Women are in a “Catch-22” position when it comes to drug treatments for androgenetic alopecia. While many drugs may work to some degree for some women, doctors are reluctant to prescribe them, and drug companies aren’t exactly falling over themselves to test existing or new drugs specifically for their ability to prevent and treat female pattern baldness.
Physicians are reluctant to use systemic treatment (a pill or other form of internal treatment that affects your entire system) unless they know that the hair loss is due to an excess of androgen in the system or a sensitized “over-response” to the so-called “normal” amounts of androgen in the system. That’s because these systemic treatments may lower the body’s androgen levels. Therefore, physicians often choose topical treatments (those that are applied directly to the scalp).
The best results from treatment happen when you begin treatment as soon as possible after the hair loss begins because prolonged androgenetic alopecia may destroy many of the hair follicles. The use of anti-androgens after prolonged hair loss will at least help prevent further hair loss and encourage some hair regrowth from those follicles that have been dormant but are still viable, Stopping treatment will result in the hair loss resuming if the androgens aren’t kept in check in some other way. Maintaining your vitamin and mineral levels helps while you’re on anti-androgen medications.
As always, treatments have the best chance of being effective if they are geared to the cause of the hair loss as well as to triggering hair growth.
Currently there is only one FDA approved treatment for female pattern hair loss.
Below you will find a list of treatments currently being used to treat hair loss in women. Some of these drugs have not been approved by the FDA for this particular application, however they have all been approved for other applications and are used “off label” to treat hair loss.
The effectiveness of these agents and methods vary from person to person, but many women have found that using these treatments have made a positive difference in their hair and their self-esteem.
Minoxidil 2% Topical Treatment
Minoxidil was first used in tablet form as a medicine to treat high blood pressure (an antihypertensive). It was noticed that patients being treated with minoxidil experienced excessive hair growth (hypertrichosis) as a side effect. Further research showed that applying a solution of minoxidil directly to the scalp could also stimulate hair growth. The amount of minoxidil absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream is usually too small to cause internal side effects.
Women with diffuse androgenetic alopecia can use minoxidil and it actually seems to be more effective for women compared to men. The makers of minoxidil recommend women only use the 2% concentration of minoxidil and not 5%. The makers of minoxidil have not received FDA approval for promoting 5% minoxidil or minoxidil extra strength for use by women. Many dermatologists do prescribe minoxidil 5% for women with androgenetic alopecia if used under their supervision. Some small clinical trials have been conducted on 5% minoxidil for androgenetic alopecia in women showing that indeed the 5% solution is significantly more effective in both retaining and regrowing hair than the 2 % solution.
In clinical studies of mostly white women aged 18-45 years with mild to moderate degrees of hair loss, the following response to minoxidil was reported: 19% of women reported moderate hair growth after using minoxidil for 8 months (19% had moderate regrowth; 40% had minimal regrowth). This compares with 7% of women reporting moderate hair regrowth after using the placebo, the liquid without the active ingredient in it, for 8 months (7% had moderate regrowth, 33% had minimal regrowth).
The American Hair Loss Association recognizes the limitations of topical minoxidil treatment in the fight against female androgenic alopecia (female pattern baldness) therefore we recommend that you seek out the advice of an informed hair loss specialist that can provide you with information on the potential treatments listed on this website.
Alopecia Areata Treatment Shampoo — A lot of people want to try shampoo for Alopecia Areata to cure hair loss. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition which causes your hair to fall out.
Ketoconazole shampoos help treat Alopecia by cleaning the skin area around your hair follicle of sebum, or the skins natural oils that are produced. Getting rid of these oils can allow your hair follicles to receive more nutrition and release for your hair to regrow. The shampoo for alopecia areata can easily clear the decks to give your hair the simplest time to regrow.
But be cautious that hair loss caused by alopecia areata is from your immune system, not your skin. The shampoo for Alopecia areata cure a tangential symptom of the major problem.
This is a brief summary about Alopecia Areata Treatment Shampoo.
