Baldness and hair recession in men

Baldness and hair recession in men has been defined as partial or total loss of hair, or hair growth and it is majorly caused by androgenic alopecia. The degree of hair-loss (hair loss) or lack of growth is caused by different alopecia. For instance, Alopecia Arreata causes pattern baldness or un-uniform baldness, while Alopecia Totalis causes the total loss of hair in head. In worst case, Alopecia Universalis caused loss of hair all over the body, head, pubic parts and any other place where hair grow normally.

Who can be affected by baldness?

Baldness and hair recession in men and women or hairloss; the occurrence however may be different. A study shows that 95% of baldness in men is caused by androgenic alopecia. Baldness start immediately somebody attains the puberty age. It involves backward recession of hair from the front of the head until it becomes visible. It has also been shown that the pattern of baldness in men varies based on genetics, environmental factor and region.

The most predominant baldness is through inheritance, a study concluded that 95% of those with baldness had fathers or grand fathers who had bald. Diydortestorone (DHT) has been found to be very dominant in people who have bald with genetic background. DHT is sex hormones that aid in body and facial hair growth. It also has influence over prostate and the hair on the heads. DHT trigger follicular miniaturation that destroy hair follicle which reduces hair growth phase and also prevent growth of new hair, until hair stop growing completely.

Baldness in women or hairloss in women are not uncommon; however, the effect that hair-loss (hair loss) caused in women is much higher than in men. The most common belief is that the same testosterone in man also caused the female frontal hair density to reduce or sometimes leads to complete removal. Unlike man, the removal in female start from outside frontal lines and leaves hair at the middle of the head. A study conducted recently showed that most women with baldness problem have a normal testosterone level which negates their earlier beliefs.

American Academy of Dermatology stated that almost 30 million women in the United States are affected by baldness or hair – loss (hair loss). Baldness and hair recession in men also found that the hair loss is mostly prevalent at around age 50 years and completely not influenced by events such as pregnancy, stress, illness etc as people believes. However, recent report indicated that young women at the age of 15 or 16 are also having this problem.  It has also been established that the influence of hormones that regulates pregnancy, menopause, birth control pills and some medication can cause female hair loss or baldness

How do I know that I have baldness?

Hair combing

When you noticed that the amount of hair on your head that cut or remove after combing is high

Presence of acne on the face – the most severe form of acne – cystic acnes is triggered by the hormones that cause baldness and has a direct link with DHT. Seborrheic dermatitis occurs when there is too much of sebum on the scalp.

Treatment of baldness

• Testing

The first step is to test if hair loss is leading to baldness. If you are a female, use Ludwig scale and Savin scale and if you are a man, use Hamilton – Norwood scale to determine extent of baldness.

• Medical advice

When you noticed that you have great amount of hair loss on your head, you need to book appointment with your medical Doctor.

Dealing with the social effect

When people notice that they have great amount of hair loss (hair – loss), it may sometimes leads to lack of confidence, ego and low self esteem.  This is in fact the most severe side effect that occurs when somebody notice it for the first time. It leads to loss of control and could lead to being isolating from public and where people will see the person. This is generally more prevalent in women that have great value for their hair because it stand for attractiveness and feminity. Unlike women, man may not want to discuss the baldness but often handles the situation better than women. But it can lead to worry, stress and confusion for both sexes.

How do I prevent hair loss/ baldness?

There are only two drugs that is approved by U.S. Food and Drug administration –

1. Finasteride
2. Minoxdil

I want you to know that there is no medical or whatever treatment for hair re-growth of baldness that is as a result of genetic factor and also a fully developed baldness. So you need to detect it as early as possible. If the cause of baldness is as a result of other factor such as medical conditions, this can be reversed by treating those factors. However, I want you to know in general that baldness can only be reduced or delayed. Most of the afore-mentioned medications require long time use and if stopped, the hair loss returns.  In fact it is better to maintain the remaining hair than to think about re-growing.

If I don’t want to treat baldness what can I do?

Restyle your hair to cover the bald.

For instance, a man can go for total “scrapping of hair”

Wear hat or a wig or toupee. Wig could be artificial or natural hair that resembles a particular hair style. In United state, the cost of wig could vary based on quality; however, you can also get something cheap and useable for a particular time frame. If your hair loss is at the eyebrow, you can also source for artificial eyebrow

The best method is to love it, romance it

Evolve your look with whatever that you have, and then you will be surprised how people that you thought will stop loving you will start to thrill for you. Although this is mostly acceptable for male, it might not be applicable for female because, most society do not consider a woman with bald as sociable. So for female, only treatment and wig could be your best bet.