Are young people losing their hair earlier than past generations?
New research shows anxiety and poor diet may be a factor in the early onset of hair loss in millennials and 20-somethings.
At the same time, men and women older than 50 are experiencing hair loss and hair thinning, either due to genetics, hormone changes or the aging process.
Together, these have triggered a skyrocketing demand for therapies and drugs to prevent and treat hair loss. So far, the FDA has approved only topical minoxidil and finasteride as pharmacological treatments. No other drug has been FDA-approved for the most common form of hair loss in almost 30 years. But that soon may change.
A least a half dozen medications and cell-based therapies are advancing in clinical trials, and Florida dermatologists see hope on the horizon.
“It’s an exciting time,” said Dr. Joshua Berlin, a Boynton Beach dermatologist who treats patients for hair loss. “We are seeing a resurgence of companies looking at solutions for this condition. Although it’s nothing life-threatening, it affects a significant part of the population, and it’s upsetting for them.”
Berlin said the increased advertising for hair loss products has created more awareness — and interest in solutions. “I am definitely seeing more people coming to my office specifically for hair loss.”
Dr. Brett King, an associate professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, specializes in hair loss. He is jazzed about the advancements and attention on the most common form of hair loss called androgenetic alopecia, also known as female and male pattern hair loss. He recently discovered something for his patients that is working.
King is getting great results by prescribing oral minoxidil, a well-known hair-loss treatment drug typically applied to the scalp. Minoxidil is the active ingredient in Rogaine, a lotion or foam that is rubbed on the scalp, and is now generic. It has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for oral use for hair loss. However, a rising number of hair-loss dermatologists recently have been giving the low-dose pills to patients, and like King, they report success.
“Oral minoxidil is so much better for many reasons,” he said. “Topical only works where you put it, while oral treats all the parts of your scalp.”
Two new medications approved in the last year and a half also show results in people who have alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. Alopecia areata is the second most common type of hair loss. The medications allow users to regrow their hair again.
“Now hair loss is something that when someone walks into a dermatology office, the doctor doesn’t just throw up their hands and say ‘I don’t know, go get Rogaine,’” King said. “Now we have new treatments for the two most common forms of hair loss.”
Those advancements are just the start, he believes.
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Some drugs in clinical trials show promise for the early stages of hair loss and hair shedding, while others exhibit the potential to stimulate existing hair folicles and create new hair growth. In addition, progress also is coming unintentionally in some cases as medications intended for other health conditions are repurposed as hair growth stimulators. Another field of research and development is cell-based therapies that stimulate hair growth by injecting stem cells into the scalp.
“I think in the next decade we will see the new development of medicines that truly grow hair … medicines that do not just do a reasonably good job, but doing a great job of treating severe hair loss at younger and younger ages,” King said.
Biotech researchers believe that people with hair loss will turn to convenient, direct-to-consumer, treatments — pills, lotions, injections — they can use in their homes.
Of course, hair transplants remain popular, too.
Berlin says the best way to know the right choice is to see a dermatologist. They can examine your scalp and order blood work to check for possible underlying causes.
If a nutrient deficiency is an issue, taking specific supplements may remedy the situation. Berlin is a fan of a biotin as well as a nutritional supplement called Nutrafol — a blend of vitamins, minerals, and botanical ingredients. One study found Nutrafol decreases hair shedding in women before during and after menopause. “They work to some degree, no question,” he said.
“Hair loss is a condition where we have had nothing new for many years and all of a sudden there are breakthroughs,” he said. “The goal is more novel threatments, and I know many people would like see that.”
Sourh Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.