Sociologically and emotionally, nothing about a man says "masculinity" so much as his hair.
That's a major part of our culture, and has been since at least Delilah overpowered strongman Samson by cutting his hair - until he grew it back.
As so many men lose hair as we age, getting our "strength" - not to mention youth, health and virility - back is a major issue.
Two-thirds of men begin to see signs of hair loss by the time they're 35 years old - and some men begin balding in their teens. By age 50, half of all men are balding, and one-quarter of all women.
That's why hair restoration was a $4.9 billion industry in 2020 - a year when in many areas of the world just getting a simple haircut was a challenge.
And that apparently includes only surgical procedures, not the many personal care products and supplements that allegedly restore lost hair.
What is Hair and How Does It Grow?
Hair grows from the roots of the follicles in your skin.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, you're born with all the follicles you're ever going to have - around 5 million.
And only 100,000 of them are on your scalp.
Each of those follicles can grow up to 20 hairs during your lifetime.
It's normal to lose 5 to 10 hairs every day. Ideally, out of 100,000, you don't notice that.
But if your comb or brush takes out large clumps of hair every day, you may be on your way to androgenetic alopecia, the technical term for male pattern baldness - which can affect women as well as men.
What Healthy Hair Needs to Remain that Way
Your hair needs both oxygen and nutrients to function and grow, just like the rest of your body.
And, like the rest of your body, it gets these from its local blood supply.
That's a major clue. If your follicles are not getting sufficient nutrition and oxygen because they're not getting sufficient blood, that stifles their health and their growth.
The same is true if your blood supply is adequate, but nutrition and oxygen levels are low.
In reality, if you have great blood circulation to your scalp, you probably also eat well and get sufficient exercise.
While couch potatoes who eat junk also have impaired circulatory systems.
Focus on Circulation to Your Scalp
In a study carried out in 2016, nine men gave themselves 4-minute scalp massages every day for 24 weeks.
At the end of that period, their hair was thicker. Their hair didn't grow any faster, but it was thicker and stronger, less likely to break.
Some experts suspect the value of some hair products does not come from their ingredients, but from the circulatory stimulation of rubbing the creams and lotions into your scalp.
Minoxidil seems to work to stop hair loss largely because it's a vasodilator - that is, it widens your blood vessels.
Blocking DHT
One mechanism for producing male pattern baldness is dihydrotestosterone - DHT.
DHT is a sex steroid derivative of testosterone that shrinks your follicles, so your hair falls out more easily, and can't grow back.
Therefore, blocking DHT helps maintain the health and functioning of your current follicles.
Natural Ways to Block DHT Production
* Eat vegetables rich in zinc, such as white mushrooms, spinach, and kale.
* Eat foods rich in lycopene, which also blocks DHT, such as tomatoes, watermelons, mangoes, and carrots.
* Get regular exercise
* Quit smoking
* Manage stress
You can also try DHT-blocking shampoos and other products.
Another Way to Combat DHT
That's to try GHK-Cu and other copper peptides. They're natural, but their levels drop as we age.
One of their many alleged health effects is the copper these peptides (peptides are simple proteins) contain block DHT.
Less DHT = Healthier Hair Follicles = More Hair
Caution: They are natural, but beware of taking them in excess. If nothing else, this could throw off your body's balance of zinc and copper.
One Promising Treatment
That's Platelet-Rich Plasma treatment or PRP.
Basically, doctors remove some of your own blood, then concentrate it with your own platelets. Platelets are proteins in your blood.
They inject the hyper-concentrated blood back into your scalp, and that acts like stem cells.
This jolts dormant follicles awake, so they begin growing hair again.
Some dermatologists also use PRP on facial skin to make it look younger.
There are studies backing up the benefits of PRP for hair growth, but it's not yet a widely accepted treatment.
Because it's using only your own blood, however, it seems to be reasonably safe when done by a qualified medical expert.
However, some people react badly to injections of their own blood, experiencing redness and pain.
It's also inappropriate for people with blood conditions such as Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, or blood cancer - or by anyone taking blood-thinning medicine.
Consult your doctor if you're interested - and thoroughly investigate the professional credentials and reputation of any doctor you allow to do PRP on you.
At the End of the Day . . .
A large amount of the baldness men and women suffer from as we age is genetic.
You can - and should - do all you can to eat a healthy diet, get regular moderate exercise, sleep 7-9 hours every night and control your stress.
But, much as I hate to admit it, an anti-aging lifestyle can't overcome a strong genetic disposition to go bald.
If you're still determined to maintain a full head of hair, you may need hair restoration surgery.
https://pleijsalon.com/how-copper-peptides-boost-hair-growth-and-stop-hair-loss/
https://www.aad.org/public/cosmetic/younger-looking/platelet-rich-plasma-secret-to-younger-skin
https://www.healthline.com/health/what-makes-hair-grow
https://bosleymd.com/blogs/hair-thinning/how-to-keep-your-hair-follicles-healthy
https://www.venusconcept.com/en-us/news/2020-hair-restoration-industry-statistics-to-consider/
https://bengreenfieldlife.com/podcast/hair-growth-hair-loss/
https://bengreenfieldlife.com/podcast/hair-growth/
https://www.birminghamdermatologyclinic.co.uk/blog/can-you-reduce-levels-of-dht/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4171668/