Benefits of Biotin in Treating Hair Loss

Biotin is a nutrient, sometimes referred to as vitamin H or B7. It’s not usually considered an essential vitamin, because intestinal bacteria can produce it. But because of the overuse of antibiotics and other antibacterial agents, there may be a deficiency of bacteria in the intestines, which would lead to a deficiency of the vitamin.

Although there are many dietary sources of the nutrient, the body can’t readily absorb it. It has been estimated that only about 20–40% of the B7 vitamins in foods is absorbed into the bloodstream, primarily because it’s bound to protein. This is another reason that deficiencies are believed to be common.

Biotin hair loss supplements are recommended because the nutrient is necessary for the production and normal growth of human hairs. The major symptom of biotin deficiency is thinning of the hair and eventually baldness that may spread from the scalp to other parts of the body, in severe cases.

If you want to see results, a biotin hair loss supplement is not the only thing to consider. There are topically applied treatments that have been proven effective time and again.

The next useful idea relevant to this area: One of the most effective treatments is a topical product called minoxidil. Minoxidil works by improving blood flow to the follicles, which produce the hairs.

One more insightful point in regard to this area of interest: Like some other parts of the body, the follicles go through active and resting stages. But sometimes they remain at rest longer than they should. Minoxidil seems to wake them up, so to speak.

For many years, balding was thought to be an inevitable part of the aging process, particularly for people with a family history of baldness. Now, with biotin hair loss supplements and topically applied minoxidil, it appears that we can prevent that part of the aging process. Clinical studies have shown that men in the early stages of male pattern baldness stopped losing hair and even had some growth, with continued treatment.

It isn’t necessary to see a doctor to get biotin supplements or minoxidil. It’s available over-the-counter. You can even order it online. Some companies combine the 2 treatments and include other beneficial ingredients in their supplements.

Can a Drug for Male Hair Loss Be Used for Hair Loss in Women Too?

Hair loss is surprisingly common in women, affecting more than 30 million in the US, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. It can start as early as puberty or much later in life. In fact, 38 percent of women who are 70 years or older experience hair loss—in part because hair thickness decreases with age, especially after menopause. The condition often leads to low self-esteem, social anxiety, and self-imposed isolation.

Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is characterized by thinning over the top of the scalp and sometimes the sides. In men, a male hormone known as an androgen is primarily responsible for hair loss, but the main cause of FPHL appears to be less clear-cut.

Women normally produce male hormones too, and in some cases the condition is associated with excessive androgen levels. Other types of hair shedding in women may be related to oestrogen loss or significant changes in oestrogen levels, as in the postpartum period or in menopause. Hair loss can also result from breakage during hair treatments and styling, certain medication—including hormones—and conditions like iron deficiency, severe dieting, thyroid disease, lupus, and even stress.

Finasteride is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat male pattern hair loss (also called androgenetic alopecia). At higher doses, it’s also approved to reduce the symptoms of enlarged prostate in men. It works by blocking the enzyme that is responsible for the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, the androgen that causes the prostate to enlarge. It also reduces dihydrotestosterone levels in the scalp, which slows hair loss and even increases hair growth.

Because finasteride has been effective in controlling male pattern hair loss, it has been used to treat female pattern hair loss, although it has not gained FDA approval for that purpose. Medication prescribed to treat a condition that does not have FDA approval for that use is known as ‘off-label’. Doctors can legally prescribe any medication they deem appropriate for treatment.

Temporal Hair Loss or Receding Hairline

Follicle length is a determinant of the length of the growth phase for a particular hair—shorter follicles produce shorter hairs like those found on the arms and face of a child. In the adolescent male, the facial and main trunk hairs which are genetically designed to grow are stimulated by the production of testosterone to produce deeper follicles resulting in stronger hair in those areas.

Unfortunately, the same reaction will reduce the scalp follicles and hairs. Treatments using a strong drug stimulant can improve the length of those hairs by up to 100 percent—thereby doubling the length of the hair—whilst it is applied, but once treatment with the drug product is stopped, the next generation of hair will return to, at most, its genetically shortened length.

