Thursday, December 9, 2010

Understanding The Norwood Scale Of Hair Loss Treatment For Men

As with almost all problems in life, the sooner you can confront hair loss the better off you will be. Here is some good news: even hair follicles which are not producing noticeable hair can still be saved if they have not actually died.

It is a problem which requires a strategic solution. What is the best first step of any great plan? Determine where you are starting from and what you assets are.

Since men's hairstyles are typically shorter and leave less room for "camouflage", you may have already been seeing each fallen hair as a ticking time bomb. You may have been staying up late and spending every spare moment researching male hair loss treatment options.

Before you get started down the wrong path, there is something you should know. Different treatment techniques will have different results depending on how advanced your hair loss is.

This is why it is important to learn evaluate your hair against the Norwood Scale of Hair Loss.

The Norwood Scale

The scale itself is not very complicated. It is how you interpret the results that matters. The Norwood Scale is universally accepted as the standard for evaluating the progress of male and female pattern baldness.

There are essentially 7 progressive stages in the Norwood Scale. Because some men first start losing their hair on their crown and others on their temple, each stage has two versions accordingly. Nevertheless, it should not be difficult to determine where your hair is at.

Stage 1- Most men never realize they have hair loss at this stage. They may not have noticed any excess shedding. More importantly, there is probably no noticeable thinning anywhere on your head unless you have been closely examining it for years.

Stage 2 - The hair loss is becoming evident, though probably only to you. This may have been when you first started researching hair loss treatment for men. While the hair is still retaining its overall shape, either the crown or the temples is noticeably thinner.

Stage 3 - At this point, the hair line may have clearly moved away from its original position, leaving only baby-fine hairs behind. You may also begin to notice some thinning on the back of your head at this point.

Stage 4 - The thinning hair on top of your head and the thinning on the back of your head are moving toward one another. The hair between the two areas is becoming increasingly bare.

Stage 5
- The area between the two spots has clearly merged into one balding zone. However, there are still normal hairs sparsely found in this area.

Stage 6 - There are only baby-fine hairs on top of your head and moving down to an area level with the top of your ears. Essentially, this is the hair's last chance at survival.

Stage 7 - The hair on most of your head has finally died. There are no more baby-fine hairs. The follicles have shrunken and disappeared completely, leaving only slick, shiny, smooth skin.

Translating The Norwood Scale

That was pretty simple, right? You should be able to give your hair loss an accurate number. Now, here is what that number means. Unless you are a number 7, your hair is still alive. It can still be saved, so it is time to explore how your number affects hair loss treatment for men.

First, a hair loss 101. Hair loss is a symptom of bigger health issues. Treat those issues, you stop the hair fall. Pills only treat the symptoms.

For some men hair loss treatment drugs have some benefits, but because the greater problem is not addressed they really only keep the problem at bay. Eventually, it will catch up to you and the hair loss will accelerate.

Anyone from stages 1 to 6 will have the best results using a natural, holistic approach to solve the deeper health problems which led to hair loss.

Some people at stage 5 or 6 may benefit taking extra pro-hair supplements and cleansing herbs to jumpstart the holistic healing process and prevent further hair loss.

Someone at stage 7 typically has only hair transplant available to them as an option. However, there are important things to know about this therapy.

First, there are only a handful of surgeons in this world who have a high success record for this surgery.

Secondly, it often takes many repeated treatments. Third, and most importantly, if you have not addressed the underlying health problem the transplanted follicle will eventually die as well.

Naturally, the lower your Norwood number is the more treatment options you have open to you. The lower the number the more quickly you will see results. The lower the number the more your hair will return to its original healthy, full state because the less hair has completely died.

However, no matter what your number, have real hope. You can save your living hair as long as you take action now.

No matter what your Norwood number, there is no reason to delay. So, before you advance to a higher number get a copy of the Hair Loss Black Book. With great but easily understood detail, the book will lay out a game plan to correct the problems causing your hair loss, reverse the shedding, and actually re-grow hair.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nigel_T


Hair Loss Black Book

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