Nioxin is an excellent product including both a shampoo and conditioner formulated specifically for men and women with thinning hair."> While neither the shampoo nor conditioner hasn't been proven to have any effects on DHT (the hormone responsible for male pattern baldness); Nioxin's ability to strengthen follicles and energize cellular activity can improve the overall health of your scalp and hair. Nioxin therefore may have the ability to delay the effects of hair loss. For best results, use both the shampoo (refered to as Nioxxin Shampoo Scalp Cleanser) and conditioner (referred to as Nioxin Scalp Therapy) in conjunction with one another.

Nioxin Scalp Cleanser's cooling properties refreshes and cools the scalp promoting maximum cleanliness and freshness. Because of this, Nioxin shampoo, especially when combined with the conditioner also significantly reduces scalp itchiness and tenderness after hair transplant surgeryin both the recipient and donor areas.

Nioxin Scalp Therapy is an excellent volumizing scalp and hair conditioner that moisturizes and improves your hairs' natural resilience, while promoting a healthy scalp environment for optimal hair growth. Nioxin Conditioner is the perfect conclusion to the Nioxin Shampoo Scalp Cleanser.

Nioxin Scalp Therapy's minty fresh cooling sensation literally refreshes and cools the scalp promoting maximum cleanliness and freshness. Because of this, Nioxin also significantly reduces scalp itchiness and tenderness after hair transplant surgery in both the recipient and donor areas.

We strongly recommend using Nizoral shampooevery 2 or 3 days in conjunction with Nioxin. Its active ingredient ketoconazoleat 2% concentration has proven to be a moderate DHT inhibitor and has growth properties approximately as effective as Rogaine2%.

Developing Realistic Expectations:

Men and women sometimes suffer from hair loss for different reasons. Thus, diagnosing its cause is necessary to facilitate and promote proper treatment.

The Nioxin product line is an excellent scalp and hair cleansing shampoo and conditioning therapy but is not proven to stop hair loss. Thus, we strongly recommend using Nioxin in conjunction with the "Big 3" (Propecia, Rogaine, and Nizoral.

To date, only surgical hair restoration is proven to grow hair in completely bald areas. You are invited to have a

Ingredients (Full List)

Nioxin Shampoo Scalp Cleanser: AQUA/EAU/WATER, TEA-LAURYL SULFATE, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, HYDROXYPROPYLTRIMONIUM HONEY, COCAMIDE MEA, PEG-150 DISTEARATE, PANTHENOL, GLYCOPROTEINS, POLY-SORBATE-60, POLYSORBATE-80, CYSTINE BIS-PG-PROPYL SILANETRIOL, HYDROLYZED KERATIN, ACETAMIDE MEA, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, ETHOXYDIGLYCOL, DIMETHYL ISOSORBIDE, COENZYME A, PANTOTHENIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE, CYANOCOBALAMIN, BIOTIN, FOLIC ACID, NIACIN, THIAMINE HCl, UBIQUINONE, ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS, CAMELLIA SINENSIS, CITRUS GRANDIS, EQUISETUM ARVENSE, HUMULUS LUPULUS, MELISSA OFFICINALIS, MENTHA PIPERITA, PRUNUS AFRICANA, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS, SALVIA OFFICINALIS, SERENOA SERRULATA, SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE, TARAXACUM OFFICINALE, THYMUS VULGARIS, URTICA DIOICA, SACCHAROMYCES LYSATE EXTRACT, PHOSPHOLIPIDS, SACCHAROMYCES/COPPER FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/IRON FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/MAGNESIUM FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/SILICON FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/ZINC FERMENT, PEG-23M, MELANIN, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM CHLORIDE, TETRASODIUM EDTA, DISODIUM EDTA-COPPER, SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE, CI 42090/BLUE 1, PHENOXYETHANOL, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE.
Nioxin Scalp Therapy: AQUA/EAU/WATER, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, CETYL ALCOHOL, DICETYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE, AMODI-METHICONE, TRIDECETH-12, LAURAMINE OXIDE, GLYCOPROTEINS, DIMETHICONE, SODIUM PCA, CYSTINE BIS-PG-PROPYL SILANETRIOL, PANTHENOL, POLYQUATERNIUM-11, ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS, ARCTIUM MAJUS, CALEN-DULA OFFICINALIS, CAMELLIA SINENSIS, EQUISETUM ARVENSE, FRANGULA ALNUS, GERANIUM MACULATUM, HUMULUSLUPULUS, JUGLANS REGIA, LARREA DIVARICATA, MELISSA OFFICINALIS, MENTHA PIPERITA, PRUNUS AFRICANA, QUASSIA AMARA, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS, SALVIA OFFICINALIS, SERENOA SERRULATA, SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE, TARAXACUM OFFICINALE, THYMUS VULGARIS, URTICA DIOICA, YUCCA FILAMENTOSA, PHOSPHOLIPIDS, DIMETHYL ISOSORBIDE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, ETHOXYDIGLYCOL, CETEARETH-20, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SACCHAROMYCES LYSATE EXTRACT, COENZYME A, PANTOTHENIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE, CYANOCOBALAMIN, BIOTIN, FOLIC ACID, NIACIN, THIAMINE HCl, UBIQUINONE, SACCHAROMYCES/COPPER FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/IRON FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/MAGNESIUM FERMENT, SACCHARO-MYCES/SILICON FERMENT, SACCHAROMYCES/ZINC FERMENT, MELANIN, TRIETHANOLAMINE, SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE, CI 42090/BLUE 1, PHENOXYETHANOL, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE.

