Hair loss can be a sensitive subject for many men and women. Women especially may have a hard time dealing with a lack of hair since it can be a sign of their femininity. Many women view their hair as their crowning glory, and men may see hair loss as a sign they are growing older before they want to, or that they are less masculine or virile than a man with a full head of hair. If you are someone who is having a hard time dealing with hair loss, you can relax and know that there are different options you can choose from to deal with the situation.
The most common type of hair loss in men, male pattern baldness, is actually an inherited condition that comes from the mother’s side of the family. It does not affect every male in a family that carries the male pattern baldness genes, but it is very common. Male pattern baldness causes hair loss in a very specific pattern. The hair in the middle of the head stops growing and this causes a patch in the middle of the head to go bald. It results in a ring of hair around the outside.
One way that many men try to treat their hair loss is through the use of the infamous “comb over”. A man will allow his hair to grow longer and then comb it from one side of the head over to the other. The theory is that the hair will sit over the bald spot and hide it. It is not the most effective means of hiding it and it can actually accentuate the fact that you are losing your hair. It is actually more attractive to trim the hair short rather than allow it to become long and unkempt looking.
Women can experience hair loss as well, although they usually lose their hair due to illness or a condition such as alopecia. Some women have the condition so severely that they can become completely bald. Their hair loss often does not follow any specific pattern and is often spread over the entire head. There are medicines, such as chemotherapy drugs that can cause hair loss in both men and women.
One common way for many people to treat hair loss is the use of drugs and lotions. These work at stimulating follicles that may have stopped producing hair, in an attempt to reactivate them. Different chemical formulations are used for men and women, and it is important that you select the right one for your gender. Women who are trying to become pregnant are warned against even handling opened packaging of men’s hair replacement lotions.
Plastic surgery can also be used to disguise or reverse hair loss. With male pattern baldness, hair grows thickly in a ring around the outside of the head. It is possible to extract individual hair follicles and transplant them in bald areas of the head. You can actually fill in bald spots over time. It is an expensive process but it can be worth it since it looks so natural. There is also a more radical hair transplant where a flap of skin is transplanted. Hair, blood supply and skin is all transplanted. You need to make sure that if you go with this approach the blood supply is undisturbed so that the tissue continues to grow well. There have been cases of men dealing with gangrene on their heads after a hair flap has died. This is dangerous as well as extremely unpleasant.
Hair creams and surgery will not work in some cases. If you suffer from a medical condition such as alopecia, there may not be enough hair to work with to transplant. If the hair has suddenly stopped growing, creams and lotions may not work. If hair loss is temporary due to medication use or medical treatments, you should look at a hair piece. This can be a toupee designed to cover a bald spot in a man, or a full wig for a woman. A hairpiece should look natural and be comfortable to wear since you will be wearing it for extended periods of time. You can buy human hair wigs that are comfortable and look more like real hair. You should know that they can be expensive, but if you are dealing with hair loss from cancer there are organizations which provide wigs to women undergoing radiation or chemotherapy.
If you are fighting hair loss, you should know about the different options available to you. Whether you choose a cream, hair replacement surgery or a hair piece, dealing with your hair loss has never been easier and the options keep increasing as medical research continues.
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