Regaine is probably the most popular treatment on the market for hair loss and works best when used in conjunction with propecia. Rogaine has the active ingredient monoxidil and was initially intended to treat high blood pressure. You can imagine the surprise when men who were taking Rogaine to treat their high blood pressure noticed that they were growing hair where the previously had none. Originally Rogaine was called Loniten and only when more tests were carried out to see if it really could be used as a possible male hair loss treatment did they rebrand it as Rogaine. As soon as it made its way over to Europe it was renamed Regain. Rogaine isn't like propecia where you have to go through the official channels in order to get some. You can buy it at your local pharmacy and even online. I urge you to be wary of buying online. A lot of companies can sell what they claim is Rogaine or at least is as good as but in the end you could be wasting your money. The problem with buying online is that it's hard to police. People can set up a site, get a load of sales before closing the site down and you've got nowhere to turn should your product turns out to be fake. If you don't think that Rogaine is going to be enough for your hair loss then you don't have to worry. There are plenty of other hair loss treatments available. Rogaine may not be enough even if used in conjunction with propecia but that doesn't mean that you have to go through life without your hair.

When it comes to a baldness drug, there are many potions and lotions to choose from today, but only a handful of these actually help. In a $billion market you have to know what to look for that's proven to work or you'll end up wasting a lot of time and money.

The main factor any effective baldness drug needs to deal with is the hormone DHT, or an excess of it. This is the main culprit responsible for most hair loss today, known as male and female pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia.

This by-product of testosterone literally attaches to the hair follicles, gradually suffocating them until the hair gets really thin and falls out. Unless effective treatment is applied, no further hair growth can occur from the affected areas.

This actually affects men and women equally, but women don't usually experience total balding or a receding hairline and once ingredient in particular has been proven to be extremely effective.

Minoxidil 5% for men and 2% for women is a topical medication approved by the FDA for female and male pattern hair loss. While Minoxidil does not grow new hair, it works by blocking the DHT and prolonging the growth phase of hair and providing more time for hair to grow out to its full density and returning your full head of hair.

The only other baldness drug of any note is Propecia and has also shown to be effective but some side effects like erectile dysfunction and low libido have been reported, but only in a small number of cases. It is also not recommended for women due to its strength.

If you add a blend of natural nutrients as well, you can enhance the new hair growth and boost your health too. Saw Palmetto, Muira Puama, Nettle Root and Horsetail are all great for blocking the DHT.

To ensure the new hair is healthy and strong, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and biotin will all help.

Now you know what a baldness drug should do, you can select one knowing that you can soon start to see the gradual return of your hair, month by month.

Patience is needed as it can take up to 6 months for any treatment to start working!

Visit my website today to learn more about a cure for hair loss with these natural substances that is excellent for promoting new hair growth and optimum health.

Male pattern baldness or any other sort of hair loss is extremely common in most men and even many women. Everyone has the choice to live with their mature hairline, but many want to do something about it. Rob Angelino, founder of HAIRLAB, a medical and natural hair restoration center located in Beverly Hills, California, explains the most effective hair loss treatments and how they work:

What's the most effective method of regrowing hair?

A hair transplant is by far the most effective treatment to grow your own hair and have it last forever. As this is a complicated and expensive procedure, we always try to make it a last resort. We first see if some of the other treatments work before we move to surgery.

How effective are drugs on the market like Rogaine and Propecia?

Rogaine (also known as Minoxidil) has been around for 25 years and has been approved by FDA to be sold over the counter. It's a vasodilator, which means it increases the blood flow to the areas where you rub it in. This increase in circulation promotes hair regrowth, but the hair you grow is mostly pretty thin and wispy hair. Most patients don't like Rogaine because the actual substance is sticky and you have to apply it twice a day. While there is the new Rogaine Foam which is easier to apply, it is still not a be-all end-all solution. The non-FDA approved stuff out there works just as well too. Whenever we do a hair transplant, we do recommend using Rogaine for a week after we complete the procedure to increase blood flow to the scalp. We usually tell clients to go through one course of Rogaine about a week post-op, and if they want to, they can continue to use it afterward too.

Propecia, generically known as finasteride, is a synthetic drug you take orally via a 1 milligram pill. It blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which is the metabolite that causes baldness. While it was originally used for enlarged prostates, they found a side effect of the drug was it caused hair growth in bald men. It is a male-only drug and very effective. I have personally been on it for 8.5 years. Though there are a lot of negative rumors swirling about regarding Propecia, including risks of birth defects in children, I have never had any side effects nor seen any evidence of this. I fathered two healthy children while on it, so the rumors are totally untrue. You can find out more information at propecia.com. On their site, they show twins with similar hair loss problems and the twin using Propecia clearly shows that he stopped losing and even regained his hair. It definitely works and here at HAIRLAB as we have written thousands of prescriptions for Propecia.

Are there any home remedies or preventative measures that work?

Natural supplements, Rogaine, and laser photo therapy all work. And you don't need a prescription for any of those! You can get all sorts of different types of lasers that can be used in your own home. They are sold as standalone floor units or as hand-held. The standalone unit goes over your head and has 90 to 150 beams in it which bathes your scalp with red laser light. The lasers stimulate cell metabolism which allows scalp cells to repair and grow. The downside of hand-held unit is obviously that you have to hold it up to your head for 15 minutes, which can be annoying. Remember to be careful not to look up as staring into laser will cause vision damage. Always keep it unplugged and out of the reach of children.

If none of those alternatives work, we can always move to hair transplant surgery, but we try to provide alternatives before we decide to do such the more advanced and expensive procedure.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

New topical Alopecia treatments available. We can now supply Rogaine XS / Headway / Spectral.DNC in a variety of strengths. Please look out for more products in this section very soon