Today's evolutionary high point - Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Transplantation

By relocating these carefully prepared bald-resistant follicular units, physicians doing "follicular unit hair transplantation" recreate a natural pattern of hair in the balding areas.

To do this properly is a very time consuming and exacting process. It requires a team of meticulous medical technicians working hand-in-hand with the hair transplant surgeon in a very lengthy surgical procedure.

Ultra Refined Grafting - Smaller Blades, Smaller Incisions, Smaller Grafts

Today's micro surgical blades, like the size of hair grafts, have become ever smaller and now enable hair transplant surgeons to safely make more tiny graft incisions in a given area then ever before. Surgeons are then able to "dense pack" select areas with as many as 40 to 60 follicular unit grafts per square centimeter. This graft density is as much as twice that of the standard follicular unit hair transplant procedure.

Such high densities of transplanted hair typically produce the appearance of fullness even after only one surgical session. Patients also experience rapid healing and no visible skin distortions due to the tiny size of these incisions.

Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Grafting - Hard on the clinic but easy on the patient.

Ultra refined follicular unit grafting raises the bar for physicians and their staff. This delicate and demanding hair transplant procedure requires more skill and careful attention to be performed properly. The smaller and more tightly packed incisions require more closely dissected follicular unit grafts that are carefully trimmed under microscopes. These small and densely packed incisions are also more difficult to place the grafts into.

This procedure also requires more careful patient selection, as "dense packing" of grafts is not appropriate for all patients.

Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Transplantation - the new "Gold Standard"

In the hands of a highly skilled physician and staff the Ultra refined follicular unit hair transplant procedure can achieve excellent new hair growth that is so natural that it is undetectable even under close scrutiny.

While the standard micro "follicular unit" hair transplant does produce natural looking results, its ability to achieve high density in only one surgical session is limited. Thus patients may have to do subsequent surgical sessions in a transplanted area to achieve a full look.

The many patient benefits of this new ultra refined procedure are significant and include:

• The ability to get excellent hair density in only one surgical session.
• Minimal trauma in the graft recipient area with rapid post surgical healing.
• Little or no visible pitting or distortions in the transplanted areas.
• More natural direction and angulation of the transplanted hair.

All physician members of the Coalition perform Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation.

While many hair transplant physicians perform quality follicular unit hair transplants, only some of them are capable of performing large sessions of ultra refined follicular hair transplantation. However, all members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians perform ultra refined grafting with excellent results.

The Future of Surgical Hair Restoration

The amount of hair you can transplant is ultimately limited by the amount of hair follicles you can safely relocate from the bald resistant donor area at the back and sides of your head.

Some day it may be possible for physicians to create multiple hair follicles from one original follicle. This process typically called Hair Multiplication or more incorrectly Hair Cloning is currently being investigated by several research scientists and hair restoration physicians.

If and when this process is successfully developed patients would no longer be limited by the finite amount of bald resistant hairs that can be relocated from their donor area. Hair multiplication would result in a virtually limitless supply of hair available for hair transplants.

This would be especially good news for men or women with extensive baldness and a very limited supply of donor hair. Even those with extensive baldness would theoretically be able achieve thick full heads of hair.

However, experts believe that we are at least ten years away from hair multiplication being available, if even then. But perhaps some day scientists will be able to use gene therapy to halt the balding process without drugs or surgery.

Learn about modern hair loss drug treatments that work.

Men and women who have the impulse to pull their own hair out may be suffering from trichotillomania. Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to and behavior of pulling out one's own hair. Impulse control disorders resemble substance addictions because the patient feels out of control of his or her own behaviors. Men and women with trichotillomania live relatively normal lives but typically show signs of hair loss, thinning, and bald spots all over the scalp and body from pulling it out.

Treating trichotillomaniagoes far beyond trying to stimulate hair regrowth.Even if Rogaineor laser therapy for hair losswere to regrow hair, there is a strong possibility that trichotillomania patients will continue to pull their hair out. Patients with trichotillomania therefore, should be treated at the source of the disorder in conjunction with using proven hair loss treatments.

In addition to medication, Habit Reversal Training (HRT) by a trained counselor has proven to be successful in treating trichotillomania. With Habit Reversal Training, the individual is taught to recognize and redirect their impulse to other more constructive activities. Often times, trichotillomaniapatients are asked to keep a journal of their hair pulling episodes. This can help the counselor and patient to identify and develop strategies to avoid situations that might trigger hair pulling episodes. Journals often include the location of the incident, number of hairs pulled, date, time, and their feelings and thoughts during the episode.

