The Young Man’s Holistic Hair Loss Prevention Guide

For many young men, hair loss can be incredibly isolating. Generally thought of us an older man’s issue, those in their 20s and 30s that experience hair loss can suffer a range of emotional and psychological effects. Once you start to look into the facts, one of the first things you’ll notice is you’re not alone. It’s very common for signs of hair loss to show up this early.

We live in an era where facts are scarce. The internet is full of lies and ill-researched articles. Fact-finding requires a lot of sorting through the muck, but it’s worth it. When you look at articles that link out to actual scientific studies, that go so far as to cite their sources, you’re entering the realm of facts.

The world of hair loss has always been a battleground between the truth and the untruths. Every guy wants to keep his hair, and people will prey on that. This is one of the reasons that holistic methods haven’t been widely used or accepted, meanwhile there are plenty of herbal treatments which are backed by studies. So be open to anything as you do your research, but be careful, find sites you trust, and then still check your facts.

Acknowledge the problem—but don’t let it affect your confidence

It’s important to acknowledge the problem early to be able to start fighting it. The earlier you accept the hard work you’ll have to do to keep your hair, the easier it will be. Yes it will be a long term battle, but it’s worth it, because it will probably improve other aspects of your life as well. Just don’t let acknowledging the problem get confused with becoming completely depressed about it.

Balding and depression often go hand in hand. Left unchecked, hair loss can trigger unwelcome thoughts of mortality and often causes a snowball effect, gaining momentum from the very stress and anxiety it creates. In extreme cases it even can lead to depression and body dysmorphia. In regular cases, it can shake your confidence.

A little self-consciousness should be expected when hair loss starts. Constantly wearing hats, avoiding the barber, or giving up on your looks entirely, however, may be signs that you’re avoiding your new reality. The key is to acknowledge your situation so that you can understand how to fight it.

As is the case with any malady, you need to know what you’re dealing with before you can actually deal with it. The most common cause of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, more commonly known as male pattern baldness. It affects up to 85% of all men and can start as early as the teenage years. It’s naturally occuring and often genetic.

There’s also a long list of environmental and internal causes for hair loss, including stress, diet, exercise, hygiene, improper hair treatments, and skin and scalp conditions. These are often reversible but less common.

Find out what stage of hair loss you’re beginning from

There are dozens of different scales used to classify the different stages of balding, but the Norwood-Hamilton model is the most widely recognized. It breaks the progression of male pattern baldness into eight stages, starting with a full head of adolescent hair (Stage I), and ending with total cranial clearing (Stage VIII).

For those looking to reverse, impede, or prevent hair loss, consulting a scale will give you a starting point for your journey, as well as a benchmark to refer back to when analyzing your progress. Plus, they provide a much-needed comparison point; other forms of hair loss sometimes resemble MPB, and having a resource to check against may help determine if other factors are fooling with your follicles.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to keep in mind that certain holistic methods only work for certain issues. Think of it in conventional medical terms—prescription drugs are dispatched for certain ailments, not every symptom in the manual. Holistic methods operate much the same way, and doing a little bit of research can help you choose a methodology that works for you individually.

One method that’s shown to be especially effective in battling hair loss has been Low Level Laser Therapy, or LLLT. We did a deep dive on the subject here. Cold lasers are used on the affected area to coax the follicles back into production. The change happens on a cellular level, enabling your body to reverse hair loss on its own. LLLT has also been shown to naturally oxygenate cells and encourage healing, further boosting its holistic value.

Taking a holistic approach means understanding that our bodies are a complex system of intertwined elements known as mind, body, spirit, and emotions. When we’re at our healthiest, all four work in harmony.

Conversely, when there’s an issue with one, the imbalance affects the other three. The fact that a common emotion like stress can manifest itself as hair loss is a perfect example of this. That also means that, since hair loss and confidence are often closely related, ignoring your situation could lead to other issues down the road.

