The 4 Best Hair Loss Treatment for 2021
Male Hair Loss
A doctor reviews the top four hair loss treatments for 2021 - what does science say is the best hair loss treatment?
San Francisco, CA - ( NewMediaWire ) - November 20, 2020 - If you are losing your hair and 2021 is the year you want to do something about it, good news - science has come a long way, and there are now several legit medicines that can help fight hair loss. Since almost 66% of men will notice hair loss by the time they turn 35 ( according to the American Hair Loss Association), it’s about time that there are real treatments that should work for most men.
In this piece, our consulting doctor, Kimberly Langdon M. D., will review the primary causes of balding in men, explain what the state of the art treatment options are for men - and share some of the best places to get those treatments online. Note, that our research team is reader supported, and we may earn affiliate commissions if you click on the links that lead to our recommended products. But, first, a quick background on Dr. Langdon before we get into the hair growth products.
The Reviewing Doctor
Dr. Kim Langdon has 19-years of clinical experience. At The Ohio State University College of Medicine she graduated with Honors. Dr. Langdon then completed her OB/GYN residency program at Ohio State. Later, she ran a private practice before “retiring” to found a medical device company, Coologics, Inc. She also invented six medical devices (with two patents and four pending!).
Why Most Men Go Bald
You probably first noticed that you were losing your hair either because you saw that your hairline was receding - or you began to have a bit of a bald spot in the back/on your crown. And, you are not alone - that’s how hair loss usually starts. For otherwise healthy men, this is a normal process of aging, and it’s called “Androgenetic alopecia.” According to the US National Library of Medicine, 50 million men in the United States are estimated to have this form of hair loss. There are other types of hair loss that can be signs of serious health conditions, so if you think you have something other than normal male pattern baldness you should see your doctor; all of the information in this piece are meant for otherwise healthy men. Note that some of the best hair loss treatments in 2021 do require you to have a medical evaluation - so read on to see how you can get a doctor’s visit online to learn about the best treatment options.
Still citing the US National Library of Medicine, researchers have found that a particular hormone called dihydrotestosterone (“DHT”) plays an important role in causing androgenetic alopecia. You may have noticed the “testosterone” at the end of dihydrotestosterone. DHT is in the androgen family of hormones, which are responsible for lots of manly characteristics, and play an important role in puberty, sex drive and more. And, unfortunately, DHT is one of the leading causes of baldness.
The current science suggests that DHT in your scalp interacts with your hair follicles. First, it causes the hair follicles to shrink - and then eventually die. So, your thinning hair may be caused because you have too much of a male hormone. Ironic - and annoying. The good news is that modern science can help you do something about it.
Modern Hair Loss Treatments
Medical researchers have found several, scientifically validated, ways of fighting hair loss. These treatments have come a long way from the “snake oil” hair loss products that our fathers had to deal with.
The first step to saving your curly locks is to act fast if you notice thinning. We are about to review some of the best medicines to treat this condition on the market - but they are not miracle cures. They work to stimulate hair growth for hair shafts that are still alive/not dormant. So the time to act is while you still have something to save. If your follicles are already dead or totally dormant (as in you are totally bald or have been thin for a very long time), the best treatment option for you may be a hair transplant.
We’ll get into the details further along, but the best options for hair loss treatment in 2021 depend on how much healthy hair you have left, your budget, and whether or not you want to talk with a doctor or just use an over-the-counter treatment.
Best options for treating hair loss in 2021
- Best treatment for advanced male pattern baldness: Hair Transplant Surgery
- Best over-the-counter treatment: Minoxidil 5% - get it online here <--
- Best online prescription treatment: Finasteride - get 30% off here <--
- Best overall option for most men: Finasteride + Minoxidil - get 50% off here <--
Best treatment for large bald spots
According to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, surgical hair restoration (i.e. hair transplants) are the only proven way to restore hair growth to areas that are completely bald. In general, the two best and most popular types of hair transplant methods are the: FUT (Follicular Unit Transplant) and the FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). You’ll need to work with a qualified physician to determine which is the best option for you based on your conditions and budget.
