My Hair is Falling Out: How Can I Stop It?

Joe and Matt are two 30-year-old men who are both experiencing hair loss, but the hair loss trends in their families are not the same.

Can you find the differences?

Joe started losing his hair at age 30. Joe’s dad started losing his hair at 28, and his grandfather, at 32.

Matt started losing his hair at 28, but at age 67, Matt’s dad still had a head full of luscious curls. Matt’s grandfather was laid to rest without a bald patch in sight.

Why do some men lose hair while others don’t? Why do some forms of hair loss seem to be passed down within families?

You and 50 million other men (and 30 million women!) https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/androgenetic-alopecia are likely asking the same questions. Let’s face it. Hair loss in men can be concerning, especially when it’s noticeable and unexpected.

It might surprise you to know that many factors can cause your precious strands to thin out or make a run for it:

You may also hear male pattern baldness called hereditary hair loss or androgenetic alopecia. (In women, these conditions are known as “female pattern baldness.”)

As the name suggests, male pattern baldness is a type of genetic hair loss. If you have male pattern baldness, chances are your father or grandfather do, too.

One of the genes responsible for hair growth in men and women is called the AR gene. This gene serves as your body’s blueprint for making androgen receptors. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/AR

When the AR gene changes, androgen receptors can change, and hair loss can occur.

It’s pretty simple to determine whether you have male pattern baldness. You might have guessed from the name that male pattern baldness follows a specific pattern:

This is one train you may not be so excited to be aboard. While there’s no sure-fire way to stop it forever, there are certainly treatment options that can help pump the brakes on hair loss.

Minoxidil (Rogaine) for hair loss treatment in men

Are your friends and family already bombarding you with the Rogaine jokes? Jokes aside, Rogaine (generic: minoxidil) has been shown to slow hair loss and may even promote new hair growth.

Rogaine is available in a topical solution or foam that you apply directly to your scalp. Potential side effects include scalp irritation, facial hair growth, or facial swelling.

Many men in your shoes opt for Rogaine since it’s easy to find. You can buy Rogaine over the counter without a doctor’s prescription.

However, there is an option that has been proven to slow hair loss better even better than Rogaine.

Finasteride (Propecia) for hair loss treatment in men

Finasteride was originally developed to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a disorder where the prostate becomes enlarged.

While researchers were investigating the effects of finasteride on men with enlarged prostates, they noticed that these men were also experiencing an unrelated side effect: hair growth.

They decided to pursue this unexpected turn of events and design clinical studies evaluating the use of finasteride for hair loss treatment. Following positive results, Merck got approval from FDA to also use finasteride for treatment of male pattern baldness.

Finasteride (brand name: Propecia) is now approved to treat male pattern baldness at a dose of 1 mg daily. Potential side effects include breast tenderness, reduced libido, and abnormal ejaculation. Use of this medicine may be associated with an increased risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer - a rare, but serious side effect.

Although finasteride requires a prescription, the substantial benefits over Rogaine might make it worth a try.

Finasteride works by blocking an enzyme that converts testosterone into a more powerful form of testosterone called DHT. In the scalp, DHT can cause hair follicles to shrink, which causes hair to fall out.

Taking finasteride reduced DHT levels by as much as 60%, and over 85% of men in clinical trials noticed that their hair loss stopped. Sixty-five percent of men in the clinical studies also experienced an increase in hair growth.

For this reason, finasteride is considered the best first-line option for treating male pattern baldness.

Fortunately, Lemonaid’s hair loss service https://www.lemonaidhealth.com/faq#hair_loss makes it quick and convenient for you to find out if finasteride might be right for you!

Things you can do online:

As long as you have an internet connection you can visit LemonaidHealth.com and use our hair loss service.

• Answering a few simple health questions from our team of US based and licensed doctors and nurse practitioners
• Taking photos of your hair loss from different angles so they can make a proper diagnosis
• Having a short video visit with one of our doctors or nurse practitioners

Our doctors or nurse practitioners will review your info, determine whether you have male pattern hair loss, and make sure it’s safe for you to take finasteride.

Then they’ll write a prescription and send it to your local pharmacy!

In a nutshell, Lemonaid takes care of diagnosis, treatment, and convenient medication delivery, so why wait to begin treating your hair loss?