For people like you and me the though of hair loss can be a frightening prospect. While it is more common to see the effects of hair loss in men, women also suffer from similar forms of baldness.

There are actually many different types of hair loss you can suffer from. Most commonly you hear of male or female pattern baldness. This is where the growth cycle of the hair shortens and the follicle becomes less secure in the scalp causing it to easily break off or fall out all together. While there are other causes of hair loss ranging from over treating and over styling your hair to an autoimmune disorder that causes you to form bald spots on your scalp. I will talk about them a little more as I discuss the different hair loss treatments that are available to you.

Most commonly hair loss treatment breaks down into two different types: Surgical treatments and treatments involving medication taken both internally and externally. While there are other options such as wigs or hair pieces, they generally are not as popular of a treatment. Generally they are more of a last resort.

There are many different types of medication available to you depending on the type of hair loss you are dealing with. Minoxidil (otherwise known as Rogaine) is generally one of the most commonly used hair loss treatments for both men and women suffering from male of female pattern baldness. Generally they come in a form of foam or cream that you would apply to your scalp on average 2 times daily. It can take up to 3 months for the hair to start growing well, but generally the hair is short, thin and will discontinuing growth after you stop using the products.

Propecia, otherwise known as Finasteride is another medication used to help treat male patters baldness. Taken daily in pill form can help to decrease the amount of DHT your body produces. This can help to stop the shrinking of the hair follicles and eventual loss of hair. Once again the downside is that it can take several months to produce results and when you stop taking the drug your body begins producing DHT all over again.

There are other types of medication to help the different forms of baldness ranging from Anthralin cream to help with psoriasis of the scalp as well as Alopecia Areata (form of baldness caused by an auto immune disease) and Corticosteroids shots also used to treat Aloprcia Areata.

The other form of hair loss treatment comes in the form of surgery. There are two main types of hair loss treatment surgery, hair transplants or plugs and scalp reduction treatment.

A hair transplant (otherwise known as plugs) is generally the most widely known and used form or hair loss surgery treatment. During the procedure they will remove small plugs or skin containing one or more hair follicles from the unaffected area and then planting them in the effected thinning or bald area.

Scalp reduction treatment is just what it sounds like. During surgery the bald area of you scalp is removed and then the remaining scalp is stretched over and sewn into place. Usually this treatment is used with the hair transplant method to provide you with a more natural looking hairline.

Now understand that surgical hair loss treatments are not without risk and considerable cost. Not to mention that they may produce scaring and possibly infection.

Lastly we will look at wigs or hair pieces as a hair loss treatment. While generally considered a last resort, they can be used to cover temporary or permanent hair loss. Now in the past they were not considered all that fashionable and you yourself have probably seen a bad hair piece in the past, but these days they have come a long way to making them look very natural with quality parts to make it look just like natural hair.