What Are the Treatments for Female Baldness?

Some drugs used for purposes other than hair-loss prevention have accidentally been found to benefit those experiencing hair loss. When a drug is used for a purpose other than what it is intended for, it's called "off-label" use. For instance, a person takes a drug for one reason and then realizes that his hair has become more abundant and faster growing than ever. This is how medical and drug discoveries are often made.

Propecia and Minoxidil

• Finasteride, or Propecia, is a drug used by men to treat the prostate gland. However, finasteride and minoxidil (Rogaine) have both been approved as hair-loss treatments by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Propecia stops male-pattern baldness and may even result in hair regrowth. This drug prevents the body from making dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, which is an androgen (testosterone) that causes balding in both men and women. Women can also use minoxidil but should use the 2% concentration rather than the 5% concentration, according to www.Americanhairloss.org. Minoxidil was originally intended for treating high blood pressure. However, it was noticed that those taking it experienced hypertrichosis, which is excessive hair growth. Applying a solution of minoxidil to the scalp stimulates hair growth. Minoxidil seems to be even more effective in women than in men for treating hair-loss conditions such as diffuse androgenetic alopecia, according to www.Americanhairloss.org.

Female Hormones, Tagamet, and Aldactone

• Female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone are given in hormone replacement therapy and are considered the most common treatment for androgenetic alopecia in women. Another treatment, oral contraceptives, also contain female hormones. However, only low-androgen- (male hormone) index oral contraceptives should be used to treat hair loss because the high-androgen birth-control pills will result in hair loss. Cimetidine, or Tagamet, which is used to treat ulcers and is a histamine blocker, also has an anti-androgenic effect and blocks DHT. It shows promise as a hair-loss treatment for women. A water pill (diuretic) called spironolactone (Aldactone), used to reduce excess fluid without resulting in potassium loss, blocks DHT and also slows production of androgens, which prevents hair loss.

Cyproterone Acetate

• Another hair-loss treatment involves taking cyproterone acetate, which is given to men who have extremely high sex drives or sexual aggression to diminish their libidos. This drug blocks the binding of DHT, the male hormone, to its receptors. However, cyproterone acetate is not available in the United States because it may be toxic and have long-term side effects.