What is the best hair loss treatment?

How to find the best hair loss treatment for you

Whether you are just starting your hair growth journey or you have tried treatments in the past and have found them not right for you, in this article you can explore your options.

As with most medicines, hair loss treatments may work for some and not for others, so it may be a case of trial and error, although, by first establishing the best treatment for your needs this could prevent the waste of time and associated cost.

In this article, we will compare the most popular hair loss medicines and we have also put together some steps to help you establish the best hair loss treatment for your needs. 

Establish the type of hair loss you have

Before treating your hair loss, you must know your type of hair loss, as not all hair loss products will be suitable for all conditions. 

Here are five of the most common types of hair loss:

1. Androgenetic Alopecia: Affects up to 70% of men and 40% of women due to hormonal changes, leading to receding hairline or crown thinning.
2. Effluvium: Caused by reduced hair follicles, including Telogen (slow thinning) and Anagen (rapid baldness) types triggered by factors like stress, diet, or chemotherapy.
3. Alopecia Areata: An autoimmune disorder affecting 2% of the population, causing patchy hair loss on the scalp, potentially progressing to total body hair loss.
4. Infectious Agents: Result from various conditions like fungal infections (e.g., ringworm) or inflammation, leading to symptoms such as scalp itchiness, redness, and brittle hair.
5. Scarring Alopecia: Permanent hair loss due to scarring from infections or injuries affecting hair follicles, potentially triggered by conditions like dissecting cellulitis or follicular degeneration syndrome. 1

Many of the conditions above require consulting a hair loss specialist. However, due to the number of people suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia, there are many treatments available online as well as prescription drug strength.

Androgenetic Alopecia is the most common form of hair loss which causes hair shedding and will affect most men at some point in their lives. This condition is also known as male pattern baldness and is often hereditary. Most men with this hereditary condition will start to notice hair loss in their early 20s through to their mid-30s. Although hereditary hair loss cannot be avoided, some treatments are available to prevent this type of hair loss and even regrow lost hair. 

If you think this type of hair loss refers to you…

Assess your suitability for treatments

Tying in to the above, you must seek specialist guidance if you are not experiencing Androgenetic Alopecia but another one of the conditions above. If you are looking to treat male pattern baldness you should consider the following before taking these medicines. 

• Are you trying for a baby - Some medicines for hair loss such as Finasteride and Dutasteride shouldn’t be used when trying to conceive as there is a chance that they may affect your baby.
• If you were born female - Certain hair loss treatments are intended for males only such as Dutasetride, Finasteride and some Minoxidil treatments. At Oxford Online Pharmacy we have hair loss treatments for males and females.
• Do you have liver problems - People whose liver isn’t working properly should be cautious when using some medicines. Finasteride and Dutasteride tablets are filtered through the liver, and if the liver is not working properly, this can cause a build-up of the drug, increasing the risk of severe side effects. In this instance, topical therapy is recommended like Finasteride, Minoxidil & Tretinoin spray or Regaine foam. You should always check the patient information leaflet, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions before starting a new medicine.
• Do you have heart problems - Medicines like Minoxidil can affect the heart, so you must always mention this to your doctor before using this treatment.
• Do you have any allergies - Make sure you familiarise yourself with the ingredients in the different medicines, and if you are allergic to any of them, then the medicine is not suitable for you. 
• Are you over 18 - Most hair loss medicines are intended for use in people over the age of 18. Even if you think that taking Finasteride early will help prevent your male pattern baldness before it starts, this is not advised and could cause your hair to start falling out early. 

When to start hair loss treatment with Androgenetic Alopecia

As mentioned above, starting hair loss treatment too early can harm your hair health. We suggest taking vitamins and supplements such as Vitamin A to support your natural hair growth. 

As you can see, male pattern hair loss goes through different stages. You will first start to notice hair loss either by thinning on the top of your hair, causing bald spots, or, most commonly, the sides start to recede. This is when we recommended starting treatment for Androgenetic Alopecia. 

Once you have reached the 3rd or 4th stage of this type of hair loss, it will be harder to re-grow the hair that is lost, although it should successfully help prevent further hair loss. 

For example, 3 of our customers started treatment for hair loss at different stages of the hair loss cycle. See below how hair loss treatment has helped them over 6 months:

Mukesh

Mukesh, a male in his early 30’s uses Finasteride tablets to treat his hair loss. As you can see from the images below, Mukesh has hair thinning on at his crown and the sides of his hairline have started to recede. 

Before

After 6 months of treatment

You can find more information and updates on Mukesh’s hair growth journey in these dedicated articles:

• My experience taking Finasteride 1mg tablets
• My experience taking Finasteride 1mg tablets - Part 2
• Finasteride before and after images
• Blood test results after taking Finasteride for hair loss
• My experience taking Finasteride 1mg tablets - Part 3

Edward

Edward, a male in his early 20s who uses Finasteride tablets for hair loss, his thinning is most prominent on his crown.

Before

After 6 months of treatment

You can find more information and updates on Ed’s hair growth journey in these dedicated articles:

• Ed's hair loss journey
• Ed's hair loss treatment journey 3 months progress
• Ed's hair loss treatment journey 6 month update

Michael

Michael, a male in his late 30’s takes Dutasteride for hair loss. He has noticeable thinning hair on his crown and is at a more advanced stage of hair loss than the two above.

Before

After 6 months of treatment

Even though each of these hair loss customers started their hair growth journey at different stages in their hair loss cycle, they have all shown noticeable improvement since starting hair loss treatment with us. 

Which treatments are most suitable for your lifestyle

Now let's take a look at what type of treatments are the most suitable for you and your lifestyle. 

Hair loss treatments come in different forms such as hair loss tablets, sprays, solutions, foam and shampoos so there are plenty of options to choose from. 

Depending on the treatment you choose there are different ways of application, frequency of application, and related side effects and effectiveness. 

Compare the different hair loss treatments available

In the table below, we compare the different types of treatments for men to help you decide which loss treatment is best for you to help with hair regrowth.

With any medicine, there is a risk of side effects. Often, the more effective and powerful the medicine, the more associated side effects there are. You can find a full list of the side effects in the patient information leaflets. 

Head over to our hair loss products page to find out more about these treatments. You can also check out our dedicated blog articles on hair loss. 

Best hair loss treatment for females

If you are female and have female pattern hair loss, you could consider trying one of the treatment options below.

You can find more about hair loss treatment for females in our dedicated blog article here. 

To summarise

If all of the information above hasn’t helped you to decide, don’t worry, at Oxford Online Pharmacy we have a team of experts on hand to help. Simply get in touch with a member of our team at 01295 262925, alternatively, you can email us at [email protected].

Ordering prescription hair loss medicines from Oxford Online Pharmacy 

1. Complete our medical consultation. This allows our doctors to check that the treatment is safe and appropriate for you.
2. Select your preferred strength and quantity to add to your basket before completing checkout.
3. One of our UK-registered doctors will review your order and prescribe your preferred treatment if appropriate. Occasionally we need extra information and will contact you via our confidential message centre.
4. Your order will be packaged and posted from our pharmacy via our tracked delivery service.

References

1. Health Line - Everything you need to know about hair loss
2. Oxford Online Pharmacy - Hair Loss treatments
3. Mayo Clinic - Minoxidil Topical route

*All prices are as of 25.03.24 and are subject to change.