Hair Loss and Re-growth Treatment: Choosing Over the Counter Products

Hair loss is a common occurrence in both men and women. Although women seldom lose all their hair, they usually experience a thinning of the hair around the crown area. In some cases, the thinning of the hair can become quite pronounced.

If you are one of those people who have been slowly losing your hair, you might want to start looking for over the counter hair loss and re-growth treatments. Technically, it is always better to consult a doctor or a hair loss expert before you try some hair growth products. However, if you have no desire to spend a lot of money on consultations and in-office treatments, over the counter hair loss and re-growth treatment can work as well.

Choosing the Right Re-growth Hair Loss Treatment

If the thinning of your hair is hereditary in nature, over the counter treatments may be good for you. There is only one non-prescriptive medicine for hereditary hair loss that is approved by the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) and that is minoxidil. Products that contain minoxidil are considered safe by experts so you can breathe easy. However, if you want to use minoxidil based products as a hair loss and re-growth treatment , you must be very careful when following instructions lest you end up with unwanted hair growth.

There are minoxidil based products that are formulated for men and there are also those that are formulated for women. Products that are intended for men usually contain more minoxidil than those products that are for women. Women should not attempt to use those products that are intended for men even if these products can make the hair grow faster. According to experts, extra strength minoxidil based products may stimulate hair growth on the face and neck. Although facial hair growth is normal for men, facial hair growth is definitely not normal for women and this phenomenon can be very stressful for them

When selecting over the counter hair loss and re-growth treatment products, go for those types of lotions that can be applied directly on the head twice daily. Lotions are considered safer because you can control the application better than the liquid shampoo.

How Effective Are These Over the Counter Products?

In most cases, you will need to use over the counter hair loss and re-growth treatment products for at least a few months before you can see some results. According to studies, it may take around 4 to 12 months before one can truly see some improvements in your hair.