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Why Regrowing Hair Naturally May Be a Better Choice

By Andrea Douglas
Regrowing Hair Naturally

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September 6, 2021
Why Regrowing Hair Naturally May Be a Better Choice
Regrowing Hair Naturally
April Summers

By April Summers

Losing Your Hair

Losing your hair is different from losing your keys.

You can’t run down to the hardware store and get more made.

You might choose to shave the rest off to match the bald areas or wear a wig.

You might even let bygones be gone and do the best you can with the hair you have left.

Men and women lose hair over their lifetimes, in similar numbers, but men lose more strands over larger areas, and women typically thin more diffusely in a slightly different pattern (1).

Many women hide their thinning hair by having it set every week, an intervention most men don’t participate in.

Fellas often try covering up thinning areas with a “comb-over,” for a time at least, then give up when there isn’t enough hair to cover the sparse areas.

Anyone might lose hair or experience slowing hair growth.

Your genetics predict the tendency you’ll have to go bald or not, but it isn’t easy to know which genes from your parents will express themselves in you (2).

Both of your parents might have thin hair, but you’ll always have a full and lustrous mane.

Or you might be the only one in the family who’s bald at twenty-five.

Why Hair Disappears

Besides genetics, you want to consider other factors that cause hair loss when opting for therapies to regrow your hair.

You might be one of these people:

  • Women over 40 (3).
  • 85% of men by age 50 (4).
  • Temporary shedding in postpartum women (not actual hair loss) (5).
  • Men with prostate cancer (6).
  • Chemotherapy and radiation patients (7).
  • Those taking certain medications (8).
  • Women who pull hair into buns and ponytails (9).
  • People who use harsh hair treatment chemicals (10).
  • Menopausal women (11).
  • Diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure are also linked to hair loss (12).
  • Those with vitamin or mineral deficiencies such as protein, biotin, and zinc (13).
  • Crash and serial dieters (14).
  • People experiencing extreme stress or shock (not usually permanent) (15).
  • Patients with abnormal thyroid function (16).

But most people who notice hair loss would like to have it back and often dive into trying remedies.

How do you know which replacement approach is the best for you?

Growing It Back

The first step is discovering why your hair isn’t growing or the cause of excess shedding.

See a dermatologist; the sooner you get answers and the more qualified the diagnosis, the better your options for treatment.

Some essential questions to ask your healthcare provider are the following:

  • Why am I losing hair?
  • How much hair am I losing?
  • What type of hair loss do I have?
  • Is my hair loss permanent?
  • What treatment is best for me?

Three primary categories of treatment, depending on the reason for hair loss and your personal preferences, are:

  • Hair transplant
  • Medication
  • Natural remedies

Hair Transplant

This surgery is a permanent solution that your doctor will only prescribe with certain types of hair loss (17).

It may seem like an easy intervention but might take as long for you to see results as other means.

The downsides to transplant include that they:

  • Are expensive
  • Are invasive
  • Cause side effects

Transplants probably aren’t a big deal for most clients but will probably keep you out of the office for at least a couple of weeks (18).

A transplant involves moving hair from where you have some to where you don’t by excising hair-containing follicles and relocating them in tiny patches of skin.

This hair will all fall out within a few weeks to hopefully begin growing new strands.

Most transplant patients will take medication temporarily to promote hair production in the follicles at their new location (19).

In addition to the procedure itself, your dermatologist might:

  • Inject protein-rich plasma (PRP) drawn from your own donation to encourage hair growth.
  • Perform micro-needling with and without applying Minoxidil.

Hair-raising Medications

Medications are usually prescribed to treat hereditary pattern baldness.

These typically take several months to prevent continued hair loss and begin to regrow strands within your follicles.

And just like the rest of your hair, these new strands grow only inches per year. These medications most commonly include:

  • Minoxidil (Rogaine) in liquid, foam, or shampoo.
  • Other options include Spironolactone (Carospir, Aldactone) and Dutasteride (Avodart).

Women who are still premenopausal, pregnant, and breastfeeding should avoid taking Minoxidil due to potential harm to a baby.

Natural Hair Therapy

Some things you can do to stimulate hair growth are simple and cost nothing.

Others take a little effort but may produce better results over time.

If you are experiencing significant hair loss and the cause or the effects make the previous choices unacceptable, try the following natural treatment methods:

  • Eat a healthy diet high in proteins, shellfish, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, vitamins, and minerals to revitalize your body and enhance cell regeneration (22).
  • Detoxify your body of metabolic waste and heavy metals to improve absorption of nutrients (23).
  • Drink water to hydrate cells and replenish scalp, prevent brittle shafts and split ends (24).
  • Exercise increases blood circulation, stimulates hair follicles, and reduces DHT, the primary cause of male pattern baldness (25).
  • Massage your head (gently) using the following substances to stimulate blood flow to your scalp and hair follicles (26).
  • Rosemary oil to decrease hair loss and stimulate growth (27).
  • Rub onion juice on your scalp (if you don’t mind the smell) (28).
  • Aloe Vera soothes the scalp and unblocks hair follicles (29).
  • Geranium oil promotes hair growth by boosting circulation (30).
  • Use natural hair care products, like Hair Therapy Shampoo (31).
  • Avoid harsh styling techniques to prevent damage to follicles and shafts.
  • Treat with coconut oil to promote hair growth, luster, and health (32).
  • Ask your doctor about supplements that promote hair growth containing
  • Vitamins.
  • Biotin.
  • Folic Acid.
  • Zinc.
  • Iodine (33).
  • Marine Protein Supplement (MPS) (34).
  • Omega 3 and 6 (35).
  • Red Ginseng (36).

Always a Choice

While hair transplant surgery and medications might be the right choice for some, there are many ways to improve your hair’s health, growth, and shine naturally.

The guidelines for these natural remedies are abundant online, and the advice is to try any of them or any combination of treatments for several months.

Don’t give up on your hair.

It takes that long for your hair to go through some phases of the growth cycle and demonstrate improvement.

After all, it is your crowning feature.