QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Firstly, it all depends on the problem and the severity of the problem, as well as how quickly the treatment is started. Secondly, the bitter truth is that you can’t grow hair quickly, regardless of the treatment method. Why? It’s all about the hair growth cycle…

The hair growth cycle has 3 main phases: anagen – the growth phase (from 2 – 3 years to 5 – 6, less often – 8 – 10 years), catagen – the resting phase (2 – 3 weeks) and telogen – the hair loss phase (about 3 months). After the hair enters the phase of hair loss (telogen), it cannot be “brought back”, it will fall out in any case – within the next 3 months. In its place immediately or after some time will grow a new hair, which will take time to grow to a certain length. Hair length and growth rate are genetically predetermined, and we cannot significantly influence any of these factors.

• reduce the degree of hair loss, making the “hair fall” less intense;
• create more favorable conditions for regrowing hair;
• stimulate the growth of those hairs that are slow to grow.

Even – to some extent – to help grow longer hair and speed up its growth a little. The key word is a little. Conclusion – we can not significantly affect the speed of hair regrowth. However, if we start treatment in time, we can get by with more gentle (and less expensive) means, compared to the situation when treatment is started in the neglected stage of the thinning process.

The cost of treatment depends primarily on the problem to be treated.

The most common cause of hair loss and thinning is androgenetic alopecia (AGA), which is hair loss of both male- and female-patterns. This problem is chronic – that is, it cannot be solved once and for all, and if left untreated, the hair thinning process will progress.

Therefore, the treatment consists in maintaining the condition of the hair through the regular use of medications that:

prevent thinning and hair loss, and restore hair growth (if the process has already begun).

The main method of treatment for chronic hair problems is, first of all, regular rubbing of external preparations (lotions, tonics) into the scalp.

The AGA medication for local treatment with proven efficacy is minoxidil, it belongs to medicinal products and in the event of androgenetic alopecia is prescribed for a long period of time.

It is advisable to consult a specialist before using minoxidil to establish if you really need it. It is better to prescribe and cancel it (if necessary) under the control of a specialist, the medication has a withdrawal syndrome and you should weigh all the pros and cons before prescribing it.

Minoxidil is a relatively inexpensive medicine, the cost of a bottle for 1 month can start from 700-900 rubles. At the same time, in pharmacies, clinics and salons, on the Internet there are a lot of medications for hair treatment, which are much more expensive.

What is it?

The price of the medicine depends on the ingredients that are used instead of or in addition to minoxidil.

In the initial stages of AGA and telogen hair loss (THL), minoxidil-like or alternative hair growth stimulants can be used. They are milder than minoxidil – the effect is less pronounced, but withdrawal is also easier.

Minoxidil is often combined with additional growth stimulants to increase its effectiveness. Otherwise, as with many monomedications, it may become “addictive” and reduce its effect.

A specialist can prescribe both a medicine containing minoxidil and additional hair growth stimulants in one bottle, and – in addition to minoxidil – other medications with alternative stimulants.

Additional means in the treatment of AGA include also antiandrogens (prescribed orally or externally).

Often with androgenetic alopecia we observe seborrhea, dandruff, inflammation around the hair follicles, and this also worsens hair growth. In this case, drugs with antiseborrheic anti-inflammatory action are added to the treatment.

The impact should be complex and act on different stages of pathogenesis – on different levels of development of the process.

The outcome of treatment depends

• on the problem itself and its severity,
• how early the treatment is started,
• individual sensitivity to the ingredients in the medication.

What about treatments?

This is a good addition, that is, they can be used together with medications for self-treatment, but not instead. Procedures such as PRP – autoplasmotherapy, laser therapy have proven their effectiveness in stimulating hair growth, and are included in the international guideline. They have proven themselves best when used in conjunction with hair growth stimulants (minoxidil, etc.).

These procedures can be quite expensive, but they are used as an additional, not the main method of treatment.

Procedures such as acupuncture (acupuncture), ozone, carboxytherapy have been shown to be effective in reducing hair loss, signs of inflammation and manifestations of seborrheic dermatitis. They are also an additional method of therapy and increase its effectiveness.

As for other frequent causes of hair loss other than AGA, they are autoimmune diseases (patchy, scarring forms of alopecia) and telogen hair loss.

In autoimmune diseases in therapy glucocorticosteroids, cytostatics, biological medicines, as well as various hair growth stimulators are used. Treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a dermatologist, while the presence of systemic processes (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus) may require hospitalization, observation by related specialists, such as rheumatologist, endocrinologist and others.

Telogen hair loss (THL) is most often reactive – it occurs as a reaction to some factor.

In some cases it can be eliminated (for example, if there is a deficiency of protein or iron), but this factor cannot always be corrected (this is the case with hair loss associated with exacerbation of chronic somatic or endocrine disease).

In some situations, the trigger of hair loss has had its effect and disappeared – this is the case with diseases with high fever, acute stress, taking or canceling a number of medicines, etc.

In the case of THL, after examination, the cause of hair loss is corrected – if possible – and in parallel, the use of external remedies is started to reduce the degree of loss, minimize inflammation and seborrhea (if these signs are present), and to create more favorable conditions for regrowing hair.