How to deal with Hair Fall? Is Androgenetic Alopecia is cause of baldness?

Background

For hundreds of years, scientists are striving to propose universal treatments (that works for everyone) for several diseases, deficiencies and genetics leading to some abnormalities. Some of these are dreadful and can even lead to death, some are cause of extreme negative effects on overall confidence of a person. There are multiple causes involve in triggering these diseases or underlying causes of some abnormalities in human body. One of these abnormalities is baldness and hair fall (Androgenetic Alopecia (AGA) specifically, we will discuss this term later on this article), which 67.1% of men and 23.9% of women face, which the group of scientists found in a cross sectional study in Turkey. In this article, we will try to answer all the questions about hair fall and baldness. We will discuss, what is Androgenetic Alopecia and if it is responsible to hair fall and baldness. How we can deal with it?

Till here, after reading the above section you can clearly observe that our discussion will lead us to the topic of baldness (Androgenetic Alopecia (AGA specifically) and about hair fall, from here. And till the end you will get to know, how to deal with hair fall triggered by androgenetic alopecia and other similar types, for sure.

But first, for the readers it is mandatory to discuss and understand the types of baldness with symptoms so that we can further pursue this topic and possible treatments we can adopt. 

There can be multiple underlying causes for someone to get bald and experience hair fall and there are different identified types of baldness and hair fall, some are reversible with suitable treatments and some are unfortunately irreversible types of baldness. We will discuss here four major types of baldness/hair loss which majority of people faces in any phase of life. If you want to read more about different types and possible causes of baldness and hair fall, please read this article it is really helpful in understanding the types and causes of hair fall and baldness.

Common Type of Baldness/hair loss

Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common type of hair loss mostly in males but not specifically, affecting more than 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States. Commonly known as male pattern baldness or female pattern hair loss, Androgenetic Alopecia is hereditary but can be managed with medication (We will discuss the possible medications later on this article) or surgeries and treatments like PRP (Platelets Rich Plasma) or Hair Transplant.

Symptoms of Androgenetic Alopecia

In men, hair loss can begin any time after puberty (After 15 to 18 years in countries like Pakistan) and progress over the course of years or decades and can be fast in some cases. It starts above the temples of the head and continues around the perimeter and the top of the head, often leaving a ring of hair along the bottom of the scalp. Many men with male pattern hair loss eventually become bald and it is irreversible unfortunately. In women, hair slowly thins all over the scalp, but the hairline usually doesn’t recede. Many women experience this type of hair loss as a natural part of aging, although hair loss may begin at any time after puberty (After 15 to 18 years in countries like Pakistan). Female pattern hair loss can cause hair to thin dramatically, but not in all cases lead to baldness.

Identified Causes of Androgenetic Alopecia

The ‘AR’ gene provides instructions to make a protein called ‘Androgen Receptor’. Androgen receptors allows the body to respond appropriately to Dihydrotestosterone (The By-product of Testosterones) and other androgens. Studies suggest that variations in the AR gene lead to increased activity of androgen receptors in scalp and hair follicles. It is still unclear that how these genetic changes occur and how they increase the risk of hair loss in men and women with androgenetic alopecia.

For better understanding of Androgenetic Alopecia and its causes please consult this article it is really helpful along with possible evidences and research.

Till here, I hope you may understand, what are the possible causes of baldness and possible triggering reasons of it. Now it’s the time to discuss the possible treatments that include both natural/organic and other treatments you can adopt to stop androgenetic alopecia, also, is it totally stoppable and we will try to clear the misconception of using different types of oils to treat androgenetic alopecia.

What are the possible treatments of androgenetic alopecia?

If we keep our discussion very scarce, and without any misleading facts. Till now there are only three possible ways to stop androgenetic alopecia or male/female pattern baldness.

1.Minoxidil

Minoxidil is a topical solution to apply on your scalp twice a day naming Rogaine in western countries. This medication deals with Androgenetic Alopecia but not specifically. It is FDA approved treatment for hair fall. It is available in two potencies 5% and 2%. 5% is suitable for men and 2% is for women. Minoxidil is a vasodilator. You just have to apply it twice a day in the areas where you are feeling your hairs are thinning. And in result it will stop the process of baldness by targeting the cause (Androgenetic Alopecia)

Precautions:

Apply only five sprays or 1ml in each dose and twice a day don’t overdose. Your scalp should be clear and dry. You may experience increased hair fall in first month of use but it is totally normal. After three months you will start to experience increase in hair volume and new follicles will start to grow.

