Top Hair Replacement Trends for 2025

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:00:02]:
I would say if you are struggling with hair loss, I would say see your dermatologist before investing in a lot of sort of experimental things or other things, because not all hair loss is created equal. Lots of different causes of hair loss, some is completely reversible and some scars, and that is not reversible. And if we can hit it first and early and sort of stop the inflammation that can lead to the scarring, then we can minimize that foreign.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:43]:
Welcome to HairPod, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:49]:
I’m your host, Kevin Rolston, and each.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:51]:
Week I get to interview people from different walks of life whose lives have been touched by hair loss in some form or fashion. Many of our guests have experienced hair loss themselves and found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. This week we are ringing in the new year with the very latest in cutting edge hair loss technology and trends with Dr. Mary Alice Mina. Dr. Mary Alice is a Harvard-educated dermatologist and dermatological surgeon with a passion for educating people about caring for their skin. She hosts The Skin Real podcast and today she joined us for an episode of HairPod to talk about all the latest in hair restoration, from the most recent studies to the latest hair trends. The first thing I had to know was how dermatology fits into the world of hair loss and hair restoration.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:01:45]:
This is such a popular topic and something that I’ve been thinking about more and more as I’m hitting middle age. But, yeah, people maybe don’t realize this, but dermatologists are the skin, hair and nail experts. So our nails and hair are appendages of our skin. And so we also take care of hair. So. And I also think people forget that our hair, also our scalp is made up not just of hair, but skin. And so it’s important to take care of our scalp skin as well. That that is also part of hair care.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:02:19]:
So, yeah, as dermatologists, this is definitely right up our alley.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:23]:
Now, the one thing that I want to talk to you a little bit about is, you know, it seems like.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:27]:
Things that are probably good for your.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:29]:
Nails and for your skin are probably also good for your hair.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:32]:
Why?

Kevin Rolston [00:02:33]:
That has to do with dietary stuff. Right?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:02:35]:
Well, is there something in particular you’re thinking about?

Kevin Rolston [00:02:38]:
Yes, I am. In fact, I saw a study this week and it talks about how intermittent fasting and a study that was done is not giving the body enough energy to reproduce the hair cells that is needed. And they’re discovering, at least in studies with mice, that when they’re doing intermittent fasting diet that the mice are not replenishing the energy to regrow the hair. And they said that it could be the same way in humans. So is that something that you’ve seen where caloric intake or the nutrients that you put in your body can also affect skin, hair and nails?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:03:15]:
Oh, yeah, absolutely. So if you have a very calorie restrictive diet, then your skin is going to be very dry. You can get this stuff called lanuga, where you have these small little, what we call vellus hairs on your body that can develop. You can significantly lose hair on your head and it can be very brittle. So, yes, very restrictive diets for sure can do this. And also so can rapid weight loss. So we’re seeing, I would say probably even more common is people who go on these crash diets lose a lot of weight very quickly, or the GLP1 agonists, which are remarkable at helping people lose weight. But one of the side effects is that with this rapid weight loss can also come rapid hair loss.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:04:06]:
Now, usually that’s reversible. Same thing with, with diet that, you know, when you have a healthy diet, a balanced diet, then that will improve. And then the other thing I’ll say I’ll see sometimes in vegans or people who are vegetarians or very only eat certain foods and not sort of a more balanced diet like a Mediterranean diet, a plant for a diet. We can also see some issues with hair loss. So, yeah, hair loss is so much more than just what are you shampooing with or what products are you using. I always say skincare and hair care comes from, you know, within. And so taking care of our body first and foremost is a great way to make sure your hair is healthy.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:49]:
Totally.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:49]:
Now, you mentioned the GLP1s and so many people are doing that. And there was a good news that came out this last week about there’s finally, for the first time in a long time, been a little drop in obesity rates in America. But the one thing that I’m hearing about the GLP1s is that some people are losing weight, but they’re increasing their body fat and that there may be losing connective tissue, they’re losing muscle, and it could also be affecting other things happening in the body. Do you notice anyone doing GLP1s that is affecting their hair growth? Could that be something that actually takes away from it?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:05:26]:
So definitely see hair loss with it for sure.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:29]:
Okay.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:05:30]:
And I can’t really speak to whether they’re losing muscle or what they’re losing exactly I’m not familiar with that study, but certainly if you are not, you know, again, these medications can help you lose weight, but in order to be healthy, you still need to eat a balanced diet. You need to make sure you get enough protein, enough fiber, minimizing sugar. Right? So it’s not, I think we all want, right, the magic pill where you can still do all the bad habits and not worry about what you actually eat, but you really have to also take care of your body and think about your nutritional status. So. But yeah, we certainly do see the hair loss with it. We also see a lot of, like, skin laxity, which is where when you lose weight so quickly, the skin doesn’t have time to slowly absorb that. And so you can get some loose hanging skin as well. So that’s definitely something.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:06:20]:
We see patients coming in now that they’ve lost the weight. Now they need to get rid of the skin that’s just kind of hanging there.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:27]:
The thing that seems to be tough for me is that a lot of people, we want to achieve beauty. And that’s why we’re doing intermittent fasting. That’s why we’re doing the GLP1s. So how do we offset that? Because if you’re listening to us right now, I’m a person that does intermittent fasting. So what would you say to the person that, for instance, I will do 14, as much as 18 hours off, how can I offset what I’m doing with my intermittent fasting so that I’m not affecting my hair growth?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:06:56]:
Well, so I would say, first of all, have you noticed problem with hair loss with your intermittent fasting?

