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How To Prevent Balding

Last Updated on February 4, 2022

How To Prevent Balding

Are you experiencing balding and want to avoid any further hair loss?

Well, you’re not alone. Thinning hair or male pattern hair loss can be a serious blow to your self-esteem so it’s only natural to want to know if there are any hair loss treatments or products that promote hair growth.

Firstly, to tackle permanent or temporary hair loss you need to figure out what is causing it. We’ve helped you out with this too in our article what causes balding?

After you know what can lead to hair loss, you stand a much better chance at reversing the process, or halting it before it becomes a problem and hopefully, stimulate hair growth.

Treating hair loss isn’t always a possibility though so you have to be prepared for the situation where you have to endure significant hair loss.

While it’s ideal to find a method in which you can encourage hair growth, you shouldn’t be too put off by the idea of losing hair as there are many ways to deal with it.

The best and easiest is to rock the look. For guys especially a bald head can make you look more masculine and save time with styling hair in the morning. But, there are also wigs and the choice of having a hair transplant if you really can’t deal with the bald look.

Read on and you’ll be equipped with all the tips, tricks, and vital facts you need so you can hopefully treat hair loss or postpone any noticeable thinning.

Let’s begin.

Lifestyle Changes

Smoking

We all know smoking has harmful effects on our health so hearing that it can affect hair loss seems a bit like an over-exaggerated anti-smoking campaign. But in fact, it’s quite true. A 2020 study found that the majority of men who smoked had some amount of hair loss, compared with less than half of the participants who didn’t smoke. To prevent hair loss, it may be worth cutting back just to be on the safe side.

Diet

A variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, unsaturated fats, and lean proteins in your diet will work to promote natural hair regrowth. Certain vitamins and minerals found in food have been found to be associated with healthy hair. Some of these include: iron-rich foods, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, high-protein foods, and of course drinking enough water is vital for pretty much all aspects of health.

Exercise and Meditation

Stress can put hair follicles in a resting stage for considerably longer than normal, so they no longer grow, this is normally referred to as telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium typically does not lead to baldness but there are exceptions so managing stress levels is a medically reviewed way to slow hair loss or outright prevent it. The easiest ways to manage the stress that you can start immediately include meditation and working out.

Be Wary Of Heat

Heat is another one of the many causes of hair loss as it strips the hair follicles of their natural oils which cause dryness and inflammation. If you’re desperate to avoid male pattern baldness then turn down the heat on your showers as well as your blow dryer. blow dryers are especially prone to damaging hair if not used properly. Check out how to blow dry men’s hair for more info.

 

Medications For Hair Loss Treatment

Minoxidil

Minoxidil was originally created to treat high blood pressure but it was found to have a side effect of excessive, unwanted hair growth giving companies the idea to use it as a hair loss treatment for male pattern baldness.

It’s not certain how the drug works but it’s thought to widen the hair follicle, causing a thicker strand of hair to grow and making hair density appear more full.

In addition, minoxidil appears to prolong the growth period of hair, which results in longer hair and a higher number of hair strands. When used properly, minoxidil has been shown to be safe and effective.

Minoxidil is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in males and females. However, minoxidil is used off-label for other hair disorders, such as alopecia areata, scarring alopecia, and hair shaft disorders.

Side Effects:

  • – skin irritation and redness
  • – hair shedding
  • – itchy, yellow, or white scales on the scalp
  • – allergic contact dermatitis
  • – excessive hair growth, including on the face in some females
Finasteride

Finasteride is a treatment for the specific type of male pattern baldness that appears at the crown and middle of the scalp. The drug is only suitable for adults and is not suitable for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or children.

It was originally created to treat prostate cancer as it decreases the amount of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the scalp. DHT appears to cause hair follicles in the scalp to become thinner, so reducing DHT levels may promote hair regrowth and slow hair loss, hence its use as a hair loss treatment.

Unlike minoxidil, finasteride does not affect hair growth in other parts of the body and is available in both topical and oral forms. It does, however, take around 3 months for any visible changes.

Some side effects of finasteride include:

  • – erectile dysfunction
  • – depression
  • – decreased ejaculate volume
  • – decreased libido

Other Hair Loss Treatments

Hair Transplant

A hair transplant involves removing hair follicles from the back of the head, where they are resistant to DHT, and placing them on the scalp. As with any surgery, hair transplants carry the risk of complications. Some risks of hair transplant surgery include bleeding and wide scars.

Wig

If the hair loss you’re experiencing isn’t reversible then there are ways to mask the fact that you have no hair. One of the oldest and most effective methods is to wear a wig or hairpiece.

This idea may sound off-putting but in recent years wigs and hairpieces have advanced enormously and are very hard to spot unless you know what you’re looking for.

Plus, if you didn’t already know, if baldness is caused by a medical condition, the cost of a wig may also be covered by a person’s insurance provider. It is important to check insurance coverage before purchasing a wig.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you regrow balding hair?

Regrowing hair on a bald spot is usually possible but it all depends on the cause of balding. You may need to try more than one type of treatment to get the results you want.

Should I just shave my head?

If you have a receding hairline or are starting to lose a significant amount of hair with no foreseeable way of countering it then you can potentially just speed up the process and shave your head. For men especially, a bald head usually looks much better than a head with patches of hair. If you want some tips for shaving your head then check out our article on how to shave your head as well as our buyer’s guide on the best head shaver.

At what age does balding start?

Hair loss, or alopecia, can start at almost any age as you enter adulthood. You can start losing your hair as early as your late teens and early 20s although this is rare and usually down to genetics.

But you might have a full head of hair with almost no thinning or balding until well into your 50s and 60s. Generally, you can tell how much hair you’ll have later in life by looking at your family members as hair loss has a big genetic factor. However, there are also other causes of hair loss that can be worked around and avoided in some cases.

What are the best products for hair regrowth?

Hair regrowth is tricky but there are some quality products out there that many have found helpful in their efforts to prevent hair balding. If you want some of my recommendations then check out my guide to the best men’s hair regrowth.

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