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How To Stop Receding Hairline: 7 Ways To Try In 2024
Are you looking in the mirror and noticing your hairline slowly moving backward? You might be spending more and more time wondering if your hairline is starting to recede.
Don’t panic — you’re not alone. And if you want to learn how to stop a receding hairline, you’ve come to the right place.
First, a receding hairline is normal for men in their late teens and early 20s. And once it begins, it’s not easy to stop.
But in this article, we’ll dive deeper into both well-known and newer receding hairline treatments, therapies, and home remedies to get you thicker, healthier hair.
7 Ways To Stop Receding Hairline
If you’re experiencing a receding hairline, the following tips might help:
- Pharmaceutical intervention.
- Hair transplants.
- Living a healthy life.
- Herbal remedies.
- Switching shampoos.
- Scalp massages.
- Changing your hairstyle.
How To Stop Receding Hairline
Pharmaceutical Intervention
Researching how to stop balding in males or females? Topical minoxidil, or Rogaine, is a common medication you can buy over the counter at your neighborhood drugstore. It’s used to stop hair loss and may even stimulate new hair growth. Studies have shown this topical cream[1] performs better than placebos.
Another prescription drug called finasteride, known commercially as Propecia lowers specific hormone levels known for causing hair recession. As an oral medication, it can promote healthy hair growth on your scalp and reduce hair loss.
Hair Transplant
Men or women who can afford a surgical solution may find success with a hair transplant. In this scenario, your doctor takes hair from the back of your head and moves it to the front, where your hair is typically thinner.
It’s a fairly simple procedure to increase the amount of hair at your hairline. Implanted sections of hair are used to give the appearance of a fuller look and offer a more permanent solution to hair restoration.
As with any surgical procedure, first, discuss your medical history with your doctor and any risks you might experience. Also, since hair transplants are elective, they’re not covered by standard health insurance. Seek out a healthcare professional’s advice to see if you’re a good candidate for this procedure.
Live A Healthy Lifestyle
Think about your lifestyle. Committing to healthier choices every day might reduce the risk of hair loss. You can start with the food you put into your body every day.
Try increasing your antioxidants to combat oxidative stress, often leads to hair aging. It will also add some delicious flavors, like herbs and spices. You can find antioxidant-rich foods like spinach, blueberries, nuts, and beans.
For many people, different varieties of green, leafy vegetables, along with seeds and nuts, improve the way hair looks and feels.[2] Overall, getting enough minerals and vitamins can encourage healthy hair growth, especially:
- Vitamin A.
- Vitamin B12.
- Vitamin E.
- Iron.
- Zinc.
- Biotin.
There is something else to consider when planning meals. High levels of the hormone dihydrotestosterone can trigger hair loss. But, certain foods might be able to help lower these levels and encourage growth. Studies suggest that some natural remedies to consider include green tea,[3] turmeric and soy.[4]
How Do You Deal With Stress?
High daily stress levels have been linked to moderate hair loss. Reducing anxiety and stress levels can be challenging, but with effort, it’s possible. In addition to therapy with licensed mental health counselors, you can also lower stress through regular aerobic exercise. Taking just five to ten minutes a day to walk outside, do breathwork, or meditate can help, too.
Herbal Remedies
You may find some success with either commercially prepared or made-from-scratch topical herbal remedies.
Many herbalists tout Chinese hibiscus, gotu kola, ginseng, aloe vera, and gooseberry. They all go back thousands of years as traditional holistic medicine ingredients[5] in hair loss treatments.
You may also want to try saw palmetto.[5] This is another popular herbal remedy known for slowing down or stopping hair loss.
You can even purchase the herbs yourself and combine them with a carrier oil solution. With the right mixture, you can easily and inexpensively create a great shampoo. Or you can make a conditioning treatment to leave on your scalp before rinsing off with warm water.
Switch Shampoos
Many commercial shampoos are made specifically for hair growth. They’re manufactured using science and research, with natural or artificial ingredients to stimulate the hair follicles. These hair products may contain some herbal combinations that can reduce hair loss.
You can also ask your barber or hair stylist for suggestions. They may suggest shampoos that trigger hair re-growth with chemicals that remove oil-like sebum from your scalp.
Another active ingredient in shampoos for hair growth in men is ketoconazole.[6]
Scalp Massages
Regularly visit your barber, hair stylist, or masseuse for a scalp massage. This may help your hair grow back thicker and healthier than before.
How does this happen? Standardized scalp massages can increase blood circulation,[7] especially at your hairline. It’s believed that this works to stimulate your hair follicles.
You can even do this yourself! Give it a try for approximately four minutes every day with a scalp massage device.
