Hair Loss Treatment: What Wor... Video Transcript

Participants

, Ken Washenik MD, PhD, Craig Ziering DO

Summary

Whether or not men admit it, hair—or lack of it—can form a big part of their self-image. Many accept hair loss as a fact of life, while others look for ways to stop or reverse the effects of balding. There are a number of options available for hair loss, but only a few have been proven effective. How do you decide which treatment is right for you? Tune in as two hair specialists talk about the choices.

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Whether or not men will admit it, hair or lack of it can form a big part of their self-image. And while many accept hair loss as a fact of life, others look for ways to stop or reverse it. For these men an endless variety of hair loss products are available but how many of them actually work?

CRAIG ZIERING, DO: When patients come to our office and are getting information for hair loss, there are basically three options that they can turn to. The first option is a topical preparation called Rogaine or minoxidil, and that is applied topically to the scalp with a dropper. The second is Propecia or finasteride, and finasteride is taken as a pill once a day. The third option is hair restoration surgery, which is transplanting a patient's own hair from the back of their head to the top or front of the scalp.

ANNOUNCER: These three treatments are the only ones that are proven to be effective. Other options may seem promising but there is usually little data to back them up.

CRAIG ZIERING, DO: There are very few products that I will recommend to my patients today for hair loss. There are some products that I'll recommend to my patients if they ask to thicken their hair, and as long as patients understand that that's what they're getting are hair thickeners, then I think it's okay. But most of these medications don't do anything for the patients and are a waste of money.

ANNOUNCER: So with the three proven options for treating hair loss, how do men know which path to take? For men with early signs of hair loss, drug therapies seem to be the smartest choice.

CRAIG ZIERING, DO: Those that are very early on will benefit the most, because the earlier you start either one of these medications, the better the results will be. You'll conserve more hair and have the potential to grow back hair when you start it earlier on.

ANNOUNCER: Whether you choose Propecia, Rogaine, or a combination of the two depends on a number of factors, including how the medications are used.

KEN WASHENIK, MD: The first of those, it's been around for well over a decade now, is Rogaine, or minoxidil. It's a solution that you apply to your scalp twice a day, and Rogaine helps inhibit hairs from becoming skinnier from thinning, and can, in some patients, encourage hair to grow a little more or get fatter.

Propecia, now, is different. Propecia is a pill that you take once a day. You can take it with or without food, and it doesn't matter what time of the day. It works by decreasing the synthesis of a chemical called dihydrotestosterone.

Of the two, Rogaine or Propecia, in my experience, Propecia is much more likely to actually give you one and two years later a cosmetic increase in the amount of hair on your scalp.

ANNOUNCER: Both drugs also have potential side effects that patients should consider, though the risks are low.

KEN WASHENIK, MD: Rogaine is a liquid you rub on your head. The main thing we'll see there is an itchy head, an itchy scalp. You can get an aggravation of dandruff from it But the vast majority of men are not bothered by it. And if they get a little bit of itching and dandruff, it's often very addressable with a dandruff shampoo.

Propecia, which you take as a pill, certainly doesn't have that side effect of bothering your scalp, but what can happen there? Well, somewhere around half a percent of men -- so, 5 men in 1,000 when you compare men who took Propecia versus men who took fake pills will say they had a decrease in their sex drive or trouble with erections in some way. So a very small number, I mean, a half a percent. You keep taking it, six out of ten men, 60% the side effect will go away.