Alternative treatments for hair loss - Hair Loss & Hair Transplant Surgery Guide

Many men can be seriously affected by losing their hair. It is a completely natural process, however it can affect some people more than others. One option to try and restore hair is a surgical hair transplant. This option may seem viable for some but the price tag of around £5000 is enough to make it unrealistic for many, plus its results are not guaranteed. A cheaper option are treatments such as Finasteride although once again, this "solution" cannot guarantee that hair will actually grow back; it is all very much dependent on the individual.

If you can identify with the above and are at a loss as to what to do about your hair loss, there are other options available to you. They cannot be relied on entirely and their success is extremely variable but they may just be worth a try. These alternative remedies range from acupuncture to herbs and from all the discussed interventions, there have been cases of success (but not all of the time). Not only may they help with hair loss, but also many of the treatments can have additional benefits that can improve your general well being and health.

Herbal Remedies

There are a number of herbal treatments that claim to stimulate hair to grow. Everywhere you look for herbal remedies you will be bombarded with an extraordinary amount of different herbs and recipes that each claim to benefit you with both boosting hair regrowth as well as often improving your overall health. One such concoction is washing your hair with a mixture of sage tea and cider vinegar complemented with a further rinse with chamomile. Alternatively, you may wish to try using licorice extract as this is sometimes claimed to be a herb useful to halt the loss of hair.

It would take hours for you to sift through all the possible herbal options so here is a list of those herbs that are claimed by a number of sources to help prevent hair loss and sometimes stimulate regrowth.

• Aloe Vera – This particular herb is common in many products found in everyday products on the market. It has been used for hundreds of years to keep hair in good condition whilst inhibiting hair loss. The actual method of use in terms of preventing hair loss varies. One option is just simply massaging some aloe vera gel into the scalp each night whereas another is to mix the gel with coconut milk and wheat germ oil to formulate a shampoo.
• Nettle Root Extract – This particular option is available as the extract itself but it more commonly found as a capsule. Nettle root is said to contain a number of important minerals, lipids and vitamins, especially vitamins A and C. The lipids and minerals apparently act together to boost the health and activity of hair follicles so hair regrowth is subsequently stimulated. It is also claimed by some that its effectiveness can be increased if used in conjunction with Saw Palmetto.
• Saw Palmetto Extract – A very common cause of male hair loss is the increased conversion of testosterone to a chemical called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the scalp. Saw Palmetto Extract it believed to inhibit the production of dihydrotestosterone and therefore prevents the loss of hair. If you are female, however, you should avoid Saw Palmetto if you take oral contraceptive pills or are pregnant or nursing.

Procerin

The way that Procerin claims to work is not dissimilar to Saw Palmetto Extract. Procerin is a product available from various online outlets as either a tablet or topical lotion. It is made up of various herbs rather than drugs and chemicals, which makes it available without prescription. As mentioned, Procerin acts similarly to Saw Palmetto Extract in that it also inhibits the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT overproduction is strongly linked to a condition labelled androgenetic alopecia, which is the primary cause behind male hair loss.

Procerin's effectiveness is highly debated and is very much subject to individual experiences as for some it proves very successful whereas in other cases, it seems to have no effect. You are deemed a prime candidate for Procerin if you are aged between 18-35 and/or still have actively growing hair (where your hair is growing quicker than it is being lost).

Indian Head Massage

There are a couple of ways in which an Indian Head Massage is linked with preventing hair loss and even boosting regrowth. The primary association is due to the massage increasing the flow of blood to the scalp. This strengthens hair follicles and can supply the appropriate nutrients while removing waste. Together, this apparently improves the functioning of the hair cells so there are able to grow and renew more efficiently.

A more alternate approach as to why an Indian Head Massage may have an influence on hair growth and renewal. This is due to some hair loss cases being caused by stress. The massage can help relieve stress and calm an individual down and in theory this prevents hair loss.

In India it is very common practice for this style of massage to take place after a hair cut and help keep the hair healthy throughout an individuals life. The massage itself is often a mix of acupressure, shiatsu and massage methods that are focussed mainly on the scalp, neck, shoulders and sometimes the face.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture exploits the fact of bad blood circulation in the scalp being a key contributor to hair loss. The method of acupuncture involves small sterile needles into the scalp in particular areas to try and improve the flow of the blood and consequently boost the growth of hair. Although this treatment has been shown, in some cases, to improve hair growth it has not exhibited the ability to totally reverse or stop hair loss.

Acupuncture does not have any known adverse effects, which is a great benefit to this method of hair loss control. It can be trialled for individual effectiveness without subjecting the client to any harm and it may even provide an overall positive effect on the individual's wellbeing. Also, it the majority of cases where acupuncture is being undertaken as a way to prevent hair loss, it is used in conjunction with Chinese herbal remedies.

Adjustments to everyday life

There are some options available that can be undertaken in everyday life to try and prevent hair loss. These generally lie around the idea of improving your overall lifestyle by making it more healthy and stress-free. One potential alteration that can be made is the broadening of your diet to include more categories of food, especially fresh foods such as oranges and fresh fish. Another potential change to your diet that may help is by drinking Green Tea as opposed to traditional English Tea. This particular change is said to be beneficial as Green Tea contains catechins that some consider a key inhibitor of dihydrotestosterone, an important chemical that causes some cases of hair loss.