How Hair Loss Products Work

There are two basic types of products for hair loss and each uses a different mechanism for preventing hair loss or promoting regrowth. The common theme of both types of treatment is that they strive to allow the hair follicle to produce new, healthy hair. When the hair follicle is unable to produce new hair, baldness will occur.

Identification

Androgenic alopecia, which is typically referred to as male pattern baldness, is a result of two factors. The first is the presence of dihydrotestosterone in the body. Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, will shrink hair follicles, which not only prevents them from producing healthy hair, but also shortens the life cycle of each hair.

The second factor that plays a role in male pattern baldness is genetics, which in this case is simply who your parents are. While parents can't pass on DHT to their children, they can pass on hair follicles that are more easily affected by DHT.

Function

There are two drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat hair loss, Propecia and minoxidil. Propecia, which is a 1-mg finasteride tablet, works by preventing the conversion of testosterone into DHT in the scalp.
Minoxidil works by encouraging growth of the hair follicle itself and by extending the life of the follicle, which in turn prolongs the growing phase of the hair growth cycle.

Effects

Of the two hair loss treatment methods, preventing the formation of DHT in the scalp is the most effective of the two. A study conducted by the Department of Dermatology, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, School of Medicine, Etlik-Ankara, Turkey, found that 80 percent of the subjects receiving 1 mg of finasteride showed an increase intensity of hair, while 52 percent of those using a 5 percent minoxidil solution showed an increase. The study appeared in the Swiss journal "Dermatology" in 2004 and concluded that both were effective and safe hair loss treatments.

Considerations

Both treatments must be continued or any improvement in stopping hair loss or regrowing new hair will be lost. Merck, the manufacturer of Propecia, claims that if it is stopped you are likely to lose any hair gained within a year.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the makers of Rogaine, state that you will lose any benefit gained from minoxidil within three to four months.

Significance

Because the two leading hair loss products work differently, they tend to work better when used together. One study compared the progress of those using minoxidil alone, finasteride alone, finasteride and minoxidil together and finasteride and ketoconazole together.

The study was conducted by the Maulana Azad Meical College and Associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, India and appeared in the Aug. 2002 "Journal of Dermatology." The findings showed those taking finasteride and minoxidil together had the best hair growth, followed by those taking finasteride and ketoconazole. Subjects taking finasteride alone had the next best hair growth, while those using minoxidil alone showed the least improvement.