Either procedure involves removing healthy hair from one part of your scalp and surgically implanting it into another. The procedures can take quite a few hours, and may be spread out over multiple days. Obviously, having little sections of skin surgically removed and re-implanted would hurt - so if you choose to try this procedure, you’ll be under local anesthesia.
The FUE method is the newer procedure, and it is designed to produce few scars from the donor areas than FUT. But it can take more time.
What does hair transplant surgery cost?
In addition to the time required to visit a surgery center, undergo surgery and then recover, the dollar cost of hair transplant surgery can wildly vary. We’ve seen costs ranging from $3,000 to $15,000. And, unfortunately, health insurance generally will NOT cover the cost of transplant surgery.
One way to possibly save money would be to try “medical tourism;" basically, travel to a lower cost country that has quality medical care and get the procedure done there. Since this is an elective procedure that you’ll most likely have to pay for out of your own pocket, the savings can be massive - even when you factor in the cost of travel. You can check out this medical tourism option here to see if there is a way to surgically treat your hair loss for less money abroad.
Best over the counter hair loss treatment
If you are looking for a proven hair loss treatment that doesn’t require a doctor’s visit, surgery or a prescription, consider minoxidil. Minoxidil is an FDA approved drug to treat normal, male pattern hair loss. It’s a topical medicine, and comes in a liquid or foam that you apply directly to your scalp.
Minoxidil has some solid science behind it. There are dozens upon dozens of clinical studies demonstrating the effectiveness of this drug in fighting hair loss. Time after time, the medical research shows that Minoxidil can work for many men - with few to no meaningful side effects.
How good is the science behind Minoxidil?
Minoxidil is probably the best hair loss treatment that you can buy without involving a doctor - you can likely find it in your local pharmacy. The medical idea on how the drug works is that it is a “vasodilator” - that increases blood flow to the places you apply it on your scalp. So, because there is better blood flow, your hair follicles in the balding area get more nutrients and become healthier.
One of the studies we like to cite is one involving almost one thousand men, conducted in Germany and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. At the end of this year-long trial, the researchers said, “physicians reported that the affected area had become smaller in 561 of the 904 eligible subjects (62.0%), was unchanged in 317 subjects (35.1%), and had become larger in 26 subjects (2.9%).” So, over half the men in the trial had their bald spot shrink - and almost one-third kept it the same size (so slowed their hair loss to the point where the doctors did not notice it getting worse).
The best type of scientific study is usually called a “double blind” study, where a group of patients is given the medicine - and another, similar group is given a fake medicine (a placebo) that should help treat the condition. Minoxidil has been studied in many of these double-blind studies, and the results generally show that this drug helps treat the condition in about 40% to 60% of otherwise healthy men.
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How to use it
The drug is typically available in one of two forms - liquid or foam. To use it, you simply apply a dose to your (dry) scalp twice daily. You’ve to put it onto the places that you want to keep your hair follicles, and need to let it dry before you style your hair. Since it can take two to three months to start to work, you’ve got to be ready to commit to a daily ritual to try to keep your hair.
It’s not a magic bullet - if you stop using it, your hair loss is likely to resume. So this has to become part of your daily hair care routine. And, again, it can’t bring back a totally dormant hair shaft, so the right time to try it is as soon as you think your hair is thinning.
There can be side effects, but thankfully because this drug is so well researched, they are well understood - and generally quite mild and rare. The most common side effect with Minoxidil is skin irritation - so an itchy scalp. Not that big of a deal to fight off going bald...
What does it cost?
Unlike hair transplant surgery, which can be thousands of dollars, minoxidil is pretty reasonably priced. You can usually find it in pharmacies under various brand names for somewhere between $40 and $50 for a three months’ supply (so that comes to about 40 to 50+ cents a day for the treatment). But, our research shows that one of the best places to get it is online. We’ve found that you can get three months of treatment for much less than that. In fact, we’ve negotiated a great deal where you can get the first three months of this hair loss treatment at half the cost.
Get minoxidil online for less <-- click here
So, if you don’t want to deal with a doctor, it’s a great way to get started saving your hair.
