Hair Loss in History: Frustration and Triumph

According to some arguments, concern over hair loss seems to be a mostly modern phenomenon. After all, when people in the past were living the technology was primitive and meeting basic needs was more difficult than it is today would not have had time to worry about something like hair loss, because they were too busy just trying to survive. According to this argument, concern over hair loss is a modern conceit, a product of a society where too many people have too much time on their hands.

But in reality, men and women alike have been stressing out over hair loss since time immemorial. Hair loss throughout history has been associated with premature aging and a loss of vitality, and as long as people have been gathering together to form societies, people have been seeking remedies to stop the onset of hair loss and the ultimate descent into baldness.

Hair Loss in the Ancient World

The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all built cultures that endured for ages. Their achievements have been remembered for centuries, and their civilizations formed the foundations of the modern world. But despite all the great accomplishments of these empires, they too were frustrated and perplexed by hair loss and baldness – especially male pattern baldness, which can and did strike men of all classes and stations suddenly and without warning, no matter how wealthy or powerful or renowned they may have been.

The founder of modern medicine, the great Greek physician Hippocrates, turned his attention to the problem of premature hair loss, and around 400 BCE he came up with a topical application that he believed would rid the ancient world of male pattern baldness once and for all. Unfortunately, his concoction of cumin, horseradish, nettles and pigeon droppings did not quite live up to the hype.

Even the Bible is filled with references to baldness and hair loss and the problems it caused in people's lives. Kings 2:23, Leviticus 13:40-41 and Numbers 6:1-21 are just a few of the places in the Bible where baldness is mentioned, but of course, the story of Samson and his failed romance is the most famous example from the Biblical era of the association that has traditionally been made between hair growth and virility.

We may see concern over hair loss as a modern obsession, but as we can see, it is actually a preoccupation that has been with us for a long time. In the 19th century, aggresive salesmen of all stripes began to exploit people's desire to find a cure for this psychologically disabling condition, and this started a pattern of phony cures for baldness being peddled to the unsuspecting that has continued to this very day.

Breakthroughs at Last

The search for a cure for chronic and significant hair loss has not been in vain. Finally, in the last few decades, the science of hair loss has advanced to the point where researchers have now come to understand what actually causes baldness. Best of all, this understanding has been accompanied by breakthroughs in treatment that have given hope to those combating this not-so-modern scourge.

The first modern drug to come online in the fight against hair loss was minoxidil. This over-the-counter topical medication needs to be massaged directly into the scalp, and after about four months of usage, hair follicles that had been plugged with too much dihydrotestosterone (the biochemical implicated in the onset of androgenic alopecia, or male pattern baldness) can be cleared out. Minoxidil must be used continuously for its effects to be lasting, as it does not change the underlying factors that lead to hair loss in the first place.

Finasteride, on the other hand, does alter the body's biochemical processes that have been linked to hair loss. There is an enzyme in the human body called 5-alpha reductase that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is beneficial to the body when it is present in moderate amounts. However, for reasons perhaps related to genetics but not totally understood, 5-alpha reductase sometimes goes into over drive and begins to produce too much DHT. When this happens, the extra DHT congregates in the hair follicles, causing a negative chain reaction that eventually leads to permanent hair loss. Finasteride works by subverting the body's conversion of testosterone into DHT, allowing hair follicles to regenerate and begin producing thick, healthy hair once again. Finasteride is only available by prescription, and it can take up to 8 months to show noticeable results. It also must be used continuously for its effects to last.

Natural supplements have also been developed that can perform three important tasks: blocking the action of 5-alpha reductase, inhibiting the ability of DHT to cling to hair follicles and hinder their functioning, and stimulating the growth of new and healthier hair. These natural mixtures of health-restoring herbs help the body do what it already does naturally, only more efficiently and effectively. They are far less expensive than either of the two previously mentioned treatment options and do not have any of the side effects that are always associated with such medications.

A History of Progress

As long as there has been such a thing as society, people have been trying to find ways to stop premature hair loss. Now – finally – these efforts have yielded results, and for the first time in history the onset of male pattern baldness does not doom its victims to a lifetime of progressively thinning hair. If Hippocrates was alive today, he would be very pleased to see that his medical progeny were finally able to discover ways to reverse hair loss – and without needing to use pigeon droppings to do it.