Hair Replacement Alternatives

When you first notice you're losing your hair, it can be devastating, especially if you're still young. If you don't want to just let nature take its course, there are many options available for replacing hair. It's all a matter of determining which hair loss alternative makes you feel the best. Examine the many options and make a decision that's right for you.

Benefits

The main reason people choose a hair replacement alternative is to restore their confidence. Besides worrying about how you appear to others, hair replacement also gives more confidence on the job. Often men worry about how their hair loss appears to bosses and if they'll be replaced by younger men. On the other hand, a premature hair loss could mean not even landing a job, because an employer thinks you're older than you appear.

Types

Special vitamins such as combining key amino acids as vitamin B6 and E, biotin and zinc help thinning hair promote regrowth. However, this is usually a choice for people with thinning hair and not for those who want to regrow hair. If that's your goal, you may want to choose a hair loss treatment that targets hair loss and balding.
Topical medications such as Rogaine are popular. Also known as minoxidil, Rogaine is rubbed on the scalp twice daily, giving results in about two to four months. However, there are some side effects if you stop using it, including rapid heartbeat, dizziness, sudden weight gain, and chest pains, as well as swollen hands or feet and scalp irritation.
Wigs and weaves continue to be a popular choice, especially for women, if their hair loss isn't going to be helped with transplantation. However, they need much maintenance and should be done by someone who's skilled, as they can look artificial.
Transplanted hair, which is the only way to permanently restore hair, is a choice of men, particularly. This is usually a good option if their donor area is inadequate. It's your own hair, so you don't have to worry about wearing wigs.
Essential oils are placebo oils that are mixed with spices. They're a combination of carrier oils---grapeseed and jojoba---which are massaged daily into the scalp. Improvements are usually shown after about seven months of use with no side effects, although allergic reactions do occur in some people.
Oral supplements are also used to treat hair thinning and baldness. Most oral supplements have ingredients that try to stop hair loss by stalling the DHT hormone, which causes male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia). Propecia, taken as a pill, is an example of an oral supplement for hair restoration. Finasteride is an FDA-approved medication that slows hair loss while giving a small degree of hair regrowth. There are side effects such as rash, itching, hives, face problems and others.

Time Frame

Most hair loss treatments and prescriptions take about six months before their results become obvious, so patience is needed. There's no magic pill for an overnight miracle. Have a temporary plan of survival while waiting for hair to grow back, rather than being disappointed when results don't occur immediately.

Tips

To help stimulate hair growth, massage the scalp. This stimulates the hair follicles, unclogging blocked oil glands found in the scalp. Scalp massaging also leads to a healthy scalp as well as healthy hair growth. What's more, it feels good and relaxes you.

Warning

Don't be scammed. Many hair replacement treatments are not authentic, taking victims' money without delivering what they promise. Before agreeing to anything, you should thoroughly check out the company or product.

History

Although we may think hair replacement treatment is new, it's not. People have been using hair loss products for centuries, trying to stimulate hair regrowth. For example, in ancient Egypt it was fashionable to rub fats of animals as crocodiles, ibex, geese, serpents, hippopotamuses and others into the scalp as a hair loss solution.
In Greece, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, searched for a hair loss treatment during the fourth century B.C, developing various treatments such as his mixture of cumin, pigeon droppings, nettles and horseradish and applying them to the scalp. When all his brews failed, he gave up, settling for baldness. Men and women through the centuries have continued to be let down when hair loss treatments did not work.
During the Roman Empire era, Julius Caesar tried to hide his thinning hair using several methods. Besides wearing a laurel wreath, he initially grew his hair long, combing it forward over his bald area.