Men who are losing their hair want to know. Does Minoxidil work?

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Men who are experiencing thinning hair and are starting to realize that they have approaching baldness have several options when it comes to buying a hair loss treatment. The very first baldness treatment approved by the FDA was a treatment called minoxidil. Minoxidil is now available under a range of brand names and is approved for use as a hair loss treatment. But does minoxidil work?

From the outset let us say that there is no hair loss treatment that works for everybody. Hair loss is a complex problem and combating it is also extremely complex. There is a range of causes of hair loss and different causes may respond to different treatments. However by far the most common cause of male hair loss is male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia).

Pattern baldness in men is a genetic condition. It is inherited from previous members of your family and its operation is now understood. A hormone called DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which is derived from the male sex hormone testosterone, attaches itself to hair follicles and slowly limits the ability of those follicles to take up essential nutrients. Those who have inherited male pattern baldness suffer from an excess of DHT.

There are 2 products approved by the FDA for use as a treatment to restore the growth of hair. Minoxidil is one of them (approved on August 18th 1988) and the other is finasteride marketed under the brand name Propecia. Both were originally intended to treat other conditions but in both cases it was observed that subjects studied exhibited an increase in hair growth.

There are many other hair loss treatments marketed today however those are the only 2 recognized by the FDA as appropriate as a hair loss treatment. Finasteride is only approved for use by men and women wishing to buy finasteride are advised to use minoxidil.

Minoxidil comes in several strengths. There is minoxidil 2% and minoxidil 5% which refers to the strength of the product.

The question does minoxidil work is only one of the questions that should be asked by any man looking to buy minoxidil for a receding hairline. Clearly minoxidil does work, the FDA must have satisfied itself that minoxidil works before it approved it for use as a hair loss treatment. But the question is does minoxidil work for everybody and how well does it work?

Clearly minoxidil does not work for everybody. As already stated there is no recognized hair loss treatment that works for everybody. However equally clearly it does work for many. That is often dependent on the strength that is used. Studies have shown that 5 % minoxidil is much more effective than 2% minoxidil and that men who start using the 2% solution may have limited or no result but may see a result when they change to the 5% solution.

Equally important to ask is where does minoxidil work. It is now relatively well-established that minoxidil works in many cases to regrow hair on the top and crown of the head but has limited effectiveness on a receding hairline at the front.

The next question to ask is how long does it take to see results from applying minoxidil as directed. Again there is no clear answer because it can vary from person to person but expect to be using it for a number of months before eventually deciding whether or not it is working for you. It may be 2 to 4 months or more before you start to see a result and discontinuing use too early may mean that you stop using it just before the results start to show. Many give up too soon deciding that minoxidil doesn’t work when in fact if they continued using it for a few more months it would have started to work.

For some it can take up to 6 months or even more to start working.

One other matter that anyone considering buying minoxidil should understand is that no matter how well minoxidil works it’s effects are limited to the time spent applying minoxidil. Don’t expect to regain your hair and then discontinue using minoxidil and expect your new hair to remain. When you discontinue use the new hair growth will slowly start to thin again.

The mechanism by which minoxidil works is not fully understood. It was originally developed as a blood pressure treatment and acts to dilate the veins. It is considered that the most likely way that minoxidil works to restore hair growth is by improving the flow of blood to the hair follicles thereby improving their capacity to take up sufficient levels of nutrients. Whether or not that is the mode of operation it is clear that for many men minoxidil works.

One clever company called Provillus has come up with a very new product that uses minoxidil as the active ingredient and which also includes all essential hair nutrients on the principle that if hair loss is caused by lack of nutrients then the minoxidil will improve the capacity of the hair follicles to take up nutrients and having all those nutrients available gives the hair the maximum chance for optimum growth. This will greatly improve the results that you may expect from simply applying minoxidil. Receding hairlines do not respond to minoxidil but hair loss on the crown and apex of the head should be regained.

So to answer the question does minoxidil work the answer is mixed. It works for many but not all, and many give up before it starts to work. It works best on the crown and apex of the head rather than at the front and it works only for as long as you use it. However the reality is that there is no product that works for everybody, which works on all areas of the scalp and which continues to operate after it’s use is discontinued.

Minoxidil is one of only two products approved by the FDA so if minoxidil does not work for you then you should try finasteride. However by using Provillus you are giving yourself the maximum chance to make sure that minoxidil will work for you.

