Diagnose hair loss early

For some, hair loss and baldness is inevitable. Hereditary and hormonal factors may influence extensive balding that you can’t control. But there are ways to diagnose balding early in the game, and medical hair restoration procedures can slow down the process considerably -- or even stop your hair loss.

Self-Diagnosis: Reading the Patterns

Unique patterns appear in men and women experiencing hair loss. Male pattern baldness occurs initially at the hairline and works its way backwards across the crown, receding first into an “m” shape, then later progressing to just a horseshoe circle of hair around the sides. The Norwood Scale is a chart found online or at physicians’ offices. It represents male pattern baldness on an ascending scale, from one to seven. Female pattern baldness, by contrast, results in thinning hair distributed across the entire head, and the front hairline usually remains intact. Severity of hair loss in women is depicted on the Ludwig Scale, a graphical chart available online and at your physician’s office. Compare your own hair loss patterns with the charts to determine a proper course of treatment.

Get into Action

If you’re a man with hair loss at three or higher on the Norwood Scale, you might consider immediate use of topical or oral hair loss remedies. Topical minoxidil (Rogaine) can stimulate new hair growth. Finastgeride (Propecia) is a stronger, oral drug that counteracts the hormonal byproducts that slow or block the production of new hair. Because of the powerful hormonal side effects, women cannot take finasteride. But they can use monoxidil. If you’ve waited too long to use these treatments and your hair loss is severe, you might consider hair transplantation surgery.

--G.H.