Other Hair
Loss Treatments
There are alternative
treatments available if transplants, drugs or wigs are not your thing,
these treatments vary greatly in their applications and success rate.
Handle with care!!
If wigs or transplants are not suitable what else can
be done to help stop hair loss ?
Below you will find a variety of treatments that have
been around for a while. However results are very open to differences of
opinion, particularly from the people who actually sell the product or
service.
Electric Pulse Treatments
A tremendous amount of interest was generated in
America when results of a 1991 clinical trial was published.
The trial consisted of 30 males all suffering from
male pattern baldness. All the volunteers were subjected to minute
amounts of pulsed electrical stimulation. Of the 30 participants who
took part in the six months trial 29 either grew hair or experienced no
further hair loss.
The reason given for these exceptional results is as
follows:
In male pattern baldness one of the first signs of
hair loss is nerve degeneration. For example, if you pull a single hair
from the back or side of the scalp it can be quite painful.
However, if
you repeat the process by removing a hair from areas affected by male
pattern baldness you are unlikely to feel anything at all.
That is
because the nerve is likely to have degenerated to such a degree that
there is no longer any feeling when the hair is removed.
It has been well established by biomedical scientists
that wounded bone and soft body tissue repair respond to electrical
stimulation.
When hair follicles are stimulated repetitively by a
pulsed energy of the correct intensity and frequency they can be
"Kick-started" into proper functioning once again.
The above is from the sales literature of the company
that sells Electric Pulse machines. The claims sound wonderful but
should be viewed with caution.
If the machine is so successful how come
you never heard of it before. The press would have jumped on this if it
worked as well as we are lead to believe.
Infra Red Light Waves
This type of treatment has been around for years but
has suddenly appeared on the market again as a brand new wonder
treatment.
The machine which sends out infra red light,
eliminates all the harmful wave lengths in the infra red spectrum
leaving just those frequencies that are claimed to stimulate the tissue
and regenerate the follicle.
This bio stimulation is achieved by producing a
series of pulsed infra-red photonisation beams each of which lasts only
20 billionth of a second.
This way the scalp is supposed to be highly
stimulated and the hair follicles encouraged to produce new healthy
hair.
When this treatment is advised by a consultant they
will always claim that this treatment must be combined with a special
tonic to massage the scalp.
The next step is that they then tell you
that for the best result you have to combine the above with dietary
supplements and skin preparations to provide the complete hair renewal
system.
Most of the larger hair clinic in the country have
probably got one of these machine somewhere in their clinics picking up
dust. T
hey may look technical and can be used to impress people but they
do not provide the hair loss answer.
The consultant will tell you each
time you use the machine that he can actually see new hair growth. If
you do try this type of treatment take someone with you each time to see
if they can see the new growth.
A new hair will take 12 weeks to regrow,
so do not believe the consultant who tells you that he can see a
difference after one week.
Remember the consultant is on commission so if he is
trying to convince you that scalp tonics and dietary supplements are
essential, he is doing so because he wants to make more money from you,
not because this is the best treatment for you.
Before paying for a course of the treatment, make
sure you ask to get the first few treatments free so that you can decide
if it actually works before parting with your money.
Ultra Violet Light Treatment
As with infra red treatment, a high frequency current
is supposed to stimulate the surface of the scalp by means of massaging
the cells of the scalp.
It is also claimed to improve the process of
nourishment, stimulate local blood circulation and soothing to the
nervous system of the scalp.
What the above two types of treatment will be able to
give you is a nice tanned scalp, still hairless, but tanned !!
If these treatments did actually work we would all
have heard about it by now.
Steamer Treatment
This is claimed to work on the same principle as a
sauna bath, it opens the pores and allows the discharge of waste matter,
and allows greater penetration of the scalp cleansers they are going to
sell you.
This type of treatment could be carried out in your
own bathroom with hot towels on the scalp, or in a real sauna where you
would actually get the full benefits on your whole body.
High Frequency
A high frequency current which
stimulates the surface of the scalp by means of massaging the cells of
the scalp, also supposed to improve the process of nourishment,
stimulate local blood circulation, stimulate local glandular activity,
supplies heat and is soothing to the nervous system of the scalp.
The
blue light which is given is ultra-violet light. Very doubtful if any benifit will be felt.
Laser Treatment
Laser treatment is another one of the new types of
treatments on the market.
A low voltage beam is pulsated across the scalp
claiming to give stimulation to the follicle thus making new hair grow.
This treatment can cost up to £3000 for a course of 30 visits to the
clinic.
Scalp Massager
Scalp massage is normally
performed to loosen the scalp, and assist penetration of the medication.
It is claimed that it also stimulates the surface blood supply.
Supposedly embryonic hair is formed from materials transported by the
same capillary system.
Specialist Shampoos and Scalp Tonics
Most clinics have their own range of hair tonics,
shampoos and conditioners.
The claims of some of the clinics regarding what
their shampoos can do leaves a lot to be desired, and they also cost
vast amounts of money.
One leading clinic sells a three months course of
tonic, shampoo and scalp cleanser for £800. This is a lot of money for
something that you could probably get from your local chemist for around
£20.
The clinics selling these products have to make a
profit and as they know that a lot of people are very trusting of a
consultant as he is supposed to be the expert, they price the product
high and prompt the sales team to justify the high prices by claiming
you get what you pay for.
These clinics make a lot of money, so the sales
people must be doing their job, which is to convince you to spend £800
on a product which is only really worth £20.
Ask what is in the tonics, shampoos etc. to justify
the price. If they go into a big speech about all the various
ingredients, just ask for the three main ingredients, write them down
and then make sure you consult your doctor before you part with any of
your money.
If the products are so good then the clinic should
give you a free trial of their products, that way if you see that they
work then obviously you will continue using them.
If the clinic does not
provide you with a free sample then it cannot have to much faith in its
own products. Which should tell you something about the company.
Standing on Head
One of the new thoughts regarding a cure for hair
loss is inverting the body to achieve maximum blood flow to the scalp.
The thinking behind this being that the scalp is the hardest place on
the body for blood to reach. Like our fingertips and toes it is regarded
as an extremity. The theory is that when you get the blood flowing to
these extremities then the improved blood circulation will help with
hair growth.
You start this programme of hair recovery by
convincing yourself to adopt a positive mental attitude and telling your
subconscious that you will grow your hair again, and then set a date for
when you would like to achieve this hair growth by.
It is believed that hair growth will be achieved by
causing optimum blood flow to the scalp. The basis of this system is a
contraption that turns you upside down so that the blood rushes to your
head.
 One company is so convinced that standing on your
head is so good for hair growth, that they have actually started
producing very expensive equipment claiming that it is required to get
the best out of this method.
No such expensive equipment is actually needed for
you to try out this method.
You
could simply lie on a bed and allow you
head to overhang the end or you can place a plank of wood on an incline
and lie on that. Even easier is to stand on your head against a wall.
The recommended time for this exercise is thirty seconds once a day.
Along with inverting yourself as above there are a
regime of scalp exercises to follow along with some dietary guidelines.
One comment about this is that if we did not have an
adequate supply to our scalp as stated above then we would not actually
be alive !!
Be wary of all so called cures, they will inevitably
will cost you money and heartache with nothing to show for it in the
end.
|
