Male pattern baldness will develop in most men at some time. It is the most common kind of hair loss in men. It usually takes somewhere between 15 and 25 years to actually go bald. Some men can in fact go bald in less than 5 years. In the first stage of hair loss the hair begins to recede by thinning at the front of the head. The hair tends to get thin on the top of the head at the same time. This then leads to a bald patch developing in the middle of the scalp. The bald patch and the receding front of the scalp then gradually enlarge and eventually join together.
A rim of hair is usually left around the sides and back of the head. However, in some men even this goes thin and it eventually leads to a totally bald head. Nearly all men will have some degree of baldness by the time they are 60 years old. The actual age that hair loss starts seems to be quite variable. It has been shown that about a third of 30 year old men and half of all 50 year olds are quite bald. Women are not immune to baldness and some women can develop a similar pattern of hair loss to men. In women the hair loss tends to be shown as a general thinning across the whole of the scalp.
Hair is made in special areas of the scalp called hair follicles. These are like very small pouches under the skin. A hair will usually grow from a follicle for a total of about 3 years. This hair is then lost, but a new hair will grow from this same follicle. All hair follicles on the scalp go through this pattern of growth, loss and regrowth throughout the life of a person.
During the process of balding the affected hair follicles on the scalp steadily become smaller than normal. As the follicle reduces in size each new hair that is produced is thinner than the preceding one. Added to this is the fact that each new hair produced by these follicles grows for much less time than the usual 3 years. In the end the only thing remaining is a much smaller hair follicle with a thin stump of hair that doesn’t even reach the scalp surface.
The male hormone testosterone is involved in causing these changes. Despite this it has been shown that the levels of testosterone in men with baldness is the same as that in men not showing any balding. Hair follicles convert testosterone to another hormone called dihydrotestosterone. However, this in itself still doesn’t explain process of balding.
It is thought that hair follicles can become very sensitive to dihydrotestosterone and that it is this over sensitivity that leads to the hair follicle shrinking. Even this can’t be the total answer because it doesn’t explain why different hair follicles are affected at different times during this gradual process. Another problem is explaining why only scalp hairs are affected and not those in areas such as the armpit, groin and beard. It is therefore thought that other genetic factors must be involved in the process of male pattern baldness.
By: Timoteus Vincent
http://www.enhancementhq.com/profollica.html
http://profollica.product-truths.com
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Treatments for baldness are offered in so many different forms these days that it is difficult to make the right choices. Only with all of the facts at hand can people be expected to weigh up all the advantages and disadvantages without having to just accept sales hype. Further information on the alternatives for people looking into hair replacement and hair treatment can be found on T J Vincent’s web site Baldness
Mail this post
Hair loss can be caused by a variety of factors but heredity is the number one reason why men and women lose their mane. Hereditary hair loss in men and women has the same main cause, which is a metabolite of the male hormone testosterone, called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) attacking and killing our hair follicles. DHT is also present in the female body. Men and women lose their hair not because of increased levels of DHT in their bodies but due to the susceptibility of their hair follicles to DHT attacks, although the exact mechanism and reasons why certain hairs, mostly those on the top of the head, are more vulnerable to such attacks are not yet know.
When it comes to
Male pattern baldness is also genetic, and the gene is passed to a child from either parent, not just the mother, as had been previously thought. Pattern baldness in men is the most common type of hair loss, and usually involves a receding hairline and baldness on the crown of the head. The root cause of baldness in men is dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, a byproduct of the male hormone testosterone. Another cause of baldness in men is hairstyle.
The first and foremost method of hair loss prevention is to take care of your hair. Natural hair loss prevention is possible if you include diets rich in proteins, calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium, selenium, sulfur, silica and zinc. A second way to tackle hair loss prevention is with a daily multivitamin. Exercising also plays a major role in natural hair loss prevention. Of course if you think baldness is sexy and appealing then forget about it but I tell you once you have lost it, it may never come back so you better apply some hair loss prevention strategies before you regret it. If you fully understand what causes your hair loss, then decide only on the right treatment for you.