Hairloss & Treatment
Hair loss in men is not unusual. At least half of all men will experience some type of hair loss by age 50 and a quarter of men will lose some hair by the age of 25. Hair loss in men can be caused by many factors, but the number one reason men lose their hair is due to a hereditary condition called Male Pattern Baldness or Androgenic Alopecia. This type of hair loss is responsible for about 90% of hair loss in men. The result is ordinarily a receding hairline or thinning hair at the top of the crown of the head. Though most men fail to recognize the issue until 50% of their hair has already been lost.
What Male Pattern Baldness Looks Like
The disease typically begins at the hairline. The hair follicles that are most sensitive to DHT are located at the temples, the hairline and on the crown of the head. Male Pattern Baldness gets its name from this “pattern” of sensitive hair follicles.
What Causes Male Pattern Baldness?
The culprit is a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is converted from testosterone in the scalp. Over time, DHT builds up around the hair follicle, thinning or “miniaturizing” the hair and ultimately stopping growth. The follicle regresses as a result, causing each new hair that cycles through the follicle to be gradually thinner than the previous one. Eventually the follicle shuts down altogether, ending hair growth completely and permanently. Both a follicles resistance to DHT and the levels of DHT in the scalp are genetically determined , which explains why some people go bald and others do not. The gene can be inherited from both the mother and the father, so men with balding relatives (on either side of the family) have increased odds of losing their hair too.
When Male Pattern Baldness is the culprit of hair loss the following signs are often present:
The hair line often recedes to form an “M” shape Hair at the crown of the head begins to thin. Existing hair becomes finer and shorter. The top of the hairline eventually meets the thinned crown, leaving a horseshoe pattern of hair around the sides of the head that continues to grow.
Other Causes of Hair Loss in Men
Other hair loss causes account for 10% of cases in men (and an even larger percent of hair loss in women). Hair loss in patches, diffused shedding of hair, breaking hair shafts, or hair loss associated with redness, scaling, pain or rapid progression is probably indicative of a condition other than Male Pattern Baldness. These different types of hair loss can be caused by medical conditions, poor nutrition, certain medications, stress or other factors. If any of these symptoms are present in conjunction with hair loss, it is recommended to consult a physician.
Treatments for Male Pattern Baldness
hair restoration experts are specially trained to determine the current level of one’s Male Pattern Baldness and recommend a customized hair loss treatment. Hair Club is constantly refining techniques, testing new technology and closely following emerging research to ensure men get the most advanced and effective hair loss treatments available today.
By far the most common cause of hair loss in menis androgenetic alopecia, also referred to as “male pattern hair loss” or “common” baldness. It is due to the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) acting on genetically-susceptible scalp hair follicles that causes them to become progressively smaller and eventually disappear. This process is called “miniaturization.”
This sensitivity to DHT is characteristic of hair follicles that reside in the front, top, and crown of the scalp — rather than the back and sides — producing a characteristic and easily identifiable pattern. This pattern, described by Norwood in his widely used Norwood Classification, typically begins with recession of the hairline at the temples and thinning of the crown. It may progress to total baldness, leaving just a wreath of hair around the back and sides of the scalp.