What Are The Best Hair Loss Treatments?

It can be extremely frustrating trying to sift through all of the gimmicks and marketing when you’re looking for the best hair loss treatment. The fact of the matter is that it depends on the individual, but there aren’t nearly as many legitimate, proven options as the internet might have you believe. If you’ve read my story already, you know that I have tried pretty much every option out there—including several hair transplants and prescription medications. This puts me in a unique position to outline some of your different options when it comes to the best hair loss treatments.

Hair Loss Vitamins, Supplements and Products:

As always, I’m going to shoot you straight—most of these hair loss products do not work. In most cases, your hair is not falling out because you are lacking a particular vitamin or because you aren’t using a special shampoo; most hair loss is caused by genetic and hormonal factors, which is very important to grasp when you are researching hair loss solutions.

There’s a reason I listed this option first—it’s convenient, accessible, and in most cases, affordable. Unless you’re on the extreme side in terms of diet or hygiene, meaning that you ingest little-to-no micronutrients/vitamins or you refuse to uphold basic hygiene practices like showering, it’s unlikely that these hair loss treatments are going to provide you with much of a benefit.

These products should be used for what they really are—supplements. This means that they can usually be safely added to a more proven treatment option, which we will get to later.

I personally take a few supplemental products, which include a Ketoconazole shampoo and a vitamin with saw palmetto and biotin. All of these compounds have some research suggesting that they are beneficial when it comes to scalp health and hair growth—albeit, it’s pretty limited. My thought here is that I already need to use a shampoo and take a multivitamin, so why not use ones that may help my situation. They are reasonably-priced and if they don’t work, I’m not any worse off.

At the end of the day, look into the ingredients and see if any of them have studies proving their efficacy; if you find something promising, send me the link and I’ll check it out, but I’ve yet to see one so far.

Laser Light Therapy For Hair Loss:

This is another non-invasive hair loss treatment, but one that the jury is still out on. If you haven’t heard about it before, laser light therapy is the idea that emitting specific light frequencies can stimulate various bodily functions and systems. There are hair loss combs and helmets that emit a specific frequency and the claims are that it can help with hair loss.

When I first started my hair loss journey over 10 years ago, I actually purchased one of these devices and I did not have any luck. It was a helmet-looking device that was designed to be worn for 10-30 minutes per day and I gave it a shot as I was desperate to stop my hair loss and avoid jumping on prescription medication or getting a hair transplant.

This is one of the issues that we come across when we are looking for hair loss treatments—we’re desperate and vulnerable. Companies prey on people that are desperately looking for a solution— regardless of what the problem is—and charge exorbitant amounts of money while making wildly unproven claims about their products’ efficacy. The sad reality about this approach is that it actually works.

I paid $3,000 for a plastic hat that flashed red light on my head and wore the thing for months with zero results. I was (and still am) a bit ashamed that I went down that road, but the desperation got the best of me. There are a few small studies out there that support these products, but I’ve never come across anyone that actually had results specifically attributable to these devices.

In addition, they are very challenging to effectively use, as the idea is that the light must hit the scalp, which is likely covered by what remains of your hair. These are also very high maintenance devices that require upwards of over an hour each week where you definitely don’t want to be seen.

Just think, does it really make sense that your hair is falling out because your head isn’t getting enough red light? Let’s move on.

Microneedling For Hair Loss:

Now that we’ve got the largely unproven hair loss treatments out of the way, let’s start discussing the options that have some legitimate merit behind them. Microneedling is a topical treatment that involves—you guessed it—microneedles. The idea is that one of the main causes of hair loss is a lack of blood flow and circulation and microneedling will assist with that. This is done by creating micro-trauma to the skin causing your body to send blood and other resources to the treated area to repair it, which has been shown to assist with the hair growth cycle.

You can purchase rollers or electronic devices with cartridges and perform this treatment on yourself fairly easily, although I must warn you, it’s a bit uncomfortable.

On its own, microneedling does have research behind it that suggests it may be a legitimate option, but it’s still very much in its infancy stage. Where microneedling may shine is in its promotion of topical product absorption, which we’ll get into next. It makes sense right? If you’re making small punctures, anything applied topically will likely be more effective.

