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Thinning hair
Is your hair thin and sparse? Perhaps you have Alopecia, or thinning hair after the menopause? Perhaps it is falling out for no medical reason anyone can find? Do you have male battern baldness?
All is not lost, and the interesting thing about hair loss treatments is you can generally use them together. There are shampoos, supplements and topical treatments all with decent scientific evidence that they work. I'm going to cover the ones I know about below, that is Nizoral, Asiasari radix, Minoxidil, Finasteride or hair replacement treatment.
Although hair naturally thins as we age (the diameter of the hair shaft gets narrower), and womens hair gets thinner after the menopause, too much hair loss might have a medical cause. For more information about the medical causes of thin hair click here. You can try HRT if you are a woman, but I wouldn't take it for hair loss alone as there are side effects to HRT.
Nizoral Shampoo
According to Department of Dermatology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, another option is actually a dandruff shampoo called Nizoral. (Active ingredient 'ketoconazole', an anti-fungal treatment). You can see the experiment extract here. "topical applications of the substance are useful for treating seborrheic dermatitis accompanied by hair regression or male pattern hair loss."
There are plenty more studies from various universities etc. showing the effectiveness of Nizoral (ketoconazole). You can see them here if you search on 'ketoconazole alopecia' ('Alopecia' means 'baldness').
Asiasari radix supplement
The Oriental Medical College of Daejeon University, in Korea, has been testing 45 different plant extracts - all from plants traditionally used to treat hair loss, and they were looking for a natural hair growth stimulant. "Among the tested plant extracts, the extract of Asiasari radix showed the most potent hair growth stimulation." You can read that extract here. Unfortunately, until I see evidence the herbs in Asiasari are safe, I cannot reccommend a specific product.
Minoxidil
If you are wanting a guaranteed hair loss treatment, the only one so far proven to work via a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study is minoxidil cream or lotion. Minoxidil (commercial name 'Regaine' or 'Rogaine') is applied to the scalp.
Here is the result of an experiment comparing Finasteride with Minoxidil. Finasteride worked in 80% of the patients although it caused loss of libido - so I think Minoxidil is a better bet to start with. If you want Finasteride you will have to ask your doctor for it. (In one case in the medical literature there was a woman who responded poorly to both Rogaine and Finasteride. She was eventually cured by a drug called 'Dutasteride').
At this stage, I'd usually tell you how Minoxidil works, but hair follicle biology is complex and no one knows how Minoxidil works. Perhaps Minoxidil works due to it being a vasodilator - that is it opens up blood vessels for increased blood flow.
Ho Shou Wu - Fo Ti
The popular Chinese remedy Fo Ti for restoring hair and restoring the color of grey hair also opens up the blood vessels to increase blood flow. Fo Ti- is also called 'Ho Shou Wu' and its botanical name is Polygonum Multiflorum.
Alopecia Areata
If you have Alopecia Areata, there is no treatment yet that can guarantee you complete recovery and only topical immunotherapy works better than just waiting for the disease to run its course.
Scarring alopecias are quite rare but if you have it, or even suspect that you have it, you will need a scalp biopsy. Unless it is carefully managed and treated, the consequences are irreversible, but don't panic - the introduction of broad spectrum antimycotic drugs has greatly improved the outlook for people with scarring alopcia!
Causes of thinning hair
Hair loss or thinning can also be an inherited trait. Sometimes hair is thin because it has a fine texture, or perhaps you have used harsh chemicals and it breaks too easily. If fine or thinning hair is a family trait, you probably don't have any serious problems and your hair is most likely quite healthy but you could perhaps benefit from a permanent or semi-permanent color to give body to your hair.
Some medicines can cause hair to fall out or break too.
Semi-permanent color is best to use when your hair just happens to be thin - so long as it is one that doesn't have ammonia or peroxide in it (some semi permanents do). Semi-permanents penetrate the hair shaft and thicken it as well as conditioning. You might want to have your hair dye professionally applied. It is too easy to overprocess fine hair!
Many home volume-building hair products contain beeswax. This is bad for your hair because it builds up and adds stress to the hair shaft, but professional products should be able to help.
If you are styling your hair at home you can use mousse on the roots of your hair, and gently blow dry from underneath to build volume at the roots (this goes for men too) and if your hair is reasonably healthy perm will help give lift and volume.
If you have a perm, beware of curls that are too tight as that can damage your hair. Don't use a home perm. The best perm for thin hair is a professional one! Thin hair needs the skills of a professional!
If none of these things work, or aren't suitable for one reason or another you have one option left - a hair transplant. They are very good these days and should involve moving one to three hairs at a time.
Sasha recommends
Try Nizoral or Rogaine. I also like the idea of estrogen containing shampoos for people whose hair loss is caused by menopause, but these are difficult to obtain because of the early puberty they are suspected to cause if children use them. Naturally, children should not be allowed near hormone products. Rogaine and Regain are both proven effective hair volume and hair loss products.
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