Hair loss

Hair thinning and density falling.

Start here

What it is: Hair growing finer and fewer, so the scalp shows through. Whether thickness and density have dropped is a surer signal than how many hairs come out in a day.
Why it happens: The most common form is androgenetic, where genes and hormones combine and the follicle shrinks a little with each cycle. But thyroid disease, iron deficiency, alopecia areata and the temporary shedding after childbirth or major stress are entirely different causes.
Where to start: Sorting out the cause comes first. If it is not androgenetic, the options on this page are not the answer and sometimes must not be used. And this site does not cover oral prescription medicines.

There are no numbers and no citations in this box. What has been established, and how far, is below.

This is one of the emptiest parts of this site. Here is why.

At the centre of hair loss treatment sit oral prescription medicines. This site decided not to cover things whose dosing and prescription status are settled in consultation. So the most widely used option for this concern is absent here.

Three things remain, each with its own situation.

A topical — minoxidil. It is the third item on this site to carry “strong evidence”, and the best-evidenced place in this concern.
A procedure — PRP. In two placebo-controlled half-head trials in androgenetic alopecia, density rose more on the PRP side (25 and 52 people, six months each). But on the same page, the trial on facial skin found no difference to masked raters. Same procedure, two different answers.
Surgery — hair transplantation. It has a page in this site’s surgery layer, but linking a concern page to surgery is something this site does not do. It keeps surgery from reading as the next step to someone who came about a concern.

One more thing. The things called hair loss are different diseases. Androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, telogen effluvium and scarring alopecias differ in cause and in treatment, and for some of them the options here do not fit. Diagnosis comes first.

Nothing here yet.

Medicines used for this concern

Medicines are not listed alongside cosmetic ingredients. Dosage and whether a prescription is needed are settled in consultation.

Minoxidil Over the counter — ask the pharmacist

Clinical procedures related to this concern

Procedures are not listed alongside topical ingredients. They are not something you use at home.

Low-level light therapy (LED cap) Device-based
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) Injection