Ever wonder which thinning hair remedies a hair loss expert will choose if she starts to lose her hair?
The Chicago Tribune recently turned the tables on Dr. Maria Colavincenzo, a dermatologist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and asked her that very question.
Colavincenzo specializes in androgenetic alopecia, which is the most common type of hair loss, affecting 50 percent of women 60 and over.
Her answer? Minoxidil, aka Rogaine – assuming, since she’s only in her mid 30s, that she’s finished having children, she added.
Minoxidil, an over-the-counter drug, is especially useful in those who are just beginning to experience thinning hair, especially at the crown of the head, according to Vibrant Nation’s free special report, Expert Solutions for Thinning Hair and Female Hair Loss Treatments for Women Over 50.
Colavincenzo said in her experience, Minoxidil is successful in about 25 percent of cases, but even if it doesn’t stimulate re-growth, it sometimes stops hair loss, allowing patients to keep the hair they have.
It can take at least six months to work, but it’s the only FDA-approved medication that doctors have to address hair loss, she added.
After Rogaine, Colavincenzo said she’d try anti-androgen medicines, such as finasteride or spironolactone, which is not actually FDA-approved for women but which is “sometimes helpful.”
And if that didn’t work? Then she’d get a good hairpiece, Colvaincenzo said, adding there’s no shame in simply pursuing cosmetic solutions.
“You’ve got to do the best with what you have,” she told the Tribune. “I think it’s a personal preference, but why is a cosmetic solution such a big deal? To use sprays, powders and hair extensions? It doesn’t address the problem, but it can do wonders for your self-esteem.”
Interestingly, hair transplants did not make her personal thinning hair remedies list, she did include it as an option, depending on the pattern of thinning hair women experience. She warned, however, that any women considering hair transplants shouldn’t wait until the hair loss is too significant and should see a surgeon who regularly does female patients.
If you’re going to follow Dr. Colavincenzo’s advice, you might want to consider using the stronger concentration, which is labeled for men. That’s because the five percent formula is more effective, according to Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, Director of Dermatologic Surgery at Cosmetique N. Y. C. and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at New York University Medical Center.
http://www.vibrantnation.com/fashion-beauty/hair-care/the-thinning-hair-remedies-a-dermatologist-would-choose/