Hair Loss FAQs

Hair loss may be due to a number of factors, including genetics, age, poor nutrition and certain medical conditions or treatments. In cases where you have more than one contributing factor, the cumulative effect can be more severe hair loss.

The average person sheds between 50-100 hairs a day. If you’re noticing more significant hair loss, we can help you determine your level of hair loss and which treatment options are best for you.

Hereditary hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia, is the most common cause of hair loss. The condition occurs because of an inherited hormonal sensitivity passed down from either or both biological parents. For men, hereditary hair loss is often called male pattern baldness because it typically occurs in a predictable pattern. Generally, men experience a receding hair line beginning at the temples and/or thinning at the crown. The condition progresses to the point where the two balding areas meet and leave only a horseshoe-shaped band of hair around the sides and back of the head. Androgenetic alopecia is progressive for both men and women, meaning hair loss worsens over time.

Age is the second most common cause of hair loss. A natural part of the aging process, hair loss and thinning can occur when an increasing number of hair follicles go into the resting phase, while remaining hair becomes shorter and finer. This condition is called involutional alopecia.

Maintaining a well-balanced diet is essential to having strong, healthy hair. When you’re deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, it can cause you to experience hair loss. Eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, along with rapid weight loss or undergoing bariatric surgery, can also contribute to hair loss because the body is not receiving the vital nutrients it needs to function properly.

Below is a list of nutrients that are important for your hair:

• All the B Vitamins (particularly Biotin)
• Vitamin D
• Iron
• Zinc
• Protein
• Essential Fatty Acids

While everyday stress won’t, three types of hair loss are associated with high stress levels, including:

• Telogen effluvium, often occurring when there’s a sudden shock to the system like that experienced with childbirth, surgery, rapid weight loss or any major, traumatic event such as a death in the family, divorce or an accident
• Trichotillomania, a stress-induced impulse control disorder that drives people to pull out their own hair
• Alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that mistakenly attacks the hair follicles

Numerous medical conditions can, including:

• Thyroid disease
• Autoimmune diseases, including lupus
• Certain cancers
• Trichotillomania
• Anemia

Common medications and treatments for medical conditions can trigger hair thinning issues, including:

• Acne medications
• Antibiotics
• Oral contraceptives
• Cholesterol-lowering medications
• Epilepsy medications
• Beta-blockers for high blood pressure
• Blood thinners
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Antidepressants
• Chemotherapy and radiation to treat cancer
• Lithium
• Immune-suppressing drugs
• Steroids
• Thyroid medications
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Weight loss drugs
• Bariatric surgery

Treatment for male pattern baldness aims to prevent further hair loss and increase hair growth. Studies show the treatment:

• Prevents further hair loss in nine out of 10 men who stick with it
• Starts to produce results in as little as three months of continuous treatment
• Promotes new hair growth with long‐term treatment in two out of three men

You must use your products continuously for sustained results. If you stop taking the medicine, any results will begin to reverse within six months and will be lost by 12 months. If you are still experiencing hair loss after 12 months of treatment, further courses are unlikely to work.

Finasteride is a prescription hair loss drug. The medical term for what finasteride treats is androgenetic alopecia. It’s the most effective prescription treatment you can buy to treat male pattern hair loss.

Finasteride is a 5α-reductase inhibitor, and therefore an antiandrogen. It works by decreasing the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by about 70%, including in the prostate gland and the scalp.

Taking finasteride leads to a reduction in scalp and serum DHT levels; by lowering scalp levels of DHT, finasteride can maintain or increase the amount of terminal hairs in the anagen phase by inhibiting and sometimes reversing miniaturization of the hair follicle. Finasteride is most effective on the vertex but can reduce hair loss in all areas of the scalp.

Minoxidil was first introduced as an oral medication for the treatment of severe and recalcitrant hypertension in the 1970s. Coincidentally, physicians observed hair regrowth and generalized hypertrichosis in balding patients, which led to the development of a topical minoxidil formulation for treating androgenetic alopecia (AGA) first in male and then in female individuals. The 2% minoxidil solution was first launched in the market in 1986, followed by the 5% solution in 1993.

Minoxidil is a potent arteriolar vasodilator that opens potassium channels located on the smooth muscles of the peripheral artery, causing hyperpolarization of the cell membrane. The positive effect of minoxidil on hair growth is mainly due to its metabolite, minoxidil sulfate, and the enzyme responsible for this conversion is sulfotransferase, which is located in hair follicles and varies in production among individuals. There are two phenol sulfotransferases responsible for minoxidil sulfation in the human scalp, and patients with higher enzyme activity responded better to topical minoxidil than those with lower enzyme activity did.