Androgenic alopecia, commonly known as hair loss, is an unwelcome and involuntary phenomenon. The cause of hair loss can be best understood by looking at normal hair growth. The cycle of hair growth is from 2 to 3 years. During this time each hair grows a little each month. The percentage of hair on your head that is in the growing stage is about 90 percent. The remaining 10 percent is in the resting phase, the hair in the resting phase does not grow, but “rests” for three months and then falls out. This is why we all lose some hair everyday.

Hair loss comes into the picture when the amount of shed hair becomes exaggerated. The sooner you begin treating hair loss, the more likely it is that you will be able to prevent it.

There are many ways to  treat hair loss. The methods below are FDA approved methods, but every body is unique, and will react differently to different treatments.

Rogaine, Regaine (trade name) contains Minodixil and is one of the methods of treating hair loss. It was first was used as a treatment for high blood pressure. The discovery that it increased hair growth led it to be marketed in the U.S. as a treatment for hair loss. Although scientists are not sure why Minodixil improves hair growth, its effectiveness is proven. Studies found treating hair loss with Minodixil is very efficient: a 5% mixture applied for 224 days amplified non-vellus hair counts.

Spironolactone, known on the market as Aldactone, Aldactazide, Spirotone, Verospiron or Novo-Spiroton, is a lactone drug, used for treating heart failure and ascites. Treating hair loss with Spironolactone is a good method for women. Spironolactone has an added bonus of treating acne.

Another way for treating hair loss is using Finasteride, commonly know on the market as Proscar, Fincar, Propecia, Finast, Finara, Finax, Finasterid Alternova. Studies on treating hair loss proved that using this synthetic drug orally, as a finasteride 1 mg pill, accomplished re-growth of hair. After a five-year study, scientists proved the effectiveness of treating hair loss with Finasteride: Half of those using the drug treatment observed progress in stopping hair loss, and the other half had re-growth of hair. Finasteride does have a drawback in that it is only effective while it is being taken; after stopping the drug, patients also lost their results.

For women, hormone replacement therapy would be another way of treating hair loss. This therapy is commonly recommended during menopause with a C-21 steroid hormone present in the menstrual cycle -  Progesterone – as pill and estrogens. These two are needed because they are missing or low in the body due to menopause.

Hair loss is a difficult problem which affects many people. Luckily, there are a number of treatments available and no reason why you should suffer or settle for hair loss. Talk to your doctor about available treatments and start re-growing your hair and/or stopping your hair loss, today.