What are the best treatments for male pattern baldness?

[frank]

What are the best treatments for male pattern baldness
Written By Judy Foreman on boston.com

There are two main approaches - hair transplantation or medications such as Rogaine and Propecia - but the best choice for an individual man depends on his age and the speed and degree of hair loss.

nullIn general, it's best to start with a drug treatment, said Dr. Sandy Tsao, a dermatologic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. When rubbed on the scalp, Rogaine, also known as minoxidil, helps hair regrow. The trouble is, significant hair regrowth only occurs in 3 to 5 percent of users, Tsao said, though the drug can stabilize hair loss.

A more effective drug is Propecia, a pill that is a low-dose (1 milligram) version of another drug, Proscar, which is used to treat benign prostate enlargement. Both Propecia and Proscar block the conversion of the hormone testosterone to its evil cousin, DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, which "shrivels hair follicles," said Dr ......

Read Complete Story: http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/03/03/what_are_the_best_treatments_for_male_pattern_baldness/

[htiuk]

I would say hair transplant wins against medication because at least its a ever lasting permanent solution with one off cost where as with medication you have to incur ongoing cost.

[Alexander]

I often see this question asked on the blogs and forums
"Which is the best treatment for hair loss"

I think this is the wrong question to ask!

I believe the right question is "Which is the best treatment for me"

We mustn't forget that we are all individuals, and what works brilliantly for one person just doesn't work for everyone. I was speaking to a guy who was using Propecia and it work perfectly for him and he had a great head of natural hair. He said he had no side effects at all with it. Other people I have spoken to have had to stop using Propecia because it wiped out their sex drive completely. I have also read on forums about (mainly young) guys who have tried a combination of Propecia, Minoxidil and herbal treatments all combined which made virtually no difference at all and they went bald within a couple of years.

Is it me, or does it seem like the younger you are the more aggressive the hair loss? I think it was Charles Darwin who said that Nature takes no account of cruelty.

What you have to do is to find the best hair loss product for you, and there is a lot of hair loss products out there to choose from. It is a bit like when you go to the doctors with something like blood pressure or asthma,there isn't just one best tablet, the doctor may have to try you on two or three different tablets before finding the one that works for you. In the end this might be a combination of two or three tablets together.

Hair loss treatments are just the same, you have to try a few to see which ones work for you. If one treatment does some good, but not enough good, then try adding another one until you find yourself using two or three products each with a different way of working. There is a quite a good article on another hair loss blog about this which is possibly worth looking at http://www.retaining-hair-health.com called mixing the perfect cocktail.

Hair loss products seem to work by either suppressing DHT or increasing blood flow to the scalp. Plus keeping yourself in good health and avoiding stress (both physical and mental) is always a good idea as stress definitely does accelerate the hair loss process.

So by trying anti-DHT product such as Propecia and combining it with a hair loss product which increases blood flow such as minoxidil plus say an anti hair loss shampoo (and there are lots to choose from, I've used American Crew, ProFusion and Schwartzkopf Bonacure - although I didn't rate the Schwartzkopf product, but I liked the other two) then you are approaching the hair loss problem from a number of sides with each product contributing its part to the overall effect.

You have to find out what works for you, rather than trying what someone else thinks is "The Best Treatment for hair loss".

[Alexander]

I forgot to add that hair transplants do seem to be getting better and better, but the problem with them is that the transplanted hair seems to survive really well, but the non-transplanted hair can continue to fall out, giving a patchy or unnatural appearance and requiring further transplants.

That said, they are so much better than the 'plugs' we used to see 10-15 years ago.

[mania]

I would say if you want to get rid of hair loss and recover your lost hair permanently then I would recommend fue hair restoration surgery in Islamabad would be the best option for you if you are living in Pakistan..