How to Choose the Right Hair Loss Option

If your hair is thinning or receding, there are a variety of steps you can take to fight it. You can start by eliminating any potential medical causes and making simple changes to your hair care regimen. If you’re still losing hair, you can try supplements or drugs like Rogaine or Propecia. Still losing hair? You can choose a surgical option, disguise your hair loss with wigs or hairpieces, or embrace it with a hairstyle suited to the follicly challenged.

Addressing Possible Medical Causes

1. Visit your doctor first to see if a medical condition is causing your hair loss. 

Whether you have just started losing hair or are nearly bald, talking to your doctor is the first step you should take, because if an underlying disease is behind your hair loss, none of the other steps listed here will fix it. Your doctor will perform a blood test and scalp biopsy to see if you have any of the following medical conditions that cause hair loss:

• Male androgenetic alopecia
• Thyroid disease and anemia
• Illness such as a severe infection, major surgery, or even a bad case of the flu
• Cancer treatments such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy
• Ringworm
• Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune disease that attacks hair follicles

2. Discuss your diet with your doctor

Dietary deficiencies or eating an overabundance of certain vitamins may lead to hair loss, which can usually be reversed by correcting the dietary imbalance. In particular, watch out for:

• Sudden weight loss
• Anorexia (not eating enough) or bulimia (vomiting after eating)
• Too much vitamin A, usually due to supplements
• Inadequate protein intake
• Not enough iron

3. Review the medications you are taking. 

There are many medications that can lead to hair loss as a side effect. You can discuss alternate medications with your doctor. Medications that may thin your hair include:

• Blood thinners
• Arthritis, depression, gout, and high blood pressure medications
• Birth control pills
• Anabolic steroids
• Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs like ibuprofen
• Chemotherapy drugs

Changing Your Hair Care Regimen

1. Take proper care of your hair as an easy, early way to battle some hair loss

This is both the simplest and cheapest option. In fact, most of these steps will actually save you money. This is a good place to start if you are in the early stages of losing your hair. If you have already lost a good deal of hair, you may want to begin with a more aggressive option such as taking Rogaine or Propecia, or having hair transplant surgery.

• If your hair loss is due to your genetics (such as "male pattern baldness"), you may not be able to do anything to win that battle.

2. Groom your hair less

If you are losing hair, try shampooing, combing, and brushing it less. Let your hair air dry instead of rubbing it dry with a towel or using a blow dryer, and never brush or comb wet hair, as this will make it more likely to break.

3. Do not bleach, dye, or perm your hair frequently

Bleaches, dyes, gels, and other hair products can all make your hair brittle, leading to breakage. If you are losing hair, consider limiting or stopping use of these products.

4. Let your hair air-dry

Frequent use of blow dryers, flat irons, or hair curlers can boil the water in the shaft of your hair, leaving it brittle and prone to breakage. To slow hair loss, let your hair air dry before styling it.

5. Avoid hairstyles that hold hair tightly or pull on your hair

Over years, tight ponytails, cornrows, or braids can cause hair loss. If you are going to use scrunchies or rubber bands, be sure to wear them in different areas of your scalp instead of always forming a ponytail in the same place. If you like cornrows or braids, consider alternating these hairstyles with other ones that put less stress on your hair.