Understanding The Various Hair Loss Treatments

There are only a handful of people who truly pamper their hair and accord it the love and care it deserves. However, when we start noticing that our hair is thinning and bald patches are starting to appear, we hit the panic button. All of a sudden, they are looking for methods by which they can get their hair back and for many, the first option that comes to mind is a transplant. What a lot of people do not realise is that not everyone facing hair loss is an ideal candidate for a transplant, but there are other methods that will allow you to restore your hair and it would be wise to try out these methods first.

The basic tenet of hair restoration is that hair follicles that have shut down need to be brought back to life – when the hair follicles are brought back to life, you will be able to see a lot more hair on your head. This is a domain where there is an immense amount of research being done and some of the latest include:

·       One of the major breakthrough that has happened recently is the successful manipulation of stem cells in a test tube. The idea is that hair follicles are harvested from the scalp and then placed in a culture, which could lead to the combination with the stem cells and eventually help create new hair follicles.

·        Yet another method that could prove to be truly effective in the world of hair restoration in the near future would be something that is presently being called the sonic hedgehog. The sonic hedgehog could possibly control the size and growth rate of follicles, which means that it could help convert hair that is in the resting phase to translate into the growth phase, leading to better hair growth. 
         
         
While these hair loss treatments might sound a little futuristic, there are procedures that are working really well presently. If you have been noticing a lot more hair off your head, than on it, the first thing you need to do it meet a specialist, who will be able to correctly diagnose your condition – this will include why you are losing hair in the first place and the extent of your hair problem. Factors like these will determine the course of treatment for you.

·         When hair loss has just started, there are plenty of hair restoration procedures that could work for you and over the counter topical medications such as minoxidil might be a good option. However, if you are looking to try Finasteride, you will need a prescription. Both these medications have been known to show results in initial hair loss related cases and there have been proof that a reasonable amount of hair growth has been marked.

·         If you are going to a clinic where you can get direct care, you might be suggested to undergo a few sessions of laser hair therapy, in which a laser device will be directed at your scalp and hair. The laser rays will penetrate your scalp and target the hair follicles, encouraging them to grow better.

However, the one procedure that has shown incredible results happens to be PRP therapy for hair loss. The basic concept of the procedure is simple:

·         Blood is drawn from your body
·         The plasma is separated from the blood
·         Plasma is treated with growth factors
·         The serum is then injected back into the scalp.

Because this procedure is minimally invasive (only a few needles involved) and uses blood from your own body, there are little to no chances of anything going wrong. Sports medicine has used PRP to treat conditions like Achilles tendon, injured joints and muscles since long, but studies showed that the same tenet would work really well for hair loss too. Plasma is known to be an extremely potent growth and healing factor and when it is separated from your blood and made even more effective with the addition of extra nutrients such as proteins and other growth factors, what you have in hand is an extremely strong serum.

One of the main reasons why PRP works is because it is blood from your own body that is being used, which means:

There are minimal chances of any infections or your body rejecting the formula
Your body will respond better to the treatment and the results will be a lot more visible.