Treatment for hair problems.

Effective treatments for some types of hair loss are available. You might be able to reverse hair loss, or at least slow further thinning. With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year.

Treatments for hair loss include medications, surgery to promote hair growth and slow hair loss.

Medication

If your hair loss is caused by an underlying disease, treatment for that disease will be necessary. This may include drugs to reduce inflammation and suppress your immune system, such as prednisone. If a certain medication is causing the hair loss, your doctor may advise you to stop using it for at least three months.

Medications are available to treat pattern (hereditary) baldness. Options include:

• Minoxidil (Rogaine). This is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medication approved for men and women. It comes as a liquid or foam that you rub into your scalp daily. Wash your hands after application. At first it may cause you to shed hair. New hair may be shorter and thinner than previous hair. At least six months of treatment is required to prevent further hair loss and to start hair regrowth. You need to keep applying the medication to retain benefits.

• Finasteride (Propecia). This is a prescription drug approved for men. You take it daily as a pill. Many men taking finasteride experience a slowing of hair loss, and some may show some new hair growth. You need to keep taking it to retain benefits. Finasteride may not work as well for men over 60.

• Other medications. For men, the oral medication dutasteride is an option. For women, treatment may include oral contraceptives and spironolactone.

Hair transplant

In the most common type of permanent hair loss, only the top of the head is affected. Hair transplant, or restoration surgery, can make the most of the hair you have left.

During a hair transplant procedure, a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon removes tiny patches of skin, each containing one to several hairs, from the back or side of your scalp. Sometimes a larger strip of skin containing multiple hair groupings is taken. He or she then implants the hair follicle by follicle into the bald sections. Some doctors recommend using minoxidil after the transplant, to help minimize hair loss. And you may need more than one surgery to get the effect you want. Hereditary hair loss will eventually progress despite surgery.

Laser therapy

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a low-level laser device as a treatment for hereditary hair loss in men and women. A few small studies have shown that it improves hair density. 

The micro-needling technique is used to combat hair loss through puncturing the scalp to have the epidermis and dermis layer build a layer of walls to fight and defend. It send a signal of the white blood cells to heal, which provides collagen to the punctured area to help restore hair loss.

Microneedling for hair loss treatment

Microneedling is a type of cosmetic treatment that addresses various effects of aging. It’s also nicknamed skin needling because of its effects on increasing collagen production in the skin.

It involves the use of a skin roller with small needles that cause minor skin injuries.

While used as an anti-aging skin treatment, microneedling may also be a method of treatment for hair loss. There’s even evidence that it can help hereditary hair loss, also known as alopecia.

The same process of creating wounds in the skin is also thought to regenerate the health of the hair follicles. It’s thought that this can result in new hair growth, or perhaps thicken thinning hair.

Microneedling for hair loss benefits

Microneedling first gained its reputation as a scar treatment during the 1990s. Since then, it’s been studied as a potential alternative for thinning hair and hereditary hair loss.

Aside from collagen production in the skin, it’s thought that microneedling can also help induce stem cellsTrusted Source in the scalp that lead to hair growth.

Microneedling may also promote the absorption of hair growth products, such as minoxidil(Rogaine). Another studyTrusted Source explored the potential benefits of microneedling when used with corticosteroids to reduce hair follicle inflammation from alopecia areata.

How it works

During microneedling, your doctor uses several needles, ranging between 0.25 and 3 millimeters long. They’re all contained in a handheld device. Also called a roller, the device is rolled along the treatment area, creating small injuries.

Unlike other treatments that target your skin’s surface, the needles used in the rollers extend to the middle layer of skin. As these microinjuries heal, your skin produces more collagen and fibers. It also helps to strengthen the hair follicles.

A doctor will apply a topical anesthetic to your scalp about 45 minutes prior to treatment. This helps to reduce any pain you may feel.

The actual procedure time can vary based on treatment area, but may take as little as 30 minutes. After the scalp microneedling is completed, the doctor may apply a soothing balm or serum to the area to alleviate inflammation and discomfort.