Hair loss is a complex and deeply emotional problem without simple diagnoses or answers. Alopecia (the catch all term for all kinds of hair loss) can be caused by any number of environmental or genetic issues.

Medical professionals are motivated to find quick solutions when you ask them for help, that’s why they’re more likely to prescribe a drug like Minoxidil (Rogaine) or Finasteride (Propecia), or suggest hair replacement surgery before they tell you to go to the gym more often (to reduce stress) or take a hair growth supplement (for the iron! More on that later).

Minoxidil can irritate your scalp and can cause dizziness, tiredness and facial hair growth in women. Finasteride can cause rashes, swelling, and impotence. And hair surgeries can be painful, unsuccessful, and patchy.

The reality is that hair loss can have a variety of causes, and likewise a variety of solutions. By lowering your stress levels, adding a supplement to your diet, using low level laser therapy, or using essential oils, you can see results in your hair growth without risking the major side effects that come with brand name drugs.

By implementing holistic solutions to hair loss, you can make sure your hair regrowth doesn’t come at a huge cost to the rest of your body.

If you want to get started with holistic hair care techniques to help regrow lost scalp hair, know that there isn’t a miracle drug. No hair growth system will work immediately, and some may not even work for you at all.

We do know that some essential oils have been proven to reignite hair follicles in mice, and that laser hair systems can repair damage done to hair follicles by DHT and prepare it for new hair growth.

However, there are only two FDA-approved drugs on the market for hair loss, Minoxidil (Rogaine) or Finasteride (Propecia), but that doesn’t mean they’re the only thing that works.

Having the right mindset as you start your holistic hair regrowth journey is essential for long term mind, body, and (by extension) hair health. Connecting with others who are going through the same struggles on a forum can help keep your journey positive.

While 95% of hair loss is caused by your genetics and an influx of DHT, there are other factors that cause hair loss, and it’s important to rule them out before you begin your journey. There are a few reasons you might be losing your hair, and the hair regrowth process should begin with a few questions.

There are actually a few different types of Alopecia, and it could be important to determine the underlying cause of your hair loss before you start trying to remedy it.

95% of people experience natural hair thinning due to aging, or because they’re genetically predisposed to pattern baldness. Other factors can contribute (there is a fuzzy gray line between nature and nurture after all), but chances are your hair difficulties are predisposed.

DHT is a sex hormone that occurs naturally in the body when testosterone is mutated by an enzyme called 5 alpha reductase.

DHT is uniquely responsible for male (and female) pattern baldness because it binds to hair follicles on the scalp and miniaturizes them. This shrinks the follicle’s Anagen stage, as well as the thickness of the hair it grows.

While genetics are likely the cause of chronic hair loss as you age, there are "seasonal" issues that may cause temporary hair loss or cause genetic hair thinning to begin sooner than nature planned.

Even genetic hair loss can be reversed using holistic methods, and many studies have shown that holistic hair growth methods can work even better than Rogaine or Propecia without those nasty side effects.

Each of these holistic methods can be successful on their own, but if you use them in combination you can increase your chance of success.

Low level laser therapy has been studied to treat a number of conditions and has been time and again shown to regrow lost hair.

A review of 21 relevant studies (12 of them clinical) showed that LLLT can effectively and safely reverse male and female pattern baldness.

You can fight back against hair loss in the comfort of your own home by using one of illumiflows FDA-cleared laser caps with 1,360mw of medical-grade laser power.

Diet can play a role in conquering DHT and regrowing hair. There are a variety of vitamins like biotin, Niacin and B6 that can give follicles the food they need to produce healthy locks. If you're looking for a one-stop-shop for hair enriching vitamins, give our multivitamin Follicle FX a shot. It's jam packed with 11 nutrients proven to make your hair healthier.

Essential oils have been making headway in almost every field as people are discovering their benefits as holistic health aids. Studies that investigate essential oils effect on hair loss have shown that Peppermint oil works as well as Rogaine to regrow hair quickly when applied topically to mice. Other essential oils have been shown to block DHT and a combination of essential oils in a scalp rub can really help.

Studies have shown that people who exercise more are less likely to experience hair loss. Exercise pumps blood to the hair follicles and makes sure they’re nourished with oxygen and protein to help hair grow faster and stronger. Make sure to get your heart pumping daily and do some yoga inversions to send more blood to your scalp.

It’s true that stress can cause hair loss, but with the type of genetic hair loss you may be experiencing, it’s likely not something you need to worry about. Even so, continuous stress can be toxic to a holistic hair growth plan because everything in your body is connected. What ails your belly may ail your hair and vice versa.

Food should be your first medicine, what you eat becomes you, and can affect the health of your skin and hair follicles, as well as the length and strength of individual hairs.

Eating whole nutritious foods provides the body with the best possible building blocks for luscious locks.

Since the majority of readers will have androgenetic alopecia, we’ll be focussing this plan on holistic treatment of genetic hair loss.

A holistic hair regrowth system and measurable daily goals will keep you and your hair follicles accountable.

Using the SMART goals system is a good way to achieve any goal that requires persistence and maintenance:

Be Specific About Your Hair Goals: Make sure your goal answers three questions, What? Why? And How?Example: I want to feel confident again, so I will revitalize my hair follicles by using holistic products that attack the production of DHT.

Create Measurable Hair Restoration Goals: Every goal should have it’s own yardstick. Make sure you will know when you have accomplished it. What does regrowth mean? Maybe for you it’s a full head of hair, longer hair, or thicker hair, and you want it by this day next year.

Make Your Hair Growth Goals Achievable: A good goal is one that is actually possible. You can’t grow back all of your hair by tomorrow, simply because the human hair growth cycle takes way longer than that. Consider that hair grows about 0.014 inches a day when you make your goal.

Focus on Your Hair Growth Results: Your goal should state what the result will look like in very specific terms. This makes it more black and white when it comes to deciding whether the goal has been met or not.

Have Time Limits: Write down the exact day that you want to hit your goal, even if it seems arbitrary at the time. If it isn’t time-bound, it’s not really measurable, which mean it’s not really a SMART goal.

Make sure to take pictures of your progress from the same angle, under the same lighting so you can see the positive change you’re making.

Also consider keeping a journal of your daily activities so you know what’s working and what’s not.

If you have a hard time remembering to do your treatment everyday, consider hanging seven post it notes on your bathroom mirror. Everyday when you do the treatment, remove a post it, and reapply them the following week.

If you want to embark on a holistic hair regrowth journey just know you’re not alone and we’re here to support you. There are so many options to consider from laser hair systems to balms and oils, lifestyle changes to supplements and just one may not work on its own.

By making a concerted and thoughtful attempt at finding out what combination of treatments works for your hair follicles you may find your own unique solution for positive holistic hair regrowth.