There’s little that can knock our confidence more than hair loss. Whether you’ve discovered thinning around your hairline or you’ve noticed significant amounts of hair falling out, the great news is that there are several treatment options we offer at The Lovely Clinic.
Hair loss is not an experience to be cherished, so whether you’re male or female, find out everything you need to know about hair restoration solutions right here.
Finasteride
Finasteride is one of the most common treatments for hair loss. We usually prescribe this in tablets to be taken everyday, sometimes along other hair loss treatments. The great thing about the treatment is that it’s super effective for encouraging new hair growth and, as it is taken orally, the effects can be stronger than a topical treatment.
As with any medication, there can be side effects after long term use of finasteride so it’s always best to speak to a professional before you go down any treatment route. Check out our YouTube video on hair restoration treatments which covers this in detail.
Dutasteride
Dr Kishan Raichura, one of our lead doctors at The Lovely Clinic, loves dutasteride as a treatment for hair loss. This is a topical formula which is prescribed as either a foam or tonic that can be applied daily. It is great for both men and women, though it’s not suitable for women of childbearing age. The great thing about dutasteride is that you bypass any of the symptoms you would associate with taking tablets, which is always a win-win.
And coming soon, there will be a dutasteride injection which will be even more effective than the topical treatment. The Lovely Clinic will be one of the few clinics in the UK to offer this treatment – so watch this space!
Minoxidil
Another topical treatment, minoxidil is our first port of call for treating men with hair loss. We usually prescribe a 2% or 5% cream, and sometimes we’ll offer finasteride tablets alongside this.
We can compound minoxidil for you so that you’re applying a lower dose or higher dose, which might be more appropriate for some patients.
Other things you need to know
Transplants vs medication
There’s a lot of rumours that hair loss treatments like topical solutions or tablets only work alongside hair transplants, but we haven’t found this to be true. Dr Kishan says the experience is unique to each person. Particularly in younger patients that have had hair loss in the last couple of years, our hair restoration treatments used alone without transplants can be extremely effective.
Low level laser therapy
Low level laser therapy is an increasingly popular treatment which is non-invasive and doesn’t require you to take or apply any medicine. This is a home treatment and you can administer laser therapy by using a cap that pulses red light into the scalp, once a week. Depending on the level of hair loss, this can be really effective by stimulating the hair follicles and we’ve seen successes even in really severe alopecia cases.
Female hair loss
For women, we can offer bespoke hair loss treatments but we’re always keen to investigate further into what might be affecting the hair loss, like hormones, stress and conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome. We usually recommend certain blood tests before we recommend any treatment.
Suitability tests
There are tests we can do to check your suitability for hair loss treatments, like the Tricho ™ Test from Fagron. This genetic test will help us determine which treatments you may respond best to, so that we can curate the best plan to suit you.
And finally, the biggest thing to bear in mind with hair loss is that the experience really is different for everyone. That’s why we create tailor-made programs for our patients, so we can be sure you’re getting the very best treatment for you. Book a consultation with us if you’re concerned about hair loss and want to discuss your options