Hair loss is one subject I am passionate about probably because I have fought the hair loss battle for over a decade, and at least up until this point consider my efforts to have been a success. In this article I will offer my opinion as to whether or not a topical hair loss treatment alone will be enough to deliver significant results.
Topical treatment come in many different forms with the most popular being the wide array of hair care products containing either 2 or 5 percent minoxidil.
Minoxidil was originally approved as an oral medication for blood pressure but now is primary used as a topical treatment for androgenic alopecia (male or female pattern balding). Statically, it is said to re-grow hair 80 percent of the time but the truth of the matter is only about 15 percent of the time does the new growth resemble hair. In fact, it has more the look and feel of peach fuzz. On the other hand the success rate rises substantially when the goal is to protect existing hair.
The reason for the low success rate when it comes to quality hair re-growth is the way male and female pattern baldness attack the scalp.
The driving force behind these two common conditions is the androgen hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which attacks the small pouch like structure just below the scalp called a hair follicle. Over time DHT starts to shrink and destroy these tiny pouches making hair re-growth difficult at best and impossible at worst.
Even more troubling is that both male and female pattern balding are progressive conditions that gradually spread turning what might be initially perceived as an inconsequential problem into a full blow case of baldness.
If you are only using a topical hair loss treatment you are focusing on the areas where the most damage has been done. These types of products are not designed to be used as full scalp treatments rather to help slow balding around the crown. They also are not suggested for the front part of the scalp and make no claim to slow a receding hairline.
As you now know by using only a topical treatment for loss of scalp hair you likely will always be a little behind the curve. For this reason I believe an oral treatment is needed to protect and nourish areas which have yet to be impacted.
There are couple of different ways to go when it comes to oral hair treatments. Some believe saw palmetto alone (for men) will do the trick. I disagree with this belief. On the other hand when saw palmetto is combined with biotin, or other hair stimulating ingredients, the result tend to be better.
The oral hair re-growth formulas that have produced the best result for me are those in liquid form which encourage healthy blood flow and circulation to the hair follicle and scalp while offsetting any other underlying problems (such as thyroid inconsistencies) that might be contributing to loss of scalp hair. Some of the ingredients commonly found in these types of hair re-growth formulas are ginkgo, rosemary, prickly ash, yarrow, and eastern purple coneflower.
In conclusion, in my opinion the best formula for reversing hair loss is the combination of oral and topical treatments. That said, perhaps the most important message when it comes to slowing, and hopefully reversing, loss of scalp hair is to address the problem before it gets out of control since it is always easier to protect existing hair than it is to produce new quality hair growth.
Robert D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic consumer advocate for natural health and natural living with over 10 years experience in the field. To discover more about hair loss along with information about safe and effective all natural oral herbal and homeopathic hair re-growth remedies Click Here