If you're not that familiar with hair loss, hair growth, and treatment options for both, then this article is just for you. It goes over the normal hair cycle and explains which type of treatments work best if your hair cycle pattern is irregular.
So your hair actually goes through a cycle of both growth and rest. Generally, the growth phase lasts about two to three years and your hair grows about 1 centimeter every month. The resting phase lasts for three to four months and when it's complete, the strand will fall out and a new one will begin the growth stage again.
This may surprise you, but the average human sheds between 50 and 100 hairs a day. But since there are about 100,000 individual follicles in your scalp, this is never noticeable. The fact of the matter is that hair loss and hair regrowth is something that we all experience (just to different degrees in some people).
However, if you are starting to notice that your hair is getting thinner or patches of it are falling out, it may be a sign of excessive hair loss. The general rule is that hair loss may lead to balding when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth.
What options do you have available if you are excessively loosing your hair?
Even though there are literally HUNDREDS of different hair loss, hair growth, and cosmetic hair products available on the market, I would strongly suggest only going with treatment options that contain one of the ingredients approved by the FDA. There's only two of them, so it definitely helps narrow down the choices you have.
The one that's been approved most recently is Finasteride, a prescription medication that you take orally. This treatment option has the highest percentage of success out of all known solutions. However, the fact that it presents the possibility of experiencing adverse sexual side effects prevents many people from trying it. Talk to your doctor to learn more about Finasteride.
The other FDA-approved substance for hair loss and hair regrowth is Minoxidil. This is a topically-applied substance and you don't need a prescription to use it. It may not work for as many people as Finasteride does, but clinical studies do show that people who use it experience an increase in hair follicles in the area. Plus, there's no threat of adverse sexual side effects.