When asked about a hair loss treatment, most doctors will name just just two options: Propecia pills and hair transplantation. Of course, there may be other solutions taken into account, such as hormonal treatment or experimental pills, but that’s actually a rare occurrence that only depends on how inventive your doctor is. In general there are just two really effective solutions to the problem of hair loss in men, and picking between them can actually be challenging as they are quite different and have their pros and cons. In order to make the choice a bit easier for you let’s review each of the methods and try to figure out which will suit you better.

Hair transplantation is an older hair loss treatment, with the first surgeries performed back in 1930’s. However, the true popularity of this method bloomed during the 1950’s when new surgical equipment and techniques were developed. Either way, the method has been around for quite a long time to give us a good understanding how effective it really is and to improve t through the use of advanced tools and technologies. The concept, however, remains unchanged and it’s actually the simplest and the most obvious solution for the problem of hair loss one would come up with. As you probably know, male pattern hair loss is characterized by partial balding of the scalp, with patches of thick hair surrounding bald spots. Hair transplantation simply takes the hair from these hair patches and embeds them evenly into the bald spots. Of course, technically there’s much more going on there, with the most advanced specialists using only particular configurations of hair follicles. But if put simply, it’s all about taking the hair from places where it’s still present to places where it’s gone.

It’s easy to imagine the pros and cons of such an approach. The main advantage is the speed at which you get the final result: just one or several surgeries and you get the perfect hair back without waiting for it to grow back. However, the disadvantages are also present. First of all, the procedure can be rather costly depending on the specialist and facility involved. Hair transplantation is often a painful process, and since you get entire hair follicles transplanted between different places the recovery phase brings much discomfort. Yet, the most discouraging disadvantage is the fact that hair transplantation doesn’t address the actual cause of the problem and doesn’t guarantee that you won’t lose the transplanted hair under the progressing baldness. You can spend several thousand dollars on a costly surgery and experience the same problems after several months or years. Doesn’t sound too promising, right?

From this point of view, Propecia seems to be a more attractive solution since it does exactly what hair transplantation doesn’t – address the very cause of hair loss in men. The drug was developed by the Merck Corporation after one of their researchers got intrigued by a 1970’s study, which described a population of men in the Caribbean with genetic mutations that led to smaller prostate and no instances of hair loss. The researcher wanted to mimic this genetic mutation through the use of pharmaceutics and thus Propecia was created. Today it is marketed both as a medication for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia and hair loss in men. And if you think that these conditions aren’t connected in any way, you’re utterly wrong.

Understanding how hair loss occurs and how Propecia works

It was discovered that most cases of hair loss in men are caused by high levels of a specific androgen that tends to accumulate with age. The very same androgen is also responsible for increasing the size of the prostate, causing symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. So it would be logic to address the problem by decreasing the levels of this specific androgen, and that’s exactly what Propecia does. Once the hormonal balance is restored, the prostate decreases in size while the lost hair starts growing back as it normally would without hair loss.

This leads us to the apparent pros and cons of using Propecia. The great thing is that it actually addresses the root of the problem and fights the cause rather than the consequence, which ultimately leads to better and sustainable results. On the other hand, it usually takes several months to see any results while the hormonal balance is restored and it takes even longer for the hair to grow back at its normal rates. Moreover, if you stop taking Propecia the process will be reversed due to the uncontrolled hormonal balance, and you will end up losing the hair at a certain point. So when choosing Propecia treatment you have to understand that it’s a long term course that can continue indefinitely.

As you see, both hair transplantation and Propecia treatment have their advantages and disadvantages. And choosing the right method is always a matter of setting your priorities straight. If you need results fast and aren’t worried by the risk of losing them and requiring a new operation, then hair transplantation may prove to be the best choice for you. But if you’re not in a haste and want to get guaranteed and sustainable results no matter how long it may take you, go with Propecia!