By Doctor Claude Chauchard
As a young medical student, I had two major fears: that a proliferation of spots would appear on my face and that I would go bald.
I started looking into the scientific and medical ways of preventing baldness, and received a number of male patients in my surgery who asked my advice about what the ideal treatment would be, either to stop hair from falling out or to stimulate its regrowth.
Some men are genetically programmed to go bald at a young age. Luckily, they are in the minority: just 5 to 10%, in my opinion.
In all other cases, there is no reason why a man should inevitably go bald. Nowadays we know a lot about the various male hormones, since they, particularly testosterone, get the blame for these various extents of hair loss. This is actually not true. In fact, testosterone circulates in our blood thanks to another cerebral hormone called LH, or Luteinising Hormone. This LH stimulates the testicles, in particular the Leydig cells that secrete testosterone.
This same testosterone is transported in the blood by the carrier protein SHBG, or Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. When the carrier protein comes into contact with a cellular receptor capable of accepting it, the testosterone “unsticks” itself from its protein and this “unstuck” hormone fraction becomes free testosterone, which can then attach itself to the cell receptors and penetrate into the cell to bring about the corresponding hormonal stimulations.
This free testosterone is, itself, transformed by an enzyme called 5 reductase to become a hormone that is three times more active than testosterone, called dihydrotestosterone. And it is this hormone that leads to hair loss. The hair loss process is determined genetically and it can be excessively fast, which is why we see bald men from the age of 30 or 40. For others, who inherited less activity, this hair loss is more gradual and they only start to go bald around age fifty. In any case, today this process is no longer inevitable. Yes, we can stop hair loss completely and we can also get the hair to grow back.
How to deal with hair loss, medically-speaking
Well, it is very simple. All you have to do is take a medicine that blocks the 5 reductase activity. The scientific name of this medicine is Finasteride. It is prescribed at a dosage of 1 to 5mg per day, taken at breakfast time. But this prescription alone is not enough, because dihydrotestosterone is a hormone that is essential to sexual masculinity. We therefore need to do two things:
- Carefully prescribe the dosage of Finasteride because some men are very sensitive to the blocking of this hormone’s production: their sex drive can slow down and their erectile function may also be affected. The disappearance of spontaneous erections in the morning is the first warning sign.
- We must always accompany this treatment with a prescription for a 10% testosterone cream, or we can use Propionate testosterone capsules, whose dosage should also be adapted (between 40mg per day and 120mg per day).
Thanks to this treatment, we can now say that male baldness is no longer inevitable. This treatment is accompanied by the prescription of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which get rid of dandruff. I would also add a multivitamin complex and a capsule of Vitamin B complex. This is the best therapy for preventing hair loss. It must be said that, the earlier we tackle this problem, the better the results. Good scalp hygiene is also essential, as a good shampoo and conditioner also help.
We can really see that male baldness is no longer inevitable, and is actually becoming less and less likely. Especially when we consider that researchers from the CNRS are working on our genes and stem cells. Jean Marc Lemaitre’s team will, in a few years’ time, be able to provide the medical profession with injectable solutions that enable hair to grow back by completely reprogramming the hair follicles. The years to come will be really interesting in this field, which concerns 50% of all men.
Doctor Claude Chauchard
A renowned specialist in nutrition, weight control and medicine for age prevention. More than a million copies of 14 books sold in more than 5 languages. Founder of the anti-aging clinic concept La Clinique De Paris, established in China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea since 1992. Assistant professor at the universities of SEOUL and PEKING. Creator of the online Chrono Geno Nutrition method.