Contributing Factors to Receding Hair Loss

Contributory factors of a receding hairline can include illnesses characterized by high fever (for example typhoid and scarlet fevers), chemotherapy, malnutrition, and glandular disorders can all cause premature receding hair loss. Seeking advice about the condition and obtaining a receding hair loss treatment for the disease or dysfunction will usually work in stopping the loss of hair. If the scalp and follicles are not severely damaged, or worse, already dead, then it is possible to see regrowth spontaneously. Infection of the scalp, oiliness or dirtiness of the scalp and hair, as well as excessive teasing and lacquering of hair are also conducive to baldness.

Conclusion

So if you are starting to notice a receding hair loss, don’t leave it, as it will become progressive. If keeping your youthful looks is important to you, and you don’t want to look old before your time, you do need to take action to stop the hair loss as soon as you notice it. There are many ways that you can cure and stop a receding hairline loss, from natural remedies through to the more traditional medically prescribed treatments. Discussing the available options with your GP is a good first step, as there are many available options for stopping and reversing the receding hair loss ranging from expensive synthetic drugs to hair transplants, laser hair regrowth treatments, and the various natural home-based remedies.

Plenty of Treatment Options for Male Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common type of hair loss in men, but there are numerous options for treating the condition, and more are being developed.

Androgenetic alopecia affects about 50 million American men. It is estimated that a man has a 50 percent chance of experiencing hair loss by age 50. This hereditary androgen-dependent condition is characterized by a receding hairline as well as a loss of hair on top of the scalp, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

‘Typically, in my practice the patients who come to visit range in age from very young (with early onset at age 14 or 15) to those in their 30s and 40s. They are just starting to bald and hair loss might be something very prominent in their family, or they are coming in early and they just want to make sure that the thinning they are experiencing is male androgenetic alopecia and not something else’, says Maria Hordinsky, M.D., professor and chairwoman, department of dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Dr. Hordinsky says patients with very extensive hair loss are not a large part of the population at her practice. ‘Most people who come in for an evaluation are coming in fairly early on’, she says.

Available Therapies

Treatment approaches vary depending on the patient, and range from pills and topical medications to devices and hair transplant procedures. Clinicians must conduct an evaluation before prescribing treatment, particularly for patients in their early teens.

‘If a 15-year-old comes in with his mom and dad and he is experiencing hair thinning and hair loss, then the dermatologist has to evaluate if there is anything else going on that could explain the change in hair density’, Dr. Hordinsky says.

For patients in the 18- to 35-year-old range, discussions should include topical treatments, such as minoxidil, the prescription medication finasteride and the laser comb, she says. Combination treatments are also commonly discussed.

Dr. Hordinsky says that for people in the 18- to 35-year-old group, there probably would not be a discussion about hair transplantation because the patient’s hair loss is still evolving and the goal is to be able to treat and stop the process as best possible.

‘At this point it starts to get individualized and dependent on what the patient wants’, she says. ‘Do they want to take a pill, put something on their scalp either in the form of a liquid or foam twice a day, or do they want to try using the laser comb three times a week?’

Dermatologists can start working through what fits the person’s lifestyle when determining the best treatment options, Dr. Hordinsky says.

Other Approaches

When new drugs were being developed and being studied in clinical trials—such as when minoxidil or finasteride were being introduced—there were many more patients visiting dermatology offices for male androgenetic alopecia, she says.

‘Overall there are fewer people being seen now for male androgenetic alopecia’, Dr. Hordinsky says. ‘Minoxidil and the laser comb are over-the-counter, so people can just go buy them and they do not have to see the dermatologist’.

After patients try these options, their perception that the over-the-counter therapies don’t work could bring them into the clinic, or they may feel they are missing something that needs to be investigated.

Patients with more extensive hair loss may benefit from hair transplantation.

‘The medical dermatologist with an interest in hair diseases can partner with a hair transplant specialist, who does hair transplantation on a regular basis. For this group of patients, I partner with Ron Shapiro, M.D., an excellent hair transplant surgeon in our area and someone who is also on our adjunct faculty’, she says.

A medical dermatologist should refer the patient, and the hair transplant surgeon can then conduct an assessment and discuss the procedure, cost and other details. The most popular type of hair transplant surgery today is follicular transplantation or transplantation of follicular units.

‘This technique has been around for quite some time and it is a very good technique with outstanding cosmetic results. Patients are very satisfied’, Dr. Hordinsky says.