I hope you’re starting to see a trend here; common sense typically prevails. If you take some time to understand what is likely causing your hair loss and are able to refrain from succumbing to desperation “hail marys”, you’re going to be much more successful in your search for legitimate hair loss treatments.

Minoxidil / Rogaine:

Earlier I mentioned that most hair loss products that you can buy over the counter are ineffective and unproven, which is true, but there is one popular product that acts as an exception. We’ve all heard of Rogaine as a hair loss treatment, which has an active ingredient of minoxidil—a vasodilator that promotes blood flow to the scalp. Minoxidil, which is the generic form of Rogaine, can be purchased without a prescription, over the counter. This is a topical product that comes in both a foam and an oil, in both 2% and 5% concentrations.

This is currently the only topical hair loss treatment that is FDA-approved and has studies that prove it’s efficacy. In order to see results, many individuals first notice that their hair loss actually gets worse, as minoxidil is known to trigger the “shedding” phase of the hair growth cycle. Once this cycle has ended, the user generally notices an increase to overall hair count and hair density, with the average time-to-results being around 3 months. These effects last as long as the individual continues use.

There are a few drawbacks to minoxidil that should be mentioned. It seems as if there is a large population that are considered “non-responders” to minoxidil, myself included. It also can cause some undesirable side effects, although these are typically pretty minimal, given it’s topical design.

Personally, I have used minoxidil for roughly 8 years, on-and-off, with the biggest side effects being an itchy scalp. It also seems to increase the oil production in my forehead, which is pretty undesirable. Minoxidil treatment is also pretty high maintenance, in my opinion, as it is designed to be used twice a day, and can take a few minutes to get it spread around where it needs to be, if you have longer hair. Given it’s oily nature, it tends to make your hair pretty greasy and all of these things combined have led me to stop using minoxidil as a hair loss treatment for some time.

It wasn’t until I came across this study, comparing minoxidil users’ results with results from users who supplemented their minoxidil treatments with microneedling. Basically, it showed that many non-responders to minoxidil were able to see results only when used with microneedling and the overall results showed a 6x improvement with microneedling vs minoxidil alone.

When it comes to the best hair loss treatment that is non-prescription and over-the-counter, minoxidil takes the cake, but I would highly recommend using it in tandem with microneedling to give yourself the best chances of success.

Keep in mind, this works by strengthening and retaining what you currently have; it will not reproduce any hair growth in areas where hair follicles no longer exist. This is a powerful combination that will likely yield some promising results in the hair loss prevention category, if you’re willing to commit to the twice-daily application of the minoxidil, the weekly microneedling sessions, and the side effects/discomfort that come with it. This protocol has become part of my hair loss regimen for the past year and a half and it’s not the most fun, but I can’t afford to lose any more hair at this point.

Prescription Medication For Hair Loss:

Here’s where it starts to get a little more extreme in terms of hair loss treatments. Hair loss, at least in men, is typically attributed to a hormone called DHT, which stands for dihydrotestosterone. Without getting into the specifics, DHT has been shown to “attack” or miniaturize hair follicles to the point where they stop producing hair entirely. There are prescriptions you can take to reduce the amount of DHT in your body, which in turn, reduces the amount of hair loss you should experience.

The issue a lot of people have with prescription medications is the side effects they may pose. This hair loss treatment is especially touchy, given that it works by altering your hormones. The 3 prescriptions that are generally written for hair loss are Finasteride, Dutasteride, and as of recently oral minoxidil. There are studies that prove the efficacy of these medications, but the efficacy is not the only consideration to make here.

The biggest concern with these hair loss medications is the effect on the reproductive system, given it’s hormonal ties. There have been some fairly alarming side effects reported, but the general safety profile allows for doctors to prescribe these medications, either on or off-label as a hair loss treatment.

If you do decide to go down this road, you can combine it with the minoxidil/microneedling protocol and give yourself really good odds of preventing further hair loss. As we discussed earlier, this hair loss treatment also must be used indefinitely to continue seeing results, which may be a deal-breaker for some.

I have been on either Finasteride or Dutasteride for almost 10 years now, which was not a decision that I made lightly. I have monitored my hormonal profile carefully, get bloodwork done, and continue to take note of any changes I’m noticing in that department. This isn’t something to jump into lightly, but it’s a decision that I’ve made for the time being, taking my chances with the possible side effects.