Kevin Rolston [00:07:03]:
I have not personally, no, thankfully.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:07:06]:
Sometimes, you know, if there isn’t a problem, you haven’t noticed hair loss, then it really isn’t something you have to worry about. But I would say if you. And I’ve dabbled with intermittent fasting, and it’s not something I’m doing right now, I didn’t notice any hair issues. But I would say if you are doing intermittent fasting, then you need to be very cognizant that you’re getting good nutrition on those eating windows that you have and making sure that you’re eating a balanced diet, you’re eating lean proteins, that you’re getting enough, you know, vegetables, antioxidants, all of that. Because I think, again, it’s fine to intermittent fast and they’re show that there are lots of benefits to that. But just make sure when you are eating that you are getting enough calories and enough macros and all that.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:53]:
Is there a perfect hair diet?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:07:55]:
I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s a perfect diet period for anyone. But again, just making. I would say, you know, a good diet in general for your skin would be. We tend to recommend the Mediterranean diet where there’s, you know, protein forward with lean protein. Fish is a great fatty acids. You have omega 3 fatty acids and things like salmon eating a lot of fiber, green leafy vegetables, fruits and berries for antioxidants, minimizing processed sugar. I would say that that’s just key for our overall health.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:08:32]:
So is there the perfect hair diet? I think would just be the. A good balanced diet for your overall health and making sure you’re not being too restrictive on your calories or too restrictive that, oh, I never eat this fruit or this food or this or that, because I think that’s where people can get into trouble or if they just eat same thing all the time. Again, you need that variety, really.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:55]:
Okay, now that. That’s kind of interesting. So even if I had the perfect diet, I still need to switch it up a bit because my body will get used to it and it could be somewhat damaging to hair, nails, skin.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:09:05]:
Well, not so much that. I’m just thinking of if you’re someone who I always eat a piece of chicken and mashed potatoes and carrots. Right. And you only eat that day in and day out. Throw in a salad one night, throw in broccoli one night, throw in some different vegetables, because each fruit and vegetable, they all have different benefits. So again, I know sometimes it’s easy just to eat the same thing every lunch, every dinner. But again, just making sure you’re eating. You know, think about also eating seasonal foods.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:09:36]:
Right. Trying to eat things that are in season is a great way to make sure that you’re getting that variability and nutrition. And it’s better for the environment, right, to eat things when they’re in season.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:50]:
I always appreciate hearing a doctor’s perspective on the importance of nutrition because I know it’s something we can all work on right now to improve our hair, skin and overall health. But it’s especially important early in the year when many people are searching for the fad diet that’s going to help them lose weight and get on a healthier path. It’s important to know the consequences of the different options that are out there so you can keep track of things like hair loss, because that could indicate issues with overall health. I asked Dr. Mina if there was anything else we should focus on when we’re looking at the major causes of hair loss.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:10:30]:
Genetics is big and we don’t fully understand it. It’s not quite so simple as if your mom’s dad didn’t have hair, you’re not going to have hair. Right. So genetics, and it’s not really something, at least at this point, that we can really fix. So genetics. There are some people who are predisposed to having more hair thinning than others. There’s some people who are more prone to early hair grain versus, versus, not. So genetics would be number one, and then number two, I would say, is hormones.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:10:58]:
And again, this isn’t really something we can always change. Now there are things we can do to enhance, but hormones play a big role. And so that, that’s something like for men with testosterone, that’s why men struggle with hair thinning. And even women, as we go through menopause or perimenopause, we lose estrogen. We’re learning that estrogen is also important for hair. So we can work around those things in some ways. But also it is just natural hormone fluctuations as well.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:31]:
So tell me, for a guy like myself, and you get hit with this a lot when you hit middle age for men, and I’m sure for women as well, it’s balancing your hormones. And so in South Florida, where I am, they have so many clinics that are all about giving you testosterone, balancing your hormones, what does that then do to contributing to my hair loss? Because if I add more testosterone, am I then going to start losing more hair as a result?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:11:56]:
You can, yeah. So you know, everything has trade offs, right. Every there, there are pluses and minuses with things. So. So certainly taking testosterone can also cause acne and more sebum or oil production. Right. So I would say for someone like your age who’s maybe noticing some thinning maybe at the temples or the back of your head, probably the simplest thing to do would be to use a topical product, whether that’s pure minoxidil or. Now there are a lot of compounded products that have different things like propecia and finasteride, dutasteride, things like that.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:12:33]:
And it’s topical and you put it on and women can use these as well. So that would be probably the simplest thing to do, but you have to stick with it and it doesn’t happen overnight. And then other options would be, then you could do systemic things as well. So if it’s. And it kind of depends on the kind of hair loss. But for men taking an oral medication like minoxidil finasteride. Some of these medications that can help suppress the androgen receptors around the hair follicles is a good option.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:07]:
Yeah. And, you know, I know sometimes, and I’ve done the testosterone before, and they do give you something to try to balance that to make sure it’s right in your system. I’ve done the finasteride, and I found out that I needed dutasteride, which I guess is what 10% of the male population needs, because the finasteride will not cover everybody, as I’ve come to find out by hosting this podcast.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:31]:
To me, it’s just such a slippery.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:33]:
Slope when you’re trying to maintain beauty, because it seems like when you do one thing that you think is a benefit, whether it be testosterone for your body, then it affects your hair or your skin or your nails.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:44]:
Do we have any kind of perfect.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:45]:
Recipe on how to navigate beauty as we start to get to middle age, on what we should do, how much we do of it, and then how we counterbalance the other effects of beauty on other parts of our body?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:13:56]:
Gosh. I mean, that’s the million dollar question, right?