Here are some of the different treatment types involved in holistic hair regrowth:

Types of Holistic, Preventative Hair Loss Treatments

Treatment	Description	Hair Growth Supporting Properties
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)	Uses UV lights to stimulate cells and regrow hair.	Stimulates proper cell functioning Releases anti-inflammatory nitrous oxide to boost cell regeneration
Essential oils	These are generally topical solutions derived from natural oils.	Promotes blood flow in the scalp Ensures follicles remain in anagen, or growth phase
Supplements	Provide consistent vitamins and minerals meant to promote a healthy environment for hair growth.	Combats nutritional deficiencies causing hair loss Supports scalp and hair health
Improved Diet	A protein-rich, balanced diet offers the safest infusion of supplements for your body.	Protein helps with the growth of actual hair Too much vitamin A can actually cause hair loss
Exercise	Regular physical activity helps regulate hormones and encourages holistic health.	Increases blood flow Helps counteract poor diet choices Relieves stress
Stress Management	Managing stress helps mitigate the neurochemical response to stress that causes hair loss.	Inhibits brain’s production of cortisol Eliminating stressors can protect hair regrowth

One thing that probably isn’t going to help your receding hairline is time. Regardless of the cause, hair loss is often progressive, so the longer you wait to act, the worse the problem will become. Instead, familiarize yourself with the signs and learn how to fight them. The sooner you start, the better your odds.

Create a routine around holistic hair health and write it down

The best part of creating a hair loss routine is that you can incorporate several, if not all, of your holistic hair growth techniques at once. Rather than applying them haphazardly, be intentional and create a routine.

This will give you a starting benchmark that you can reference in the future as you’re testing your methods and measuring their results. Developing a routine and actually writing it down will invest you in the process and create a sense of accountability for yourself. Here’s an example to help you get started:

If there’s anything more boring than watching paint dry, it might be watching hair grow. It certainly takes longer. For many, this can be the last obstacle to achieving holistic hair health. In a society based on instant gratification, the process of hair regrowth can be excruciating. That means you’ll need to proactively find ways to keep yourself motivated throughout the process. Here are a few examples to try:

Keep a progress journal

Tracking your progress in a journal is a handy tool for just about any undertaking. In the medical field, doctors often ask their patients to journal details about their specific daily behaviors in order to narrow down what may be causing their malady.

Using a journal to document your hair loss achieves the same thing. Plus, the progress you’ve shown, whether it’s resulted in hair regrowth or not, often serves a jolt of much-needed motivation when your will to continue hits a telogen phase, right next to your follicles.

Think of it this way: even if you’re not sprouting new hair yet, you can take solace in the fact that you’ve identified the treatments that won’t work for you. Chances are you’ll find something that will. As Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Perhaps those people should’ve been journaling.

Take photos every month

Spotting progress as it’s happening can be tricky. For example, imagine someone you see everyday (coworker or girlfriend) has started working out and is losing weight. Who is more likely to notice--you, the person who has seen the incremental changes as they’re happening, or someone who hasn’t seen that person since before their weight loss?

Taking photos every month will give you a better understanding of your progress. The camera doesn’t lie; it filters out reality-altering optimism and soul-crushing skepticism to show you exactly what your hairline looks like. Besides, it’ll give you a good reason to consult the Norwood-Hamilton scale. When not being used as a reference point, it’s really just a depressing collection of hairline pictures.

Purchase a Magnifying Mirror

Invest in a 10x lighted mirror and monitor early stage hair growth and thickness on your hairline. It can be encouraging and encouraging to track early progress of baby hairs as they cycle through the hair growth stages. Once progress begins, you can also monitor the follicle density as dormant follicles sprout new hairs and withering/thinning hairs are replaced by thicker hairs.

Use learning as fuel

Hair loss prevention is a $4 billion industry in the U.S. alone, and much of that capital is going into research and product development. That’s great news for someone in the middle of a hair loss prevention routine as there isn’t a better motivator than hope. So, immerse yourself in hair loss news, set a Google alert to let you know when new developments are discovered. Invest yourself in this process and find whatever motivation you need to keep going.

Considering the myriad causes of hair loss, there will be a certain amount of testing and measuring you’ll need to go through. What has worked? What hasn’t? Are some methods more practical than others? Has anything you tried actually had an adverse effect? These are the questions you’ll need to answer before you can determine whether your routine is effective, needs tweaking, or is ready for an overhaul.

Thankfully you’ve been keeping a journal, taking monthly photos and you’re up to date on the latest trends. That gives you some actual evidence to act on. If not, stop relying on luck and go back to Step 3 immediately.

Conclusion

Hair loss can be a jarring development, and even more so when experienced at a younger age than expected. Panic and avoidance are two of the most understandable reactions, but they’re also among the worst. Instead, arm yourself with knowledge, develop a plan you can stick to, and change directions if needed.

Remember, hair loss is often preventable. That means that so are its negative effects. And if you keep that in mind, you can be ready when it happens. Or, even better, beforehand.