Warning:

Minoxidil should be handled with great care, you must consult with any dermatologist before using this medication it is not safe to use in pregnancy. Don’t use it if you have cuts and injuries on your scalp. Minoxidil is a promised treatment for Andgrogenetic Alopecial but with some possible side effects.

Read in more details about this medication here don’t use it without proper consultancy and knowledge.

From where I can get Minoxidil in Pakistan?

You can get minoxidil from any branch of Clinix Pharmacy it is OTC (Over the counter) medicine which you can easily purchase without any prescription. The brands may vary, Most probably you will get following brands

1. Minoxin
2. Hair Max

If you want to purchase it online, you can get it from

https://www.daraz.pk or visit any of the links below.

Minoxin®

https://www.naheed.pk/health-beauty/hair-care/hair-loss-products

2. Finesteride

The second one is finasteride, it is a tablet or capsule which you can use orally. It will stop the conversion of testosterones in to dihydrotestosterone which in result will stop hair fall/ Androgenetic Alopecia. It is another promised treatment for the type of baldness triggered by androgenetic alopecia.

Warning:

There can be some severe side-effects you can experience by using this medicine like erectile dysfunction in men.  

Please consult with your doctor and read this article before starting to use this medication.

3. PRP or Hair Transplant

Most Suitable treatment which everyone should give a try

Now if we talk about any natural and organic way to tackle with androgenetic alopecia so here is the time to discuss the options. The purpose of all these medications (Minoxidil) is to increase the blood flow or blood circulation in scalp which will dilute the blood stream with fresh blood and prevent the coupling or binding of dihyderotestosterones with scalp.

So, the alternate of Minoxidil I have found and have used is “Rosemary Oil”. If we say it a natural alternate of Minoxidil to prevent hair fall without any side effects, it will not be a wrong statement. I myself is an eye evidence of it. But first, please don’t confuse rosemary oil with other sticky oils like mustard oil. It is essential oil which gets soaked in your scalp within 15 minutes and in result increases the blood circulation on your scalp (Which in result stops hair fall). In a study in Iran, scientists have found it same effective as Minodil 2%. source

From where I can get Rosemary oil in Pakistan?

First, it depends upon your usage. Kindly consult with this article for effective use of rosemary oil

You can purchase rosemary oil online from https://daraz.pk by searching ‘Rosemary oil bio pharma’ it is pure therapeutic grade essential oil.

If you are a resident of a city like Lahore so you can get it from Stores like Alfateh under names Go-nautral 15ml packing and Co-Natural 10ml packing. You can purchase it online as well. From following links

Go-Natural

Co-Natural

Conclusion

Here I want to answer the question most of the baby boomers say “Ek bar Bal girna start ho gay to jo marzi kr lo dubara nahi ruktay” once your hair started to fall, it is impossible to stop it. The other one “Agar bachpan say sarso ka oil use kia hota to bal na girtay ab bal kamzor ho gay han is liay gir rahay han” U didn’t apply enough mustard oil in your hairs since childhood now your hair got weaker, where people don’t study about the possible underlying causes and start to put handfuls of mustard oil (mostly in Pakistan and India) on daily basis which make the hailfall even worse. These all are total misconceptions that once your hair fall started so it is impossible to stop it and if u put a lot of mustard oil so there are chances that you will get thicker hair again.  

Hair fall/ baldness is indeed a traumatic experience specially for a teenager and it is really hard to deal with it but is doesn’t mean that it is impossible to stop it (Hair Fall/ Androgenetic Alopecia) or it is your own fault that u didn’t apply enough mustard oil now your hair fall started. But I want to make it clear that using mustard oil or any other carrier oil to make your scalp hydrated is a good idea but it should be done on weekly basis, not daily. Keeping your hair follicles and strands wet, is not a good deal it will make your hair fall worse for sure. Just like in months of July, August in Pakistan when humidity level gets high and you experience sweaty sensation all the time. During these months most of the people experience increased hair fall due to the wet scalp.

Disclaimer:

Pardachaak is not taking any guarantee of results you may get by using any of these medications. It is your own responsibility to go for the treatment of your own choice we have just tried to make things (do’s and don’ts) a little clear for you and help you to understand the causes and treatments of baldness with proper references and proofs. Pardachaak is not responsible of any side-effects and outcomes of usage of any of these medications. Keep exploring. Share your experiences with us we read all your comments.