Kevin Rolston [00:13:59]:
Okay.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:14:00]:
It’s so personal, too. Right? Everyone has a different threshold. My mother has never done. I can’t even get her to use a retinoid. Like, she just uses her moisturizer and sunscreen and that’s it. And she’ll never do any cosmetic procedure whatsoever. And then there are other people who are like, I am all for, give me everything. I want to do everything, try everything.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:14:21]:
So it’s really personal, but I would just encourage people to do what feels right for them. And it’s hard not to feel pressure. As we get older, we want to kind of cling on to what we looked like 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and we see changes and aging is normal. But, yes. Are there things we can do to help mitigate some of the less desirable side effects? And there are. With hair loss, I feel like there’s no, like, take this pill and you’ll grow hair. Right. Sometimes it’s a lot of trial and error.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:14:52]:
Sometimes it’s making sure you’re supplementing vitamin D. A lot of people are deficient in that. And there have been people promoting vitamin D as a way to help with hair loss. But again, I wouldn’t just do any one thing. A lot of times it’s doing them all in combination that can help as well. And I do think in the next five years to 10 years, we’re going to really see an explosion in what we can offer people for hair loss and even maybe hair grain. So I think this is an exciting time. But again, I’ve even, I mean, it kind of makes me laugh when I go to these conferences and I’ll hear someone speaking about hair loss and they, they’re a big hair loss expert and they’re bald or they have, they have recession and it’s, it’s not that uncommon.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:15:38]:
And I’m thinking here is some one of the like world experts in this. They know everything. But yet sometimes it’s just with our genetics and the knowledge that we have now, not everything is going to work for everyone. Now we can definitely improve. For most people we can help out a lot, but we can’t cure it. Right. And that can be frustrating and people can spend a ton of money on these things. So I would also say, you know, sometimes hair loss can make us feel so desperate for a cure that we can fall prey to people who really don’t have the answer but make you feel like they do.

