How to Treat Alopecia

People naturally lose about 50 to 100 hairs on a daily basis. If you lose more than 150 hairs daily, you may suffer from alopecia areata or androgenic alopecia. Alopecia areata is a condition in which your immune system attacks your hair follicles and triggers hair loss. Androgenic alopecia is hereditary hair loss. Both conditions can start with thinning hair and a bald spot on top of your head, and they can gradually increase in severity. A variety of treatments can help you combat alopecia.

Things You'll Need

• Minoxidil (Rogaine)
• Anti-inflammatory drugs
• Biotin
• Blue-green algae tablets
• Beta-sitosterol
• Saw palmetto

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Instructions

• 1

  Apply minoxidil to your scalp on a daily basis. Minoxidil, better known under the FDA-approved brand name Rogaine, helps stimulate hair growth in people suffering from hereditary alopecia. Results can take up to three months to be visible, and lifetime use of the drug is required to keep hair loss from returning.

• 2

  Take prescription anti-inflammatory drugs, prescribed by your general practitioner or dermatologist, to treat alopecia areata. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also known as corticosteroids, can be administered topically, orally or through an injection into the scalp. The drugs in pill form are stronger than injections and topically applied drugs. Pills are prescribed for severe cases of alopecia areata in which 50 percent of the hair is lost. Results from anti-inflammatory drugs are gradual and can be seen anywhere from four to 12 weeks into the treatment.

• 3

  Undergo alopecia reduction surgery. Alopecia reduction surgery must be performed by a trained and experienced hair restoration physician. Restorative surgeries include scalp reduction, during which bald spots are removed and hairy scalp tissue is stretched to cover bald areas; scalp flap surgery, in which flaps or skin from elsewhere are transplanted to cover the bald areas; or scalp expansion, in which bald patches are removed and a balloon-type device inflates the scalp so the bald patches are covered with hairy scalp tissue.

• 4

  Adjust your eating habits so you get a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, since hair loss can be triggered by malnutrition. Consume a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole-grain products, lean meats and unsaturated fats.

• 5

  Take 300 mcg (or 0.3 mg) biotin and up to 6 blue-green algae tablets daily. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, these can promote hair growth in people with alopecia areata. Eat romaine lettuce, chard, tomatoes and carrots as alternative biotin sources.

• 6

  Take 50 mg beta-sitosterol and 200 mg saw palmetto, two times daily. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that these supplements may trigger hair growth in people with androgenic alopecia.