The current “gold standard” in terms of hair loss prevention are the minoxidil/microneedling routine, combined with a prescription DHT inhibitor. Using this combination will give you a fairly decent chance of retaining what you currently have, but it’s important to note that it is not a magical formula that will bring you back to where you started. If you would be perfectly content with what you currently have, these may be the only hair loss treatments that you need, but the chances are that if you’re reading this, you may have already lost more hair than you wanted and are interested in hair loss treatments that can offer a different type of result that will bring you closer to the appearance you used to have.

Hair Systems:

This is one of the only hair loss treatments that I never tried. Growing up, I’d hear of men wearing wigs or toupees, and it was always a topic that was surrounded by mockery. They never looked natural and I wasn’t interested in gluing fake hair to my head for the rest of my life; I wanted to find a hair loss solution, not cover it and spend all of my time trying to protect this secret.

That being said, hair systems have come a long way, and I mean a long, long way. They can absolutely look natural, and the adhesives that they are using now make them pretty durable as well. The best systems that I have seen involve a specialist shaving your head down completely bald—at least on the top—which provides the cleanest surface to apply the adhesive. The hair piece is placed on the adhesive and cured, then styled to blend with the hair you have on the sides and back of your head.

This hair loss treatment can provide you with the appearance of a full head of hair, without a doubt, but it will also cost you quite a bit of money and time maintaining. It goes without saying that you’ll have to keep this routine going indefinitely, or until you decide to call it quits and go back to exploring other options. This option also has some side effects that extend beyond issues caused by using a powerful adhesive on the top of your bare scalp; there are also some pretty noteworthy psychological side effects I’ve come across from hair system users.

There is an inherent stress tied to wearing something fake on your head and trying to keep that a secret. It can rob you of the freedom of going swimming or showering without worrying about the adhesive degrading or even just existing without the fear of a seam showing. It may look great when the new system is freshly applied, by as soon as your hair starts growing underneath, it begins to degrade quickly. Additionally, depending on how fast your hair grows and the quality of the system you are using, you could easily end up spending several thousand dollars per year maintaining your hair system look.

All of that being said, this is the best hair loss treatment option for individuals who are willing to deal with the maintenance, cost, and psychological components and are simply looking for a really full head of hair, regardless if it’s theirs or not. There are cases where a hair system is the only option that might help you achieve your desired look.

Hair Transplants:

The big one—hair transplants. This involves removing tissue from the scalp and extracting the hair follicles from it, then transplanting those follicles into areas where the individual would like the hair. This is by far the most invasive and costly hair loss treatment. If you are a good candidate for a hair transplant, you will likely receive the best, most natural-looking results out of any hair loss treatment available.

Here’s the catch:

Most people aren’t good candidates.

The issue is the fact that most hair transplant doctors aren’t honest about whether or not you are a good candidate, or they simply don’t know. We’ve all seen the pictures or commercials for hair transplants, and the successful ones can be very appealing, but for every good result, there are many, many more failed results. The issue here is that the failure puts the individual in a worse position than when they started: they are out a significant amount of money, they’ve endured an invasive surgery and recovered, and now they have an unsightly scar (or scars covering) their head.

There is so much deception plaguing the hair loss industry and the hair transplant sector is among the biggest culprits. I could go on and on about my personal experiences with hair transplants (yes, plural), but I’ll save that for another time. One thing I will say is this, most people are NOT good hair transplant candidates, and the hair transplant doctors will not tell you that.

They also will lead you to believe that you’ll only need one transplant, only to try to sell you another when the first one doesn’t yield the results you were expecting—I fell into this trap myself, more than once. If you’ve heard of the sunk cost fallacy, this is a perfect example; it’s hard not to put more money into something when you’ve already financially committed and still don’t have the results you were looking for. Unfortunately, it’s a vicious trap that can get away from you pretty quickly and you can be left spending significantly more than you planned to, and still be left with less than desirable results.

Many times, hair transplant doctors also don’t tell you about the scarring you’ll be left with, and I’m not just talking about in the area they refer to as “the donor area”; I’m talking about scarring you’ll experience in the area you’re transplanting into.