Change Your Hairstyle
Wearing your hair a different way is a minor, simple way to reverse hair loss. This is especially true if you brush your hair too often or in a rough way. This can result in pulled hair that falls out in large amounts.
Keeping your hair in certain tight hairstyles can aggravate and worsen receding hairlines as well.
If you want to hide a thinning hairline, here are some hairstyles to think about:
- Grow your hair long on the top and then pull it into a fohawk. This style gives the illusion that you have more hair. Do this with clean-shaven sides that stay well-groomed for a sleek, polished look.
- Grow bangs to style and cover your hairline.
- Go for the all-over buzzed or clean-shaven look. This is a great option to stimulate hair growth if you already have short hair or want an easier grooming routine. It’s also stylish and attractive and will make your hairline unnoticeable.
How To Diagnose A Receding Hairline
So, why do men get receding hairlines? Usually, it’s a sign of male pattern baldness,[8] otherwise known as androgenetic alopecia. A combination of genetic factors and hormonal changes can cause this.
Looking at your frontal hairline in a picture or the mirror, you can usually notice hair thinning as male pattern baldness begins. The corners around your hairline move up your scalp, or your hairline begins to look like the letter V or M. That’s how your primary care physician might officially diagnose a receding hairline or male pattern baldness.
Here are some other symptoms you might notice:
- A bald spot near the crown of your head.
- Thinning hair.
- Losing a lot of hair every day.
When You Need A Doctor
As you get older, some hair shedding is perfectly normal. But if you’re losing a lot of hair that leads to bigger bald spots, patchiness in spots, or other unusual hair loss issues, contact your primary care physician or dermatologist. It may indicate a more serious health condition or require a more specific hair treatment, such as a hair transplant.
Conclusion
Receding hairlines in women or men isn’t easy to accept. But there’s no need to panic about a little hair loss or recession. It’s normal, and there are solutions, too.
Nonetheless, if you need to know how to stop your hairline from receding, we can help. Act quickly with some of these solutions to stop any slow hair loss from getting worse. Examples include scalp massages, switching shampoos, and trying herbal remedies.
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- Poonkiat Suchonwanit, Sasima Thammarucha and Kanchana Leerunyakul (2019). Minoxidil and its use in hair disorders: a review. Drug Design Development and Therapy, [online] Volume 13, pp.2777–2786. doi:https://doi.org/10.2147/dddt.s214907.
- Trueb, R.M. (2021). ‘Let food be thy medicine’: Value of nutritional treatment for hair loss. International Journal of Trichology, [online] 13(6), pp.1–1. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103/ijt.ijt_124_20.
- Lin, Y., Shao, R., Xiao, T. and Sun, S. (2022). Promotion of Hair Regrowth by Transdermal Dissolvable Microneedles Loaded with Rapamycin and Epigallocatechin Gallate Nanoparticles. Pharmaceutics, [online] 14(7), pp.1404–1404. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14071404.
- Lai, C.-H., Chu, N.-F., Chang, C.-W., Wang, S.-L., Yang, H.-C., Chu, C.-M., Chang, C.-T., Lin, M.-H., Chien, W.-C., Su, S.-L., Chou, Y.-C., Chen, K.-H., Wang, W.-M. and Liou, S.-H. (2013). Androgenic Alopecia Is Associated with Less Dietary Soy, Higher Blood Vanadium and rs1160312 1 Polymorphism in Taiwanese Communities. PLOS ONE, [online] 8(12), pp.e79789–e79789. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079789.
- Ana Zgonc Škulj, Poljšak, N., Nina Kočevar Glavač and Kreft, S. (2019). Herbal preparations for the treatment of hair loss. Archives of Dermatological Research, [online] 312(6), pp.395–406. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-019-02003-x.
- Aldhalimi, M.A., Hadi, N.R. and Ghafil, F.A. (2014). Promotive Effect of Topical Ketoconazole, Minoxidil, and Minoxidil with Tretinoin on Hair Growth in Male Mice. ISRN Pharmacology (Print), [online] 2014, pp.1–5. doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/575423.
- Koyama, T., Kobayashi, K., Hama, T., Murakami, K. and Ogawa, R. (2016). Standardized Scalp Massage Results in Increased Hair Thickness by Inducing Stretching Forces to Dermal Papilla Cells in the Subcutaneous Tissue. Eplasty, [online] 16, p.e8. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4740347/
- Kelly, Y., Blanco, A. and Tosti, A. (2016). Androgenetic Alopecia: An Update of Treatment Options. Drugs, [online] 76(14), pp.1349–1364. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-016-0629-5.