Don’t wait to fix your hair problems
Most men will agree that hair loss is undesirable. Yet at the same time, most will do nothing when hair loss hits them.
While it’s true that hair loss is not a life threatening condition, if it starts affecting your quality of life, then it is worth getting it checked out.
Other than saving on shampoo, there are more serious repercussions to a thinning mane. It’s not just our self confidence which takes a hit. An online survey found that more than a third of the participants felt that appearance is everything when forming a first impression [1].
A separate 2013 study found that seven per cent of Singaporeans would contemplate breaking off relations with their partners, and a further 10 per cent would be embarrassed about introducing their partners to friends and family if their partners were suffering from hair loss [2].
Despite this preoccupation with hair, men do not appear to be highly motivated to prevent hair loss. The same survey found that while 62 per cent of local men agree that premature hair loss is preventable, only 23 per cent believe treatments would work.
Not wise to delay treatment
Reports say roughly one quarter of men begin balding by age 30, and two-thirds begin balding by age 60 [3]. An average person sheds between 50 to 100 hairs a day.
The first sign of hair thinning is when more hairs than usual are left in the hairbrush after brushing or in the basin after shampooing.
Hair loss is caused by a variety of factors – diet, stress at work, genetics and even dirty or oily scalps that breed bacteria and result in micro inflammation.
The typical pattern of hair loss is divided into seven categories. No hair loss is termed Type 1. Minor recession of the frontal hairline is termed Type 2.
Type 3 indicates further frontal loss and is considered aesthetically significant. The subset of Type 3, termed ‘3 Vertex’, shows significant frontal recession coupled with hair loss from the vertex region of the scalp. Type 4 and 6 show further frontal and vertex loss, culminating in Type 7, in which only the occipital scalp region maintains significant amounts of hair.
In its early stages, treatment can usually prevent further hair loss and often cause hair re-growth.
Conversely if left untreated, the problem will accelerate and when it reaches the stage where the hair roots atrophy, the baldness is irreversible.
Treatment options
There are several treatment options in the market that are formulated to target the common causes of male hair loss.
One such treatment is the use of radio frequency (RF) to regenerate the biological cell functions of the skin on the scalp.
RF hair treatment makes use of the energy from radio frequency applied at low frequencies to penetrate the dermal layers of the skin. This causes the water molecules to vibrate at high speeds, creating heat, which in turn, encourages natural collagen production – a major component in hair growth that helps to fight off free-radicals that can affect the hair’s texture, growth and thickness.
It also increases blood circulation in the scalp, stimulates hair roots and kills bacteria known to hamper hair growth.
The treatment procedure takes about 45 minutes per session, and patients usually need about 30 sessions over three to six months to see results.
Other treatment options include the Growth Enhancement programme, which helps to inhibit the formation of Dihydrotestosterone, or more commonly known as DHT.
DHT is the primary contributing factor in male pattern baldness – caused by the hair follicle’s sensitivity to the by-product of testosterone.
Source: Asia One
Published: 25 Mar 2014
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies