A History of Hair Loss
The quest for a hair loss treatment is not just a modern-day problem, people have been searching for a cure since Biblical times.
The Egyptian are recorded as producing the first treatment from hair loss containing the fat of a lion, a hippopotamus, a cat, a serpent and more.
Egyptians 4000 BC
The Egyptians produced a remedy that is considered the very first baldness cure.
Another recipe for growing hair prepared for the King of Upper and Lower Egypt included toes of a dog, refuse of dates and a hoof of an ass.
Biblical Times
One of the earliest overreactions by a baldie concerned the prophet, Elisha. In the second book of Kings, Chapter 2, it is recorded; “And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up, by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord.
And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.”‘
The Greeks
Hippocrates suffered from baldness and devised his very own hair loss remedy.
The strange mixture contained among many other things opium, pigeon droppings cumin and nettles.
The Romans
When Caesar began losing his hair tried numerous varieties of hair treatments.
Middle Ages
The French Monarch Louis XIII began wearing wigs to cover his thinning head.
1939
Japanese dermatologist, Dr. Okuda, is credited for successfully harvesting and grafting hair
1800
Snake oil salesmen spread from the wild west and started selling numerous hair loss cures.
1988
Upjohn company produced a solution containing 2% Minoxidil for the treatment of baldness
1997
The company Merck obtained FDA approval for a second indication of Finasteride used for the treatment of hair loss, marketed under the name Propecia.
2006
Rogaine Foam for men is launched.
2007
Hairmax lasercomb receives approval from FDA for the treatment of hair loss in males.
Most people have between 100,000 and 140,000 hairs on their head. The number of strands traditionally lost in a day varies, but on average is 100.
In order to preserve a normal volume, hair must be replaced at the same rate at which it is lost.
The first signs of thinning hair that people will often notice are more hairs than usual left in the hairbrush after brushing or in the basin after shampooing.
Hair styling can also reveal areas of thinning hair, such as a wider parting or a thinning crown.