Treating a trichotillomania patient's baldness may be done simultaneously or after proper treatment of the disorder. Rogaine (minoxidil)can be a helpful aid to HRT by stimulating the follicles underneath the scalp, potentially facilitating or expediting hair growth.Treating a patient’s hair loss while they continue to pull their hair out is not constructive. Since this type of balding is not genetic due to the production of DHT, Propecia (finasteride)won't likely help.

Patients who've suffered from trichotillomania for awhile may damage or even remove the hair roots by excessive pulling, making non-surgical hair regrowth next to impossible. Surgicalhair restorationmay be an option for trichotillomania patients whose hair roots are too damaged to produce new hair on their own. Hairrestoration surgeryshould be reserved only for patients who've been successfully treated and no longer suffers from trichotillomania.

Catching and treating trichotillomania early will most likely reduce damage done to the hair follicles and eliminate the need for hair loss treatment, since undamaged hair will return on its own.

Along with Propecia, Rogaine is one of the only proven hair loss medication options approved by the FDA for treating hair loss. Minoxidil, (Rogaine’s active ingredient), was originally created as a drug for treating hypertension (high blood pressure). It was then discovered that one of its side affects was growing hair. Minoxidil was then tested for use a topical application for regrowing hair. The results were sufficiently impressive that the FDA approved it as a treatment for hair loss.

Rogaine works by revitalizing shrunken hair follicles, thus increasing their size. When you use Rogaine every day, your follicles may increase in size, and the growing phase may become longer. This may then produce longer, thicker hairs.

Rogaine is a clear alcohol-based solution and should be applied to a person’s thinning area with its supplied dropper or spray twice a day.

The solution is approved and available in two strengths -- Regular (2%) and Extra Strength (5%). Individual users of Regular strength Rogaine have claimed success rates of 30-40%. Meanwhile, users of Extra Strength Rogaine have claimed success rates of 50-60%. Currently, the average price for a 2oz. bottle of Rogaine is about $20-30 per month. Minoxidil is also available as a generic and can be purchased over the counter without prescription.

It’s important to note that Rogaine (minoxidil) does not cure baldness and scientists have been unable to determine just how it works. What is known is that Rogaine increases the blood flow to the areas of the scalp that surround these balding areas. Currently some researchers believe that Rogaine (minoxidil) works by opening the follicle’s potassium channels located in the cells. It’s theorized that these channels, when opened, may regulate hair growth.

Rogaine can’t grow hair on completely bald scalps or in the frontal hairline areas. It has been found to be somewhat effective in maintaining or growing hair in the crown area (the top back of the head). However, Rogaine is only effective at delaying hair loss. It is also more effective in women than in men. And again, the reasons for this are not understood.

What can I expect with Rogaine?

Rogaine (minoxidil) generally only regrows hair in a minority of men and women. In most cases, the best case scenario for hair growth with these treatments is a thin coverage of thin hair.

The real benefits of Rogaine (minoxidil) is keeping what hair you have or slowing your thinning. Rogaine’s success depends on how advanced your hair loss has become.

You must apply it to your scalp twice a day for life to get and maintain any benefits. Research shows that using Rogaine (minoxidil) only once a day is ineffective. If you stop taking Rogaine (minoxidil) you will loose whatever hair you preserved or regrew within 2 to 4 months. And while Rogaine may stimulate hair growth, it may not prevent the hair follicles from their eventual deterioration.

It's also true that Rogaine's effects may diminish over time. Some doctors believe that patients can build up a tolerance after many years of use. But it's possible to fight this tolerance by taking a week or two off from the treatment every 3-4 months. However, it's not advised to take this break unless you've taken the hair loss medication consistently for at least 12 months.

Are there side effects from Rogaine?

There are only minor side effects with Rogaine. But some users do experience certain problems such as scalp irritation, itching, and dandruff. However, this can be treated with a good shampoo like Nizoral or Neutrogena T-Gel. There may also be an increase in hair shedding at the start of the treatment. You shouldn’t panic, as this may actually be a signal that the treatment is working.

Due to the medication’s alcohol content, some users may develop a contact rash or irritated skin. And with excessive doses, some users may experience dizziness or a rapid heartbeat. However, with normal use these effects are uncommon.

Rogaine users with severe, refractory high blood pressure experienced some problems. One such problem was “hypertrichosis,” hair growth on the face or other bodily areas. This side effect appears in about 3-5 % of women who use the 2% solution, and higher among women using the 5% solution.

Rogaine and Hair Transplants

Some hair restoration physicians have come to consider Rogaine to be instrumental right after surgery. This is especially true when grafts have been placed in and around existing hair.

The shock of surgery can result in temporary hair loss. Rogaine is thought to possibly help prevent this temporary loss of healthy preexisting hair. The 5% solution has been found to be more effective for men and women. However, some physicians believe that the hair loss medication should be stopped a week or two before surgery. They feel that Rogaine may increase bleeding, while dilating blood vessels.

After surgery, most patients wait a week or two before restarting Rogaine. This gives the graft areas time to heal. However, taking Propecia is not interrupted by surgery.

Click to learn more about DHT Blockers