What are the effective ways to overcome baldness?

Baldness (alopecia) is a condition when the amount of hair loss exceeds a reasonable limit. As a result, too much hair is lost than does hair grow. No need to worry, there are various ways to overcome baldness by growing bald hair.

How to deal with baldness?

Growing bald hair is not as easy as it sounds. It is difficult to even lengthen normal hair, let alone treat problems that cause hair loss.

Actually, there are various ways to overcome baldness that you can do. However, this baldness treatment will depend on the type of alopecia you are experiencing, your age, and the level of hair loss.

The main purpose of this treatment is to block the attack of the immune system and stimulate hair growth. Some people have benefited from this choice of medication for baldness, especially for those with less severe conditions.

1. Topical Minoxidil

Giving minoxidil, especially topically, is one of the drugs for baldness that is quite effective in growing hair. This drug that can be obtained freely is applied to the scalp once or twice a day at a dose of 5 percent.

This topical minoxidil helps stimulate hair growth on the scalp, eyebrows and beard. When used alone, the results are not very effective.

That is why doctors will usually prescribe topical corticosteroid drugs to speed up the healing process. The advantage of this drug is that it is relatively easy to use and does not have serious side effects.

Believe it or not, Minoxidil was used to treat high blood pressure problems. However, now the FDA has approved its use to treat baldness, especially in men.

Even so, topical minoxidil is usually only used for moderate alopecia areata. When it is severe, it will be difficult to grow bald hair with Minoxidil.

2. Antralin cream

Apart from minoxidil, another topical drug used to treat baldness is anthralin cream. Antralin is a synthetic substance that resembles tar and is commonly used to treat scalp psoriasis.

This cream is quite often used as a medicine to treat alopecia areata. This is evidenced by research published in JAAD Case Reports.

The researchers reported that antralin works to suppress inflammation from the hair follicles to the epidermis. This appears to help stimulate faster hair growth, especially when used together with calcipotrients.

Even so, further research is still needed to identify the advantages of antralin cream in overcoming baldness, especially alopecia areata. The reason is, this baldness drug can irritate the skin and change the skin color to brown temporarily.

3. Corticosteroids

If the baldness you experience is caused by inflammation in the hair follicles, corticosteroids may be the solution to your problem. You see, corticosteroids are thought to reduce inflammation around the hair follicles.

A number of studies have shown that topical steroid drugs are quite useful in treating hair loss. In fact, there is an increase in the number of hair strands growing by about 25%.

Meanwhile, oral corticosteroids are sometimes prescribed by doctors to reduce severe hair loss. It aims to suppress the activity of the disease causing this condition and tries to stimulate hair growth.

Although quite effective, corticosteroid pills are not often given by doctors to treat baldness. The reason is, the use of oral corticosteroids for a long time can cause certain side effects.

Therefore, always consult with your doctor to ensure the benefits and risks of using corticosteroid pills according to your condition.

4. Finasteride and dutasteride

The next way to deal with baldness is to take finasteride pills which can be obtained by prescription. This drug, which is used to grow bald hair, is usually given to men and prevents the growth of dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

DHT is a hormone that functions to shrink the hair follicles on the head. Meanwhile, finasteride blocks the formation of hormones and slows down the baldness associated with DHT.

Although it is good for a bald head, you must be prepared for the consequences of using this anti balding drug, especially Finasteride because its side effects affect sexual life.

Finasteride can reduce your libido and cause other sexual problems. But take it easy, because the percentage is quite small. In addition, these side effects are rare and generally occur on a temporary basis.

Baldness experienced by men can also be treated by taking dutasteride pills. Its role is not much different from finasteride and is also included in the 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitor drug class.

5. Topical immunotherapy

One type of therapy that is quite effective and often recommended by doctors to treat baldness is immunotherapy that is given topically. This baldness treatment can treat all three types of baldness, namely alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, and alopecia universalis.

Immunotherapy consists of various chemicals, such as:

• Diphencyprone (DCP),
• Dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), and
• Squaric acid dibutyl ester (SADBE).

The three chemical compounds are applied to the scalp. This remedy for baldness needs to be used for a long time to maintain hair growth.

However, side effects such as skin redness, itching, and a rash where it is applied frequently occurs quite often. You can only get this treatment through a dermatologist's prescription.

Can hair transplant be one way to deal with baldness?

In addition to medicines from doctors or those that are sold freely, baldness can also be treated with hair grafts or transplants. How does it work?

Hair transplant is a surgical procedure to correct baldness. This procedure involves removing hair from the scalp and hair follicles from the hair-heavy areas onto thinning or bald hair.

This technique can give the forehead and top of the head a natural look. Most patients need several operations to get satisfactory results.

It should be noted that patients undergoing hair grafts should have thick hair on the back or sides of the scalp. It is intended that it is simply transferred to the bald area of ​​the skin.

This method of dealing with baldness also has a success rate based on the number of follicles for healthy hair after surgery. Although it can treat bald hair permanently, hair transplants are quite expensive and can have various risks, such as:

• hair follicles die after surgery, so new hair can't grow,
• unnatural look with imperfect hair patterns,
• excessive bleeding, and
• scar.

That is why, you are advised to always consult a dermatologist about treatments for baldness. In addition, caring for the remaining hair is also important so that it is not damaged and falls out quickly.