I’m 19 and the doc said I am losing hair. Would eating healthier and excersizing postpone or stop hair loss?

I am going to presume you are a male in generally good health and answer your question(s) accordingly. To begin with, hair loss in men beginning at age 19 is not particularly unusual, but does signal one’s genetic predisposition to a fairly significant degree of hair loss as time passes. The best guide to judging your future hair loss is to look at male relatives on both sides of your family. If they experienced hair loss early in life, this is a tendency you may have inherited too.

I was drinking and smoking quite heavily on weekends, could that have been part of the problem?

While drinking and smoking are certainly not good for your health, neither of these habits, to my knowledge, are typically linked to the onset or progression of pattern hair loss. There are three things that need to conspire in order to suffer pattern hair loss. First, genetics; which we’ve already discussed. Second, age; this means that 9 year old children do not usually suffer from pattern hair loss. And third, circulating hormones; think of hormones as the match that lights the fuse. Put these three factors in motion and you have all the ingredients to suffer from androgenetic alopecia (typical pattern hair loss). Since no one can modify your genetics or age, medical treatments designed to address pattern hair loss target various facets of the hormonal metabolic steps that cause susceptible scalp hair to thin.

And also, are there certain vitamins I should focus on getting in my system to reduce the loss? Are there any longterm products I can take to prevent any future hair loss.

I’m looking for pills that work, Are there any?

At the present time there are several classes of drugs that have been shown to offer positive benefit in treating hair loss. These are topical minoxidil, oral finasteride & oral dutasteride. Finasteride and dutasteride block the enzyme (5 alpha-reductase) that synthesizes the main problematic hormone (DHT) from substrate (testosterone). Minoxidil seems to influence calcium channel metabolism in a biochemical pathway (too complicated to get into here)—which regulates hair cycling among many other things—in a manner that, to my knowledge, has not yet been fully worked out.

Certain naturally occurring substances, such as saw palmetto and other compounds also seem to offer potential benefit in the context of androgen-mediated disorders (e.g. pattern hair loss). The nice thing about such naturally derived substances is that they are thought to work without the potential for negative side effect. Regardless, as to which among these options offers the right choice for any given person is a question best worked out with the active assistance of one’s primary care provider. He/She is a medical expert. He/She also has your best interests at heart.

I know that’s alot of questions, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Take your time. Learn as much as you can. Do your product/drug research. Don’t let anyone pressure you into jumping into one treatment or another until you have your facts straight. And most importantly, enlist the aid of your treating physician in helping you make the appropriate decisions. Do these things and you stand a good chance of slowing/stopping/possibly reversing your hair loss. Hope that helps…

best wishes,

Geno Marcovici, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
HairGenesis
http://www.hairgenesis.com
dr.marcovici@hairgenesis.com

Here a few simple home remedies which can be tried at home to control hair fall. To treat hair loss apply a little lemon juice with some black tea. Massage well and shampoo.Rub oil into the scalp. Wring out a towel in hot water and wrap it on the head. Keep it on for 15 minutes. Shampoo and dry well. Check out http://usefulinfo-hairloss.blogspot.com/ for more info.