Female Hair Loss Medication – A Review of the Main Products

When women start experiencing hair loss, their first thought is: what medication for hair loss should I take? Or maybe I have a vitamin deficiency? Which is the fastest solution for my problem?

What they tend to forget is the fact that any dysfunction is the cumulative result of a certain cause: for example, if your lifestyle is exhausting and stressful, it will gradually generate a weak immunity which, together with vitamin deficiency, may induce hair loss. Androgenetic alopecia (or permanent female pattern hair loss), on the other hand, is considered to be a consequence of major hormonal changes, usually occurring during the menopause.

In our century, the official medicine – trying to fully explain the functioning of all the parts of our organism – tends to forget sometimes that all these parts are indissoluble parts of a whole. The ancient healers used to say: “Treat the whole, not the part”!

Falling hair is a warning that something is wrong with your health. Female hair loss treatment should not be focused on dealing with the symptoms, but on eliminating the cause: if you have stress hair loss (induced by grief, fear, anxiety or depression), your best cure will be dealing with the problem that’s causing the stress! If the cause is vitamin deficiency, you should be aware of what you eat and increase your consumption of raw fruits and vegetables. If the cause is hormonal, then only an endocrinologist can decide which are the best hair loss treatment options for you.

All this being said, let’s proceed to analyzing the main available hair loss pills and medication.

Researchers specialized in permanent female hair loss say that the dysfunction can be caused by the fact that with age (especially after menopause) the estrogen levels in the body are reduced. As a consequence, the male hormones (androgen) are combining with an enzyme called 5 alpha reductase, creating DHT or Dihydrotestosterone. This metabolite is considered the main reason of permanent hair loss. DHT does not allow proteins, vitamins and other nutrients to reach the hair follicles, nourishing them.

That’s why many female hair loss treatments are concentrating on DHT blockers or inhibitors. However, be aware that these blockers cannot solve the problem permanently – they will only reduce the symptoms temporarily, when applied to the scalp.

I was surprised to find online many contradictory reviews, especially regarding female hair loss treatment and medication. That’s why, whenever you browse these products and reviews, don’t believe anything you read. There are thousands of providers who sell low quality products that simply are not effective! However, their advertising is extremely convincing! Don’t be lazy and read as many reviews as possible – in the end, you’ll surely have a better understanding of this problem.

So, let’s take a look at the main female hair loss products.

Rogaine (being a topical minoxidil with a concentration of 2%) is the only FDA approved hair loss treatment for Androgenic alopecia and other forms of hair loss. However, I found one resource that claims that Rogaine may have some side-effects, especially in patients with a high blood pressure, also being a cause of acne.

Another FDA approved product is Proscar, more recently called Propecia (the active substance contained in these oral pills is finasteride). However, it can be used only in men. Some people are writing that this drug can also cause side-effects, like sex problems and rashes.

Provillus is another Minoxidil-containing hair loss medication which is claimed to be effective both in men and women. It is also FDA approved, being available without a prescription.  Besides minoxidil, it also contains herbal extracts like Saw Palmetto, oils extracted from seeds and roots and vitamins.

For women experiencing menopause hair loss, some resources recommend Aldactone or hormone replacement medication – for example Prempro.

Another approach on female hair loss treatment is the prescription of so-called Alpha Reductase Inhibitors. They can inhibit the 5 alpha reductase, not allowing it to form DHT in combination with testosterone. Propecia is one of these reductase inhibitors.

Besides these main female hair loss products, there are many other remedies that you can find online or in local drug stores. Among them, I will mention Avodart (some claim that it is more effective than Propecia), anti-androgens (which inhibit male hormones), oral solutions like Loniten or hair loss medication for men (Arimidex) who are afraid that pills like Propecia or Proscar will dangerously reduce their male hormones.

Nisim is another hair loss treatment option: since it doesn’t contain substances like finasterine or minoxidil, it is not FDA approved. It is a series of topical products – a Scalp Cleansing Shampoo, followed by a Hair Stimulating Extract and a conditioner, which is optional.

I never used these products myself and I’m not a hair loss specialist, so I don’t know if they work as promised or not.  However, as a nutritionist, I understand that pills will not help you if you don’t radically improve your lifestyle first: they will only temporarily hide the symptoms without treating the disease.

Besides these solutions, there are also many other chemical and natural remedies for hair loss present on the market. I’ll write more about these and other options (vitamins for hair loss, hair transplant and hair restoration) in my next posts. Female hair loss treatments are various, as you surely noticed until now. As I wrote before, information and awareness are our best defense, dramatically increasing our chances of restoring the health and beauty of our hair.