Are There Any Foolproof Methods Available For Hair Loss Treatment?

Despite the fantastic claims made by the makers of many hair loss products, there is no foolproof method to treat hair loss. Propecia, the most common hair loss treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, slowed hair loss in 86 percent of men during clinical trials. Combining several proven treatments together has also shown better results than using one treatment alone.

Finasteride

Finasteride was the second drug approved by the FDA to treat hair loss and is the most widely used treatment around. According to the American Hair Loss Association, finasteride is the first drug to work on male pattern hair loss in the majority of users. Still a prescription-only product, finasteride works by preventing the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, will attach to hair follicles, causing them to shrink in size.

Minoxidil

Minoxidil is an effective hair loss product due to its ability to promote larger hair shafts and extend the hair growing phase. The first product to be approved by the FDA as a hair loss treatment, minoxidil is available as an over-the-counter product.

Nizoral Shampoo

Nizoral shampoo is the final product in what is often referred to as the Big 3 hair loss products. The active ingredient in Nizoral is ketoconazole and Nizoral is available with 1 percent ketoconazole as an over-the-counter product or a 2 percent prescription product. Nizoral works by reducing DHT in the body and is generally used every third day as a hair loss product.

Dutasteride

Dutasteride has not received FDA approval for a hair loss treatment, but it has been widely tested. Some tests, such as one conducted by E.A. Olsen at Duke University Medical Center, show that subjects receiving 2.5mg of dutasteride daily showed better results than those taking 5mg of finasteride. The results, published in the December 2006 "Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology," compared after 12 weeks of treatment and after 24 weeks. Those taking dutasteride had lower DHT counts and an increase in hair count.

Combination Treatment

Because minoxidil and finasteride work differently, researchers at the Maulana Azad Meical College and Associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, India, conducted a study to see how patients would respond to simultaneous treatments compared to just one. Patients were broken into four groups, with two using minoxidil or finasteride alone, one using finasteride and minoxidil and one using finasteride and ketoconazole. The results appeared in the Aug. 29, 2002 issue of "Journal of Dermatology" and showed that the group using minoxidil and finasteride had the most improvement, followed by the group taking finasteride and ketoconazole.