If you’re interested in some of the studies that demonstrate that Minoxidil works then here is a study from the April 2004 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology about the effectiveness of Minoxidil (for women) which discusses the benefits of using it for androgenic alopecia. Read the rest of this entry

Men who lose their hair are full of male hormones, but many need a good DHT hair loss treatment.

Start With Our Must See Hair Loss Video

Click here to visit Provillus, mentioned in the video, for 2 MONTHS FREE SUPPLY. (You can’t ask for more than that).

OR READ OUR ARTICLE BELOW.

There’s many men looking for a good DHT hair loss treatment. DHT is one of the principal causes of male baldness and those who understand the role of DHT in male balding understand the importance of including some form of DHT management in a hair loss treatment. Let’s examine it’s role in male hair loss and consider how a good DHT hair loss treatment can work.

DHT, or what is technically known as dihydrotestosterone, is a male sex hormone. It is actually derived from the male sex hormone testosterone and is one of the hormones responsible for development of body hair in the male during puberty.

Everyone suffers from hair loss throughout their life because hair does not live forever. Hair generally grows for a period of a few years, up to 6, and then dies. Normal healthy hair replaces itself however. When a hair dies a new hair forms to take its place and this hair should grow strong and as full as the previous hair. However baldness commences when the hair follicles start to shrink and then each hair starts to thin, weaken and die prematurely. Many of these hairs that die are not properly replaced and gradually the hair starts to thin.

Over time this process results in increasing baldness.

There are a number of different causes of baldness in men however the overwhelming cause is male pattern baldness, and this is where DHT comes in. It is estimated that around 4 in 7 men will suffer from some form of hair loss during their lives and that two thirds will be suffering from hair loss by their 60s.

Male pattern baldness is a genetic condition inherited from your forebears. It is said that you inherit male pattern baldness from your father or grandfather however that is not strictly true. You inherit the condition from both the males and females in your family.

The process of hair loss in male pattern baldness is this. DHT is produced in the body from the hormone testosterone. Males with male pattern baldness have elevated levels of DHT. The DHT attaches to the hair follicles on the head and slowly inhibits their ability to take up nutrients.

Just like every other organ in our body hair needs an adequate supply of essential nutrients. If our diets are low in essential nutrients we get unhealthy, and in fact this is one of the major causes of ill health in our society. The same applies to our hair. It is known that the Western diet low in nutrients and high in sugar, salt and saturated fat, can lead to some form of hair loss independently of male pattern baldness.

But male pattern baldness specifically reduces the ability of hair follicles to absorb essential nutrients even if they are present.

Hair follicles that lack essential nutrients for hair growth become unhealthy, thin and will probably die prematurely. Those with male pattern baldness find that this results in a receding hairline and gradually approaching baldness. This is a result of the effect of DHT limiting the ability of the hair follicle to absorb nutrients and maybe exacerbated by a poor diet low in nutrients.

The lack of nutrients is caused or exacerbated by the DHT. Hair loss is the result. Therefore it makes sense that to reverse the problem it is important to stop or limit the effect of the DHT and to improve the nutrients available to the hair as well as improving the ability of the hair follicles to take up those nutrients.

There are two products approved by the FDA for use as hair loss treatments. One of these is called minoxidil. Minoxidil was originally designed to combat high blood pressure by means of dilating the blood vessels however it was also found in trials that those who are using minoxidil experienced an increase in hair growth. Further trials demonstrated effectiveness in promoting hair growth and minoxidil was approved for use as a baldness treatment.

The method by which it seems minoxidil operates is to promote hair growth because  it increases the blood flow to the hair follicles and thereby either increases the nutrients available or increases the ability of the follicle to absorb them, or both. Either way minoxidil has been shown to work to regain hair loss.

However as previously noted it makes sense to not only improve the ability of the hair follicle to take up nutrients but also to supply a complete range of essential nutrients to the hair. In this way the hair is able to improve its nutrient uptake from a whole range of essential nutrients.

One DHT hair loss treatment does this effectively. Provillus utilizes minoxidil as an active topical ingredient however takes this one step further by providing a range of other natural nutrients that supply all the essential vitamins and minerals that hair needs for optimum growth. This is combined with other natural products such as Saw Palmetto which has been shown to reduce the effects of DHT.

So if you’ve been looking for a good DHT hair loss treatment consider trying Provillus. Together with utilizing minoxidil it combats the effects of the DHT and provides essential hair nutrients as well. Like everything it doesn’t work for everyone, however if you’ve been worried about your advancing baldness it may well pay you to give it a try. Read the rest of this entry