you would apply to your scalp in order to combat male pattern baldness.
This method takes between four months to one year to produce visible results. However, if you stop applying this treatment, hair loss is highly likely to occur again.
There are also some possible side effects associated with the use of minoxidil, which can range from dryness or irritation to even burning and scaling of the scalp.
Remember to consult with a professional before starting to use minoxidil or rogaine, in order to make sure it is convenient for your health.
Finasteride, Propecia or Proscar: Finasteride -which you can also find under the names of Propecia or Proscar- is also medication.
This one is an oral medication that can slow hair loss in some men. Basically, it blocks the production of the male hormone that is responsible for hair loss.
It has a higher success rate than minoxidil, but also many side effects, which include depression, itching, rashes, hives, breast tenderness, breast growth, swelling in the face or on the lips, painful ejaculation, pain in testicles and difficulty in getting an erection.
In rarer cases, it has even caused breast cancer in men taking it. This method takes between three months to one year to begin producing visible results in bettering the pattern baldness. If you stop taking the finasteride, your hair loss will return.
Finasteride is a serious medication that you should not even be considering taking without first consulting a doctor or a professional.
- Hair transplants: Hair transplants are the most expensive and also the most invasive treatment for any kind of hair loss.
It basically consists of removing hair from areas in the scalp where there is active hair growth and the cycle of that growth is healthy.
What is removed is later transplanted into the thinning or balding areas of the scalp. The advantage of this treatment is that the final result looks more natural and it is also permanent.
However, multiple treatments are often necessary to obtain the desired effect and a procedure like this one carries the risk of both scarring and/or infection of the scalp.
So, Does A Male Pattern Baldness Cure Exist?
Pattern baldness is a complex issue that science doesn’t really fully understand yet. There are some professionals like Dr. Robert Nettles that claim to have finally found a definitive male pattern baldness cure and run facilities to help you with just that.
On their webpage, they state that: “All our services are based on precision medicine and customized to your individual DNA and biology to ensure optimal results are achieved for you.
Services include hormone therapy, hair loss reversal, skin rejuvenation, weight loss, and non-surgical facial reconstruction”. And places like this even offer a full refund if you’re not satisfied with your treatment after 12 months.
However, these magic cures are few and far between. We believe that a male pattern baldness cure isn’t a sure, infallible remedy that can apply to anyone, but rather it consists of the different ways in which you can tackle the issue.
Every case and person is different and therefore every solution will work differently, too. So, until science can give us more precise answers, all we can ask is does a male pattern baldness cure exist? That will be up for you to decide.
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