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More than 80% of men and women experience some pattern hair loss during their lifetime, according to NYU Langone.
And while no single special potion or medical device completely reverses loss of locks due to genetics or age, not all hope is lost when it comes to balding.
Dr. Kseniya Kobets, director of cosmetic dermatology at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care, told The Post the top 10 things she says to her patients when they come in about shedding and thinning problems.
Just as there are several treatments available for hair loss, there are also many different causes.
“One of the biggest things I tell my patients is that hair loss usually isn’t from just one thing, especially as we get older and in peri- and postmenopausal women,” Kobets told The Post.
Wearing tight hairstyles for years can cause traction alopecia, physical or emotional stress can trigger telogen effluvium, underlying genetic hair loss that was already present may worsen with menopause or weight gain — the list goes on.
On the flip side, several treatments combined can tackle the issue, whether it’s medication or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.
“Patients always want to know whether it was the PRP, nutraceutical, serum, LED or minoxidil that worked, but sometimes it’s all of them together,” Kobets said.
Our health affects our hair, especially when it comes to low iron, vitamin D or other nutritional deficiencies, as well as thyroid issues.
“I always tell patients that if you’re trying to grow a beautiful garden, you need good soil,” Kobets said. “Hair follicles are very sensitive to physiologic stress and deficiencies.”
Instead of just adding another hair growth product, check with a doctor about optimizing nutrients and thyroid function.
While the age-old advice of getting good sleep, exercising, eating enough protein and fewer processed foods may be a cliché, it matters for a reason.
But Kobets warned that adhering to all of the above won’t automatically fix every cause of hair loss.
“Not everyone with insulin resistance, diabetes, inflammation or stress loses hair,” she said, adding that genetics determine how sensitive your follicles are. “But you want to decrease as many of those stressors as possible when trying to maximize hair growth.”
Take a pass on the trendy hair loss cures that are all over social media, and turn to treatments that have science and proof behind them.
Mainly, the only two medications that have FDA approval are topical minoxidil and oral finasteride.
While genes do play a big role in determining hair’s fate, they may not be the reason behind your hair loss.
“If you’re losing hair and also have significant itching, burning, tenderness, redness or scale, see a dermatologist,” Kobets warned.
Inflammatory and scarring alopecias can masquerade as regular thinning, but permanently destroy the follicle, the root where hair grows from.
While “regenerative” and “cutting-edge” are buzzy marketing designed to draw you in, that doesn’t mean the treatments are proven.
One Kobets is wary of? “I’m particularly cautious about injectable exosomes for hair loss because they are not FDA-approved for this purpose, products aren’t standardized and we still need much better studies on efficacy and long-term safety,” she explained.
Before buying another hair supplement, check that you’re consuming enough protein and aren’t deficient in any key nutrients.
While no one magical food or vitamin will grow back hair, paying special attention to overall nutrition and correcting true deficiencies like iron will help.
Plus, over-doing it on certain supplements can actually contribute to hair loss, she added.
People using weight loss drugs are shedding pounds and hair — but in many patients, it’s temporary.
To treat it, Kobets recommends eating enough protein, avoiding losing large amounts of weight too quickly when possible and making sure genetics aren’t the underlying cause.
Treating hair loss is a lot like watching grass grow — it’s happening, just slowly, with individual hairs growing 1 centimeter a month, on average.
Give a treatment at least three to six months before deciding whether it’s working.
“Taking standardized photos is much more useful than staring at your hair in the mirror every day,” Kobets advises.
While shedding from telogen effluvium is usually temporary, it can expose underlying genetic hair loss that was already progressing.
This can explain why some patients’ hair doesn’t return to normal once the stress that caused the initial shedding is resolved, according to Kobets.
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