By the time they turn 50, 50% of males experience male pattern baldness. Given the prevalence of the disease, we will cover all you need to know in this blog about male hair loss.
What is male pattern baldness?
Male pattern baldness, commonly known as androgenic alopecia or genetic hair loss, is a hereditary condition acquired from your parents. Hopefully, this debunks any beliefs regarding hair loss being mostly caused by genes inherited from your mother! Male pattern baldness is known as 'pattern baldness' because it often occurs in a predictable manner. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a derivative of testosterone, promotes hair loss by reducing hair follicles and causing them to shed faster. The phrase 'male pattern baldness' alludes to the regular pattern that DHT exhibits. Because it is so predictable, you can even use your balding pattern to categorize the severity of your hair loss. The hair on the sides and back of your head is not impacted by DHT. This explains why elderly males often have thin hair on top but abundant on the back and sides. These several phases are referred to by a name: the Norwood Scale. It’s possible that you can even identify the stage you're in.
If you have male pattern baldness for an extended length of time, the image above shows that you will ultimately become bald.
Are you worried you are losing your hair?
As a result of the various stages that hairs go through in their life cycle, we typically lose about 100 hairs from our heads every day. But over time, the natural lifecycle of hair growth shifts to hair loss when you begin to lose more than the typical 100 hairs every day. Understanding when you are losing hair might be a crucial first step. Hair loss can happen slowly or quickly. Treatment might be challenging because some guys don't realize until it's too late and they lose all of their hair. Thus, in order to determine whether you are losing hair before you reach that point, try these techniques:
Gently remove 40-60 hairs from 3 places of your head. If you take out more than ten hairs, this might indicate hair loss.
Collect hairs on the brush or floor in a bag after brushing. Try this for 14 days. If the average number of hairs you gather over 14 days is greater than 100 each day, this might indicate hair loss.
Looking at old images of yourself, you may see that you are losing hair. Some of your loved ones may even comment on how your hair is thinning or receding. In these cases, you are most likely experiencing gradual and less noticeable hair loss.
Treating Male Pattern Baldness
Men who are concerned about hair loss might benefit from a variety of therapies. You need to consider two important questions:
How do I stop any more hair loss?
Do I want hair back in completely bald areas of my head?
One of the first things you must do to address both issues is to schedule an appointment with a hair loss specialist, such as with us for a free consultation. With so many various therapies available, you must pick wisely. Our recommendation is to stay with medicines that have been tried and tested and have demonstrated clinical benefit (MHRA and FDA approved).
How do I stop any more hair loss?
To prevent more hair loss, you must inhibit DHT from working on your hair in your head. This can be accomplished by taking the medicine Finasteride. This helps to prevent further hair loss and promotes healthy thick hair growth. Taking this medicine effectively freeze frames your existing hair loss pattern and allows you to thicken your hair.
You can also take Minoxidil, which is a shampoo or spray that you apply to the crown of your head. Minoxidil helps to enhance blood flow, nutrients, and oxygen to the hair follicle. As a result, it promotes strong hair growth on your head.
Other treatment options include laser devices and PRP injections, which can thicken hair but may not be effective for everyone.
Do I want hair back in completely bald areas of my head?
If you wish to regrow hair in areas where you no longer have it, a FUE Hair Transplant may be the best treatment choice for you. A hair transplant takes hairs that are not impacted by DHT (hair on the sides and back) and transplants them to places where you have gone bald. These hairs are resistant to DHT, so they do not shrink or fall out with time. This implies that a hair transplant provides you with a new hairdo for the rest of your life while also reversing any previous hair loss.
Will I go completely bald?
If you have male pattern baldness, your chances of getting fully bald without treatment are determined by several variables.
Men who have severe hair loss and have receded rapidly over a short period of time (e.g., receding to Norwood 3 or 4 by their mid-20s) may become entirely bald at a young age.
Hair loss and recession may not be noticeable until you are in your 30s or 40s. This suggests you have a slower kind of male pattern baldness and are unlikely to go entirely bald anytime soon.
To predict whether you will become fully bald, keep track of when you first started losing hair and how rapidly it thinned or receded. By consulting a hair loss specialist, you may be able to begin treatments that prevent future hair loss and stimulate new strong hair growth.
When should you decide to treat hair loss?
If you don't mind being bald and want to go for the 'The Rock' appearance, you can skip treatment. If you want to maintain your hair on your head and style it, you should contact our hair loss surgeons and specialists as soon as possible. The more hair you've lost, the more difficult it is to get it back. You may schedule a free consultation with our surgeons by visiting us at healthhoppers.com.