Again, without going too deep into it, I have such bad scarring in my hairline that it prevents me from cutting my hair short. If it weren’t for the damage that has been caused by the hair transplants, I would likely shave my head and get scalp micropigmentation done, which I’ll touch on next. So yes, when I mentioned I can’t afford to lose any more hair, I wasn’t kidding; I’m left in a position where I’m trapped doing almost all of the hair loss treatments I’ve mentioned here for the rest of my life, because I have so much scarring and damage on my head from multiple hair transplants.

Lastly, many doctors will require, or strongly suggest, that you also take on the “gold standard” prevention protocol that I mentioned above. So if you were hoping to just do a hair transplant and avoid all of that, you’re out of luck. Many of the failed hair transplant cases can be attributed to individuals who got a hair transplant and didn’t do anything to prevent future loss; this results in a high probability that everything around the transplanted hair falls out. This is exactly what happened to Joe Rogan, who openly expresses his critical view on hair transplants on his podcast.

At the end of the day, if you are a good hair transplant candidate (and this is a big “if”), you’re willing and able to afford multiple transplants AND you are willing to go on the full hair loss prevention protocol, you can receive good results from hair transplants.

Scalp Micropigmentation for Hair Loss:

I don’t want this page to be interpreted as a smear campaign for all hair loss treatment options except for the one I offer, but rather a valuable source of information and things to consider from someone who has significant experience with almost every option out there. I chose to practice SMP due to what I’ve personally experienced and genuinely feel that scalp micropigmentation is the best hair loss treatment for the majority of people. It’s non-invasive, permanent, low-maintenance, medication-free, recovery-free, chemical-free, and stress-free. It eliminates most of the drawbacks that come with the other options and can provide some exceptional, natural-looking results.

If you aren’t familiar with scalp micropigmentation—or SMP—it is the use of pigment or ink to replicate the look of hair follicles, which creates the illusion of a fuller head of hair. An artist achieves this by utilizing a specialized technique, equipment, and multiple sessions of blending and layering to gradually reduce the visibility of the scalp. When the treatment is complete, the resulting outcome is a dramatic improvement to the treated area while still remaining very natural-looking.

The final result for someone that is bald is the look of a full head of hair that you CHOOSE to shave down. Think about the 5 o’clock shadow look you typically see on men’s faces; you can still see it, and it has a style to it that shapes their face—the same is possible on your head. You won’t have to mess with surgery, adhesive, medication, or anything other than shaving your head every few days. 

The final result for someone that has hair is a reduced thinning appearance, created by reducing the contrast between the existing hair and the scalp. When someone has dark hair and a lighter scalp, it’s a dead giveaway that they are thinning; this contrast can be reduced by pigmenting the scalp, matching the existing hair color, and restoring the look of a fuller head of hair.

Let me be clear, SMP is not the perfect hair loss treatment and has its own drawbacks as well. SMP does not involve literal hair, fake or real. It creates the illusion of hair by simulating stubble and/or camouflaging the scalp. If you are bald and looking for a full head of long, flowy hair, this will not achieve that; you’re better off exploring the hair system option. If you’re bald and would love to have your face reframed with the appearance of a buzzed head or 5 o’clock shadow, SMP is the perfect treatment for you. It’s amazing how drastically an individual’s appearance can change by providing a frame to their face and that is exactly what SMP provides.

Again, I’ve gone through fire for my own personal hair loss treatment search and unfortunately only came across scalp micropigmentation after the damage had been done. If I would have come across SMP earlier, I would have saved tens of thousands of dollars, years of stress and depression, years of hormone-impacting medication, and wouldn’t have a head covered in scars. Instead, I tried pretty much every other hair loss treatment listed and am now stuck in a never-ending cycle of medication, microneedling, topical grease, and worrying about whether or not it’s getting worse. This isn’t freedom; this isn’t stress-free and I won’t recommend anyone goes down this path.

The entire reason I got into SMP was to help people avoid the path that I went down, because I wish someone would have done it for me, but now I am in a position to be that person for others. If you have any questions about any of the hair loss treatments I’ve mentioned here, or would like some genuine, objective assistance in your own journey, please feel free to reach out to me; I will happily steer you in the right direction, even if it’s away from the treatment that I offer.