Reasons For Thinning Hair
There can be a number of reasons for thinning hair and knowing the cause can help find the correct, safe remedy to help thicken it or slow down the rate of loss.
Reasons for thinning can include a diet that is poor, especially one lacking in adequate amounts of protein, stress, a lack of sleep and a bad reaction to medication or medical treatment and Male Pattern Baldness (MPB).
A diet lacking in protein often results in a thinner thatch.
Hair is not an absolute necessity for out bodies to survive so it is one of the first things to suffer or be sacrificed once we don't have the right amount of nutrients.
If this is indeed the cause then increasing our amount of protein intake is often enough for our mane to start recovering.
Stress can also cause thinner heads of hair, the exact mechanism by which this takes place is not known but it is believed to be a self defense mechanism for our bodies and a reaction to a change in hormones that might take place due to this.
Meditation or learning to relax more can often remedy this problem.
The main, overriding cause of baldness though is called MPB (Male Pattern Baldness).
This occurs when Dht (an enzyme produced by testosterone), attacks the follicles, making them weaker and weaker and shrinking them.
Interestingly, follicles at the back and sides are generally not receptive to the damaging effects of Dht and continue to grow throughout ones life, leading to a horse-shoe pattern in advanced stages of baldness.
Since MPB is such a major cause of baldness it would seem logical that affecting the level of Dht in the body can reduce the effect of MPB.
Finasteride is the only medically proven drug that affects the level of Dht in the body.
Finasteride has proven successful in slowing down further hair loss and is approved by the Food and Drug Anministration.
How effective it will be cannot be predicted and depends on the individual in question.
There can be side effects to its usage such as a decrease in libido and women are not allowed to use it for fear of harming unborn foetuses.
Anyone considering using Finasteride should consult their doctor beforehand.