The Facts About Male Pattern Baldness
Premature baldness affects millions of men around world. Most adults lose around 10,000 scalp hair every day. The normally life expectancy for hair is five years. But with male pattern baldness, old hair are not naturally replaced and as consequent baldness starts to appear over time. It is the most common kind of hair loss condition in men today.
It follows a typical pattern of thinning and receding hairline on the crown, and is usually caused by hormonal imbalances and genetic predisposition.
The Cause
Hair grows about an inch in every couple of months. Each strand grows for two to six years, remains at length for a short period of time and then eventually falls out. A new hair will soon begin to grow in its place. At a point in time, about 85% of the hair on your head is in the growth phase and the rest 15% are not.
Every hair sites on a skin cavity is called a follicle. Baldness in men happens when the follicle shrinks through time, which results in shorter and finer hair. The end result could be a follicle without a hair inside, when normally, it should grow back. For male pattern baldness, the follicle fails to grow a hair. The medical reasons behind this are not well understood but is related to individuals genes and male sex hormones.
Signs & Symptoms
The typical male pattern baldness shows up as a gradually receding hairline that forms an ‘M’ shape. Existing hair becomes shorter and finer. And the crown also starts to shrink. Eventually, the top hairline meets the thinned out crown, leaving a horseshoe pattern around the sides of head. Breaking of hair shafts, patches of hair loss, diffuse shedding, pain, scaling or a rapid progression could be caused by other conditions.
Treatment
Treatment isn’t necessary if you are quite comfortable with how you look. Hair weaving, hairpieces and a change of hairstyle can disguise hair loss. These are usually the safest and least expensive approach for male pattern baldness.
There are medications that are used to treat the condition today namely Minoxidil (Rogaine) and FInasteride (Propecia).
A hair transplant involves removing tiny hair plugs from areas where hair is growing and placing them in bald areas. This may result to minor scarring in the donor’s scalps and carries a risk of skin infection. The procedure requires multiple sessions and is expensive, however, results are generally good and permanent.
