The Cause of Hair Loss
Hair loss, also known as Alopecia, is typically related
to heredity, aging, and testosterone. Other causes of hair
loss may include: female hormonal changes (i.e. thyroid disease,
childbirth, or birth control
pill), serious illness or fever, medication such as chemotherapy,
excessive shampooing and blow-drying, emotional or physical
stress, nervous habits
such as hair pulling or scalp rubbing, burns, and radiation
therapy.
Hair loss usually develops gradually and may be patchy
or all over. Roughly 50-150 hairs are lost from your
head every day. Each individual hair survives for an
average of 4 ½ years, during which time it grows
about ½" each month. The hair usually falls
out in the 5th year and is replaced within 6 months by
a new one.
This hair loss is nothing to be
concerned about. Instead it is part of the process that keeps
your hair healthy. When that typical loss of hair is multiplied,
there is a problem of some sort. There are many causes of
hair loss that will temporarily cause more excessive hair
loss. Some of these causes of hair loss are: poor diet, beginning
on the birth control pill, child birth, stress, medication,
illness and surgery.
Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount
as they age. Inherited or "pattern baldness" affects
many more men than women. About 25% of men begin to experience
hair loss by the time they are 30 years old, and about
two-thirds are either bald or have a hair loss pattern
by age 60.
Typical male hair loss involves a receding hairline
and thinning around the crown with eventual bald spots.
Ultimately, you may have only a horseshoe ring of hair
around the sides.
Some women also develop a particular pattern of hair
loss due to genetics, age, and male hormones that tend
to increase in women after menopause. The pattern of
hair loss is different from that of men. Female pattern
hair loss involves a thinning throughout the scalp while
the frontal hairline generally remains intact.
Normally, hair loss is caused by heredity, hormones and
age. Genetic makeup determines if hair follicles are sensitive
to the DHT hormone (dihydrotestosterone), causing them
to shrink.
This "shrinkage" results in overall thinning
hair with time. In addition, the aging process can weaken
the hair follicle and consequently the hair shaft. This
causes thinning hair and balding - permanent hair loss.
Do poor genes cause hair loss?
It is patently true that the more permanent and dramatic causes of hair loss
are hereditary. The most common cause of hair loss is a disorder called androgenetic
alopecia or male pattern baldness. This type of hair loss affects about 50% of
all men over the age of 50 and 40% of women who have reached menopause. This
cause of hair loss is typically permanent unless treated. This condition has
had good success for treatment with minoxidil and or finasteride can cause the
natural hair growth cycle to return to a more normal rate. This allows the hairs
to grow longer and thicker. The other condition that is typically hereditary
that is a cause of hair loss on all parts of the body is called areata alopecia.
This cause of hair loss is due to a malfunction of the immune system that confuses
lymphocytes into thinking that hair is antibodies. In response the follicle is
shut down. This cause of hair loss is usually temporary and can affect people
of all ages.
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