We write quite a bit about hair because it’s important to most of us. Hair care is part of good grooming and health. The lyrics from “Hair – The Musical” seem to speak to the dreams of healthy, plentiful hair.
Gimme head with hair
Long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming,
Steaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there hair
Shoulder length or longer
Here baby, there mama
Everywhere daddy daddy
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair
According to Harvard University School of Medicine, men may start to suffer hair loss in their teens. By age fifty, about half of men experience male pattern baldness, the major cause of hair loss for all men. In fact, of all men experiencing some loss of hair, about ninety-eight percent have male pattern baldness.
Medical Ways to Treat Hair Loss…With a Twist
So, the question is, how do men with a desire to grow healthy and attractive hair defeat hair loss? There are so many products that are intended to slow down lost hairs or regrow hair. There’s a relatively new item that looks quite a lot like a bicycle helmet. It’s intended to deliver laser rays into the wearer’s scalp and give him fuller, stronger hair…
However, we’re surprised to read about some of the issues surrounding a popular drug used for the purpose. Men using the drug for hair loss can suffer loss of libido or worse. A professor at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences recently reported that a whopping ninety-four percent of men using the popular drug experienced a greatly decreased desire for sex.
Ninety-two percent of men in the study suffered erectile dysfunction (ED) (some for the first time), and almost seventy percent had a difficult time reaching orgasm. The study will be published in the “Journal of Sexual Medicine,” and the information is groundbreaking: it’s the first study to show that so many men suffer sexual symptoms – for months after they stop taking it. Researchers believe that the drug interrupts the nervous system and brain chemicals that control the body’s functions.
What Are the Ways to Treat Hair Loss…Without Worrisome Side Effects?
There are actually some minimally-invasive hair loss treatments that make a great deal more sense. For instance, Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) doesn’t subject the patient to extensive downtime or lots of complications…like some drugs, apparently. This relatively new procedure is quickly becoming the gold standard for patients seeking to regrow their own hair. Unfortunately, few licensed professionals are currently trained in performing the procedure. Harley Street Hair Clinic in London are an example of GMC-registered FUE specialists.
Sports celebrity Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) reported he used the procedure and didn’t have to tell anyone he’d done it. The process, known as a U-FUE (Unshaven Follicular Unit Extraction) didn’t require him to have a scalp shave. He says the method’s “subtle.” After Rooney announced his U-FUE, some people refer to the procedure as a “Rooney.” According to experts, the U-FUE procedure is a bit more expensive but many say it’s worth it to keep the whole procedure under wraps.
The process mimics natural growth patterns of hair. For instance, a normal hair follicle isn’t a single hair but actually a ‘hair system’ of approximately four hairs. Unlike other procedures, (often referred to as ‘plugs’) the FUE process looks completely natural.
Conclusion
Pharmaceutical companies want to develop a topical or oral medicine that will regrow hair. The human body is complex and, thus far, few medicines have shown the kind of results that men are looking for. Follicular Unit Extraction is one of the methods that will allow most men to regrow their own hair, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
Photos: “Hair Effect” and Tengrain