Hair loss is fiendishly difficult to counter because it is often the result of natural processes in the body. Case in point being androgenetic alopecia, also known as male-pattern baldness in men. Researchers have determined that this form of hair loss is related to hormones called androgens.
The chief culprit is dihydrotestosterone (DHT). As Harvard Health puts it, DHT acts on the skin, sometimes producing acne, and on the hair follicles, putting hair on the chest but often taking it off the scalp.
An enzyme called d 5-alpha reductase facilitates this process.
Fortunately, researchers have identified a number of remedies that disrupt this chain of events, hindering hair loss in the process.
Ginseng – a popular herbal remedy that grows in parts of Asia and northern America – has been shown to promote hair growth by inhibiting d 5-alpha reductase.
READ MORE: The simple, quick and effective activity you can do at home to stimulate hair growth
As compared to the finasteride-treated group, the ginsenoside-treated group showed 20 percent higher hair-growth rates as evidenced by increased number of hair follicles, epidermal thickness, and proportion of follicles in the anagen phase.
The anagen phase is the active phase of hair growth.
Conventional treatments
In addition to finasteride, minoxidil is commonly used to treat male pattern baldness.
According to the NHS, minoxidil can also be used to treat female pattern baldness but women shouldn’t use finasteride.
According to the NHS, synthetic wigs only last for six to nine months, are cheaper and easier to look after than real-hair wigs.
Real-hair wigs last three to four years and are more natural but are harder to look after than synthetic wigs and cost more.
While you weigh up your options, you may benefit from joining a support group, or speaking to other people in the same situation on online forums.
Try these online support groups:
- Alopecia UK
- Alopecia Awareness.