Hello and welcome to the Man Buns & Manes blog where we’ll be covering some of the best and most practical hair loss solutions for men who are experiencing hair loss at any stage.
Before launching straight into our list of hair loss solutions, we believe it’s best to have a good understanding of why hair loss even occurs and how it works first. You know why? Because hardly ANYONE talks or knows about it.
In fact the lack common knowledge around the topic of hair loss is the main reason men do nothing about it when they start experiencing it. They just think “Well this sucks, but it’s my genetics and I can’t do anything about it.” WRONG!
Once you understand how hair loss works, you’ll be in a far better position to manage it and even reverse it depending on what stage you are at.
So here’s what you need to know about hair loss first…
Understanding Hair Loss 101
Hair loss can indeed be a scary topic and what’s even scarier is that it will affect more than 50% of males before the age of 50. It’s also common for some men to be experiencing hair loss even in their early 20’s and no matter a man’s age, hair loss can have significant impacts on our social lives and leave a man feeling like an alien and full of shame.
Although hair loss can inflict crippling shame on your self esteem, it’s important to remember that it’s actually a very normal condition and there are tons of people out there experiencing the same thing. But why is this even happening in the first place?
There can be multiple factors as to why hair loss occurs but the most common cause of hair loss is pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness is usually genetic and is caused by an excess production of the hormone known as DHT (Dihydrotestosterone).
Although DHT is a normal and necessary hormone for our body, it is prone to attaching itself the hair follicles on the scalp (particularly the crown and temples) and when there are excessive amounts of it, it begins to suffocate the follicle until death.
This is what causes receding hairlines and that odd donut shape that you see on older guys. Pattern baldness is a slow process and can take some time, but if left unattended can lead to permanent hair loss.
To read more about DHT and how it plays a role in hair loss, here’s a useful resource we found on it.
Also, just a side note, all of the solutions mentioned in this blog post are also listed in the “Men’s Guide to Hair Growth”. The Men’s Guide to Hair Growth is an excellent resource written by Ken Fryer who suffered extreme hair loss in his early 20’s. He’s very passionate about this subject and is currently dedicating himself to helping men with hair loss.
In the book, Ken covers a lot more info on hair loss and more solutions that aren’t listed in this post. So if you’re serious about battling your hair loss, we strongly recommend you give his book a read. To learn more about the book, click here.
Now let’s get down to the practical solutions Men are using to combat this issue shall we?
1. Low Level Laser Therapy
Low level laser therapy is an effective technology that uses lasers and LED’s to send light energy to the hair follicles. This method increases the cell metabolism of the hair follicle and promotes more blood flow to the bulb of the hair to keep it healthy.
Essentially, low level laser therapy helps helps counteract the effects of DHT suffocation by keeping the follicle stimulated and full of the nutrients it needs in order to grow.
Hair loss clinics will usually offer their clients this kind of technology in addition to offering them finasteride. Finasteride is a medication that decreases/halts the production of DHT in your body. Using both the medication and low level laser therapy can be great for getting awesome results however, medication is not always necessary and you should always consult with your doctor before taking anything.
The other thing to note is hair loss clinics will usually charge exorbitant amounts of money as part of their “service fee” and you’ll more than likely walk out of there with a low level laser therapy device and some finasteride which you could have just gone and bought without them.
This is why it pays to do your research first, so you know what your options are before going to a clinic. It can save you TONS of money and you can still get the same result.
There are quite a number of reputable brands that offer low level laser devices such as iRestore. iRestore have just brought their brand new low level laser therapy helmet that has a one off cost and you can use in the comfort of your own home.
The device is FDA cleared, which means it has been checked thoroughly for health and safety and it also comes with a money back guarantee. They also offer great discounts for people who have special purchase codes and you can learn more about it here.
As for Finasteride, it’s a medication, so before taking it you’re far better off speaking to your GP who is up to date with your health history and can recommend whether the medication is good for you or not. You don’t need a hair loss clinic to get your hands on the drug and use it safely.
On a final note, low level laser therapy has shown to be most suitable for men with minor to moderate hair loss. The technology is used to reactivate and stimulate existing follicles. Unfortunately for men experiencing severe hair loss, it’s likely that the follicles in the affected area are already completely dead and beyond reactivation, so another solution is going to be best in those cases. We’ll cover more about that later in this post though.
2. Hair Implants
Hair implants are probably the most genius hair loss solution around. Hair implants require a procedure that involves taking hair follicles from a section of the scalp where the hair is more dense and then distributing them evenly to the affected areas of hair loss.
Although results from this can take a while to see, it can be well worth it in the end. Here are some before and afters of how effective hair implants can be.
(Where implants were taken from.)
(Area after healing.)
(Where implants were placed.)
(Results 1 year later.)
The one thing to note about hair implant though is it’s all well and good that you are able to replace the hair you have already lost however, you still need to be mindful of why the hair loss is happening.
If you don’t do anything to reduce the DHT levels in your scalp, the hair you have implanted from the procedure will also end up dying off eventually. So it’s really important that before you get something like this done you have a plan of how you’re going to keep and look after the new hair you just had implanted. Otherwise all your efforts will be for nothing.
Again, finasteride can be a great solution for keeping your DHT levels at bay so the implants have the best possible chances of growing back strong and healthy or alternatively you can look into using a DHT blocking shampoo like this one from iRestore.
These things in conjunction with low level laser therapy can dramatically increase your chances of reversing your hair loss completely.
Lastly, hair implants aren’t suitable for all stages of hair loss either. Just like low level laser therapy, this sort of treatment is most suitable for men with minor to moderate hair loss.
There are certain parts of the scalp that are too sensitive for this type of treatment and the earlier you act during your hair loss journey, the better the chances of you have of benefiting from this type of treatment as the affected areas are much smaller and easier to treat.
3. Hair Pieces
Believe it or not, you most likely know somebody who wears one of these but you haven’t even realised it.
Hair piece technology has come a very long way over the last decade and you can now get pieces that are so well disguised it looks like real hair. Check out this interview Thomas did with Brandon who was open enough to get on camera and talk about his hair piece.
Lastly, hair pieces are a great solution for men experiencing severe hair loss and aren’t keen on the idea of having a bald appearance.
4. Scalp Micro-Pigmentation
Scalp micro-pigmentation is a great solution for men at all stages of hair loss. In fact, this kind of treatment is great for guys with really thin hair in general.
Scalp micro-pigmentation is a tattooing procedure that gives the illusion of more hair follicles than there actually are in the scalp.
For men with extreme hair loss, this can be effective in the sense that it can fill in your hairline and give the appearance that you have a full head of hair but you just make the decision of being bald.
This is exactly what Ken Fryer did to combat his hair loss and he swears by it.
(Ken Before Scalp Micro-Pigmentation)
(Ken After Scalp Micro-Pigmentation)
As for guys with minor to moderate hair loss, this can be effective because the light parts of your scalp that are showing from your hair loss can be coloured to match your own hair colour. This creates an illusion of more hair than there actually is.
Conclusion
And that concludes our 4 practical hair loss solutions for men. Are any of these the absolute best solution for hair loss that works for everyone?
No, everyone is different and depending on your stage of hair loss will determine what’s going to work best for you. Hopefully you found this interesting and at least learned something new.
After all, hair loss is a massive topic and we just wanted to make sure you got the memo!
If you haven’t yet joined our Facebook group, you can do that here.
There’s over 2000 guys in there at the moment growing their hair out and the community is super supportive of others and where they are at on their journey.
Until our next article, keep it real.
ROAR!
The Man Buns & Manes Team.
