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If you’re starting to experience hair loss, then you’ve likely scoured the internet for information on what you can do to slow down the process. Whilst there are different options for you out there, you’re probably going to come across ‘The Big 3’ for hair loss. But what are the Big 3, and why are they called this?
Well, the term The Big 3 usually refers to the main products used to help reduce, and in some cases reverse, hair loss. This is Minoxidil (Rogaine), Finasteride (Propecia) and Ketoconazole (Nizoral). Using these 3 products together are thought to be the optimal technique for fighting hair loss.
Do The Big 3 really work for hair loss?
Do they really work? Well, there are cases that have shown that these three products will have an effect on your hair loss – specifically finasteride and minoxidil.
Minoxidil and finasteride are proven to help with your hair loss. So yes, they do work. Ketoconazole research is harder to come by, but it is proven to support a healthy scalp and there are reports of it working effectively to minimize hair loss, which is why it is considered an important part of the Big 3.
Do you really need to consider taking all of these together? Well, it depends. If you’re looking for the optimal formula to contend with hair loss, then I’d say yes. By using them all together, so people think that they may stop the other one from working properly, though this isn’t the case. They work separately, and the best chance of you keeping your hair is to use them together. Lets have a closer look at each of the products and how they can help you with your hair loss issues.
Minoxidil
Rogaine is usually the first product that is recommended to people when considering hair loss. It is one of the only proven methods used to regrow your hair.
It’s commonly asked whether you should use minoxidil or finasteride, but if you’re going for the Big 3 approach, you can use both! There are no known reasons why you shouldn’t use both of these hair loss treatments together.
Minoxidil was actually originally used to treat high blood pressure, but from there it was realised that it caused excessive hair growth for some users. This is because there is an increase in blood flow, which helps to support the growth in hair follicles. It widens the hair follicles, which allows for easier growth.
Usually if you’re looking to grow your hair, then Minoxidil is the first product that many people will turn to. This is likely because it’s side effects are minimal, and it is proven to help increase hair growth. The only real downside of using minoxidil is the prolonged use – you’ll have to apply this twice a day, pretty much forever (or as long as you want to try and keep your hair). This puts many people off the idea – including myself.
Finasteride
Out of the big 3, Finasteride is likely the most famous in recent media. You’ll see stories of some of the biggest celebrites using Propecia – even the president is thought to have used Propecia to help slow down his accelerating hair loss.
Finasteride has a stupidly high success rate, with other 80% of people reporting that they found it helps to reduce their hair loss. It’s also relatively cheap if you compare it to a hair transplant, which is one of the reasons why it has become increasingly popular. Unlike minoxidil which you need to apply twice a day, with Propecia all you need to do is take a tablet. It’s ease of use is one of the reasons it has become so popular in recent years.
Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks with Finasteride. You have likely heard about the side effects that you might experience from fin, and they’re no joke. Of course, they have only had an effect on a small amount of people, so the likelihood of you experiencing them too is extremely low; I’m just not sure I’d want to take that risk at all.
Ketoconazole
The third member of the Big 3 is ketoconazole – better known as Nizoral, which is just the most popular brand of ketoconazole.
Nizoral is primarily a anti fungal treatment, which has it’s main use as a dandruff combatant. It definitely helps to promote a healthy scalp. But in it’s use for decreasing dandruff, it was found that some people reported that it helped to mitigate their hair loss, too.
There are many different ways to take Nizoral – orally, through drops or more recently as a shampoo. Nizoral does not work as effectively as a shampoo for dandruff – it works much better if you opt for it in another form. Whereas for hair loss results are not as conclusive as with minoxidil and finasteride, which is why many people are not sure which is the best way to use ketoconazole (even doctors).
Conclusion
If you’re experiencing hair loss and you’re at the initial stages, then you really need to make a decision. With these 3 products, you do have the best chance at slowing down your hair loss – aside from a costly hair transplant. There are side effects that you might experience from using these products, so you should do your own due diligence and find out if they are right for you and you’re willing to take the risk.
Personally though, I just embraced my baldness and decided against this completely. I didn’t feel it was worth it for me – I don’t want to be applying minoxidil twice a day forever just to support my appearance. Though, I’d never judge someone who chose to do this, either. It really is a personal choice that you need to make yourself.
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