Best prescription hair loss treatment
Topical medicines are not the only way to treat hair loss - there is another, FDA approved option that comes in as a daily pill. Finasteride is FDA approved for the treatment of male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) for men (men only!), and our research says that it’s the best prescription, FDA approved, option for treating hair loss.
Like you’d expect for a medicine that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved, it has real science behind it. And you can bet your scalp that there have been a LOT of clinical studies showing that it works for many men.
The science behind Finasteride
Since the hormone DHT is thought to cause the follicles to shrink and eventually die/go dormant, it’s natural that scientists would try to find a drug that interacts with DHT. And, in fact, that’s what Finasteride is thought to do. According to the Mayo Clinic, the current understanding is that Finasteride blocks DHT, not letting it shrink the follicles on your scalp. If you are curious about the details, the medicine is believed to inhibit the creation of an enzyme called “5α-Reductase.” This enzyme changes testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). So... Finasteride reduces the amount of DHT, thus fighting hair loss.
What does the medical research say about Finasteride? The data seems to show that it works for many men. This research study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology concluded that after 2 years, men using Finasteride saw that, “Finasteride treatment improved scalp hair by all evaluation techniques at 1 and 2 years.” This is a widely studied treatment, and many other studies have shown that it is an effective hair growth option.
Find out how to get a prescription for Finasteride here <--
How to get Finasteride online
This is a prescription drug, which means you need to have a licensed medical professional make sure you are a good candidate for the medicine, and then they need to write you a prescription. Thankfully, due to the rapid rise in telemedicine, this is easier than ever in the United States. In fact, you can get an online doctor’s consultation for free from some of the top online providers right now - without leaving your couch. Click here to get started.
How to use it
The medicine is a pill taken once per day. Like Minoxidil, you’ll have to keep using it as long as you want to keep your hair. And, also like Minoxidil, it makes sense to start taking it as soon as you notice thinning - it’s also not a miracle drug, and works best if you still have hair to save.
Like any real medicine, there are side effects. Thankfully, they are generally quite rare and usually stop if you stop taking the drug. These side effects include erectile dysfunction, breast tenderness, rashes/flushing, anxiety, etc. The good news is that the companies offering reputable hair loss treatments provide legit, online doctors’ visits where it’s easy for you to go over these with a licensed medical professional. And again, if you have other, underlying medical conditions that may be causing your shedding/thinning, you should consult your primary care physician.
What does it cost?
The non-generic version of Finasteride can cost over $70 per month, and is generally not covered by health care. However, thanks to the online telemedicine providers, you can get it for less than $30 per month - often even less than that. Plus, you can get the first three months for 30% off, and a free online doctor’s visit. Click here now to access this deal.
Get a free, online medical visit to see if Finasteride is right for you <--
Top Overall Option
So what is our best overall recommendation to stop yourself from going bald and treating hair loss? Daily Minoxidil plus Finasteride.
Why?
Study after study has shown that combining these two, FDA approved hair loss treatments is currently the best way to promote hair regrowth and treat hair loss without surgery. We won’t link to all of the studies that we’ve seen, but research published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Dermatologic Therapy, and more, demonstrate the combination therapy working well for a large percent of balding men. In fact, the last study we just mentioned showed that 94% of men on the combination therapy showed improvement.
Those aren’t bad odds!
But, again, since these medicines can’t really bring a totally dormant hair follicle back to life, the time to act is as soon as you see thinning. So don’t wait, grab one of those free online doctor’s appointments now and take advantage of the 50% off offer while it lasts.
Get a free online appointment to see if you are a good candidate for combination therapy <--
What Finasteride and Minoxidil cost together
Going through your primary care physician and getting branded Finasteride and Minoxidil from your local pharmacy could cost quite a bit - probably around $80 to $90 per month - and that’s not taking into account your health insurance doctor’s visit copay. Thankfully, through a legit, online telemedicine provider you can get the two bundled, delivered right to your house, for less than $40 per month. And the medical visit is free.
So what are you waiting for?