Kevin Rolston [00:16:22]:
Dr. Mina gets at something of key importance here. Hair loss can be such an emotional experience for anyone. And depending upon what is causing the hair loss, there may be a way to reverse it or there may not. The unknowns can leave a lot of people feeling desperate to try anything, which can lead down a very hopeless and costly road. Thankfully, professionals like Dr. Mina are knowledgeable about the treatment options that are available today and also what’s on the horizon for hair loss solutions.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:16:58]:
I do think there’s a lot of cool things coming out. Really the whole field of regenerative medicine is really taking off. And I would say, you know, what we already have in our toolbox right now are things like prp. So platelet rich plasma, that’s where you draw your blood and then you inject it, they spin it down. So we just are taking the plasma that’s rich in platelets, which have a lot of growth factors, and then we inject it into the scalp. The problem, it does work for a lot of people. The problem is that our platelet levels vary a good bit. And also your platelets at 20 are not the same as your platelets at 80.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:17:38]:
And so there is variability with that. So it works, it can be helpful. But I think we can take it even the next step. And so there are companies now that have taken the component of platelets and now, you know, amplified that so that we have more concentrated versions that we don’t have to rely on our own that you can inject. And there are also exosomes coming down the pike, there are topical exosomes that are formulated just for hair regrowth and have been shown to actually help with hair grain. So I think that’s another area that I’m personally more interested in that, to be honest. So, you know, right now it’s topical. Some doctors at Mayo Clinic have come up with a product that’s pretty amazing, at least seeing their results.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:18:24]:
And I’m, you know, testing it out with some of my patients and friends and family. And I think the next step would be, can we inject these exosomes? You know, how do we switch the hair follicle that is its own little stem cell? How do we switch that hair follicle back on? Why did it get turned off in the first place? You know, why did it stop producing melanin or pigment in the first place? How do we kick those cells back into gear and make them work again? And tons of research on that. And I do think we’re going to have some really cool things in the near future.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:00]:
You talk about some of these things that people might be seeing when they scroll through whatever social media feed that they use, and they look encouraging. But are there some that you know of that are out there that you would put a warning flag up on? Because people jump on stuff really quick, and the stuff’s typically not cheap, but it looks like it’s very effective. But have you seen something that you would say you might want to look more into that before you jump into it?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:19:26]:
Yeah, so definitely. People seem to really want to do more homeopathic treatments, natural treatments. I feel like I hear castor oil a lot for hair growth.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:38]:
Yes.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:19:38]:
There was even a study that, you know, dermatologists were saying, oh, rosemary oil can help with hair growth. But that study has really been found to have a lot of holes in it. I just think that this is something that’s so universal for men and women wanting to grow hair that we can fall prey to scams. And so I would just say anyone who is. I would make sure see what their credentials are. Right. Like, is this a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon or someone really experienced in hair loss or hair transplantation? Are they just selling you their own products and supplements? Right, right. Supplement world.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:20:15]:
I do believe in supplements, but I believe that they are supplemental. So check your vitamin D levels. If it’s low, then supplementing with that, making sure you have a balanced diet. Biotin, that was something. It’s not expensive, but that’s something that, you know, people would be taking tens of thousands of micrograms of biotin because they were told it worked. It helped. And really we found that unless you are truly biotin deficient, which is very rare, you don’t need to be supplementing with biotin. And in fact, it can mess up your lab work.

Kevin Rolston [00:20:49]:
Oh, wow.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:20:50]:
Yeah. So. So not really helpful in that realm. But yeah, I would just, I would look at who’s selling you. You know, who’s selling you. What are they selling you? What’s their angle and what are their credentials? Right. Is this someone who truly has experience in hair loss?

