Very little affects a man’s self-esteem as hair loss does. A plague that infects indiscriminately, hair loss causes psychological damage as much as it causes physical. Losing your hair at any age makes a person feel unattractive, less confident, and insecure. More or less, every culture across the globe associates nice, prominent hair with youth and health – which means that not having it puts you in the bracket with the elderly and infirm. The effects of it can be devastating, but they don’t have to be – there is a treatment for hair loss.
While hair loss is usually associated with the elderly, people of all ages can suffer from it. Often lifestyle changes, diet, and medications are pointed to as the culprit, but in actuality, it is most commonly caused by a sensitivity to a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is a byproduct of testosterone that binds to tissues in organs, skin, and hair follicles. The binding to hair follicles is where DHT can cause an issue in men that are genetically susceptible to male pattern baldness. If a man’s genetics point in a direction that indicates baldness, the DHT his body produces binds to the receptors in the hair follicles so much that the follicles themselves shrink and eventually die. If this happens, hair refuses to grow, and the embarrassing lack of strands begins to affect the man’s life.
Should a man find himself suffering from the affliction that is male pattern baldness, he would most likely do anything to cure it. With hair loss, your entire life becomes affected as your self-esteem plummets. There are shampoos, medications, and various ‘natural’ remedies that promise to help regrow lost hair, but the reality is you need a medical expert’s help in order to restart your hair growth. Fortunately, science has progressed to the point where we can pinpoint the cause to DHT, and create what’s called a ‘blocker’ to prevent it from affecting hair. Blockers are now available in many forms, the most common of which are either a topical solution that focuses solely on the exterior of the hair follicles or an oral medication that prevents DHT production from the inside out.
DHT production cannot (and should not) be stopped altogether, but medication prevents it from afflicting areas that it shouldn’t. A body needs DHT for the liver and prostate, but blockers prevent DHT from reaching hair follicles without sacrificing it from the areas where the body needs it to be. The good news is, once you begin DHT treatment, your hair loss will be halted. The bad news is it takes some time to help with regrowth, so it won’t be an overnight fix. Despite the time it takes (approximately two years to see significant regrowth), this treatment will help mitigate the damage which hair loss does to men of all ages.
