The easiest way to “cure” male pattern baldness is through the use of topical medications or pills. But you have to start early before the hair is already completely gone, warns Dr. Todd Minars of Minars Dermatology, based in Hollywood, Florida. Here, he discusses how these two types of treatment actually work.
Male pattern baldness is incredibly common. It is hereditary, though not necessarily from your mother’s father, which is what the old wives’ tales say. It can strike someone at any age. Men lose their hair because they are programmed genetically to do so. It happens because testosterone is converted to DHT, or dihydrotestosterone. If you have no testosterone, you do not go bald.
Different Types of Treatments
Two treatments for male pattern baldness seem to be most effective:
- Topical treatments: Rogaine or Monoxydil, which originally was a blood pressure medicine. They discovered accidentally that it also grows hair. Now they use it as an over-the-counter topical mediation. I usually have everyone use five percent. It’s effective, but as it is an oily substance which has to be rubbed on the scalp twice a day not everyone is going to use it.
- Oral medication: The second medicine we prescribe at Minars Dermatology is called Propecia. It was originally used at a higher dose for enlarged prostates. Then people in the medical profession noticed that men were growing hair as a result of taking it. Propecia works by blocking the conversion of testosterone to DHT. The mechanism here is that the hormone DHT seems to be responsible for the expression for male pattern hair loss. So if you can eliminate the DHT, you can eliminate hair loss from being delivered to the follicle.
How We Bald
Hair follicles do not just disappear. The normal hair size becomes miniaturized under the influence of DHT. These miniature hair follicles produce miniature hairs which you cannot see. Eventually, the hair follicles will die and stop producing hair. But if you catch this process during the first few years, you can turn miniaturized hair into normal hair. With Propecia, it looks like you are growing new hair, but the miniaturized hair is actually going from invisible to visible.
Some people worry that Propecia has sexual side effects like erectile dysfunction. But studies have shown that the side effects are the same with a low dose as they are with a placebo dose. However, neither topical nor oral treatments work for everyone. They seem to work better if you catch the hair loss in the first few years. And they also tend to work better when you are thinning on top rather than when you are receding in the front.
Propecia needs to be taken for at least six months to see effect, and most men say it at least stops the process, if not “reverses” it (by making the hairs appear visible). Some worry that they will lose the hair created by Propecia if they stop taking it. But most men who stopped using it after many years did not see this happening.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