Kevin Rolston [00:21:06]:
Dr. Mina, I think a lot of people probably overlook scalp health. How important really is that to your hair health and your hair loss? And what can you do to make sure that you have got the best? To me, I look at it farming. You know, if you’ve got good soil, a lot of times you get a good crop out of it. Is your hair growth almost the same way when it comes to your scalp?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:21:29]:
Yeah, I think that’s a great analogy. Right. It’s the soil. So if we’re not taking care of our scalp, if we are putting tons of products on that are irritating it or causing a rash, then our scalp is going to be itchy and uncomfortable and flaky. Sometimes we can get overgrowth of yeast on our scalp, which is essentially dandruff. So making sure you’re calming down that inflammation as well, People can get like little acne lesions on the scalp that can cause the hair to kind of scar up. I would say hairstyles can be a big one for women. So if you are always pulling your hair back in a tight ponytail or tight bun every single day, you can get what’s called traction alopecia, where the pulling on the hair can cause hair loss in that area.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:22:19]:
Or if you do really tight braids on your, your hair. So be careful. Now, I just watched Cirque du Soleil and there was a woman, I mean, truly doing flips and, and crazy things, hanging by her hair. So I do, I do worry about her, her, her hair loss in the future, potentially. But, you know, being careful how you style your hair, what are you putting. If you are constantly bleaching your hair using really harsh chemicals on it, heating or styling it with really hot products, hot heat without a heat protectant, that’s going to damage the hair as well. So just. Yeah, thinking about your scalp is important as well.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:22:59]:
And not everyone’s scalp. Some people have oily scalp, some people have dry or sensitive. So just like with skin, you need to make sure you’re using the right product for your scalp.

Kevin Rolston [00:23:08]:
So imagine a lot of people hearing a lot of great information coming out of this and they’re trying to figure out, okay, where do I go? Because I need to learn a little bit more. And there are different places you can go to get information about this. What role does a dermatologist wind up playing when it comes to your hair health? And when do you know that the dermatologist is the first person you should turn to?

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:23:29]:
Yeah, well, I would say for a lot of people it’s probably your hair stylist or barber that most people talk to. I know for women like we, we tend to have these long standing relationships with our hairstylist. So you can talk with them about it. And I find that they are great advocates. Along with dermatologists, they can help point out if something looks funny on the scalp that they see. And they can also tell you, like, oh, gosh, when I wash your hair, I’m noticing a ton of clumps coming out, or, oh, I’m noticing that there’s some thinning. So, you know, I think for most people, they’re going to the first discussion is probably with their hairstylist or barber about what they’re seeing. And I would say if you are struggling with hair loss, I would say see your dermatologist before investing in a lot of sort of experimental things or other things.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:24:16]:
Because not all hair loss is created equal. Lots of different causes of hair loss, some is completely reversible and some scars and that is not reversible. And if we can hit it first and early and sort of stop the inflammation and that can lead to the scarring, then we can minimize that. So I find too often people come see the dermatologist like as the last resort. They’ve already tried all these things, they spent all this money. But really, I feel like that can save you a lot of time and frustration is if you’re struggling with hair loss, see your dermatologist or find a dermatologist who has familiarity with hair loss who can help you.

Kevin Rolston [00:24:52]:
Okay, so go to the professional before you go to TikTok and Instagram.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina [00:24:57]:
Yes, exactly. Although I know, I mean, there are a lot of doctors. That’s why I have a podcast. Podcast, right. Because I, I know that’s where people get their information. But instead of, you know, before you drop down a couple hundred dollars on some supplements or something that’s a, maybe less well, well studied or developed, I would see a dermatologist, make sure you know what kind of hair loss you have and get the right treatment to really try to save as much of your hair as possible. It’s so much easier to treat hair loss before it’s really severe. If you come to us and you’re totally bald, it’s really going to be hard to bring that hair back.

Kevin Rolston [00:25:39]:
A huge thank you to Dr. Alice Mina for joining us and sharing her wealth of knowledge on hair health, dermatology and the exciting advances in hair loss treatments. If you’ve ever wondered about how your diet, hormones or even your hair care routine impacts your hair’s health, I hope today’s conversation gave you some answers and maybe even sparked a few new questions. Thanks for listening to another episode of hairpod. Check us out on Hair Club on Instagram or search Harepod on Facebook to continue the conversation. If you know someone who could benefit from hearing this episode, we would love it if you would share with them. If you’re enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast podcast app. We also have a website.

Kevin Rolston [00:26:24]:
Check it out by going to podcast hairclub.com we’re here to build people up and share real stories so people experiencing hair loss feel a little bit less alone. And when you share, review and subscribe, it helps us do just that. So thank you. Until next time.