Men Hair Loss

With over 50 years of history,  PHYTO has been the go-to brand for many customers who face hair loss. With our years of expertise in this field, we can say that the 2 most common hair loss we see over the years is – Reactive Alopecia & Androgenetic Alopecia. This article will focus on Androgenetic alopecia.

Androgenetic Alopecia is a progressive reduction in hair volume. In other words, your hair follicles gradually shrink and produce hair strands that are slightly finer and shorter with each passing hair growth cycle. Most men suffer from this and a small percentage of women as well.

Another problem we often see when you are suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia, is that the normal Anagen lphase of 2-6 years becomes shortened to just 6 months. So not only is your hair cycle shortened drastically, the hair you are growing is like baby fine hair. Just when it feels like all hope is lost, we want you to know that there are many options out there that can help you, do not worry!

First, let’s find out what are the main causes of Androgenetic Alopecia.

1) DHT – Dihydrotestosterone. 

Our body produces DHT as a by-product of testosterone through the 5α-Reductase enzyme (5α-Reductase converts a certain percentage of your testosterone into DHT in tissue such as hair follicles). DHT can bind to receptors in your hair follicles and cause them to shrink, weaken and eventually die. This process leads to a complete end of hair growth in DHT-affected hair follicles. DHT is the primary hormone responsible for hair loss in men, the most effective way to slow down and prevent hair loss is to block DHT. In order for your hair loss treatment to work, you need to find one that inhibits DHT. 

2) Overactive sebaceous glands. 

When it’s overly active, there will be problems like clogged pores and bacteria proliferation and inflammation, just like how acne comes about on our face.. Imagine the entire scalp with this problem? This can lead to hair loss.

 

3) Aging and Hereditary is another cause for hair loss.

 

Slightly debatable as not everyone who ages experiences hair loss even among brothers.

So, how do we resolve this issue? Here are some tips on what we can do to avoid hair loss.

  • Try to be physically fit and mentally well. Calming activities like meditation helps a lot.

  • Eat a well balanced diet

  • Take a daily supplement that gives your hair all the nutrition it needs to grow healthy and strong; preferably botanical based and has Vitamin Bs and Zinc.

  • Start using hair loss treatments to prevent or to treat now.

In the market, there are 2 medical products which help hair loss – one is a spray on solution and one is a pill you consume. They are both safe to use, however, you must be wary of the side effects they come with. To fight hair loss, these products manipulate your hormones. 

After using the treatments, you will feel more aggressive and/or you will have a drop in your libido. Some men are okay with this, while some aren’t. Most importantly, you have to continue using these for the rest of your life. If you stop, all the hair you grew during the time you were using this product will continue to fall out. Please be wary!

Some people choose another medical option which is Hair Transplant. This is surgical. You need to be sedated and you need to go under the knife. Furthermore, it costs a lot, so be prepared to lose $10,000-$20,000. Do note that after all the money spent and pain endured, the success is not guaranteed.

If you go to a hair treatment centre, you will be shown two options – hair weaving or treatment packages. For thousands of dollars, you will receive a hair weaving service where they take a wig and sew it on to your existing hair. As part of the treatment, you go back to them regularly to get it washed and weaved again.

Secondly, you pay thousands of dollars to buy treatment packages for a therapist to apply products on your scalp and hair for you (which you can do by yourself at home). We get it, it’s pampering. However, how often can you go there? Once a week? In this current climate, where staying home is safer, how do you get your hair loss treated if you are depending on a therapist?

Lastly, you can buy off the counter hair loss treatment products online, from pharmacies or departmental stores. 

Please find one that is made from a trustworthy source. There is a sea of products out there, how do you choose? We suggest to check the source and origin. Do not be fooled as some brands could bear French names but their products may not necessarily be made from France. We strongly encourage our customers to read the ingredients carefully - ingredient listing are facts while all other claims are really just marketing lingo. If the product has clinical efficacy, it would be more trustworthy. There are 2 types of clinical efficacy – in vivo (human clinical trials) and in vitro (using test tubes).