Words: Zak Maoui
Sadly we all start to thin up top. 90 per cent of men by 90 have a substantial amount of hair loss. It’ll start with a single strand. One lonely hair will fall from your head — and you’ll begin to panic. But you shouldn’t start tearing your hair out just because you’re balding. And you needn't just shave it off, because you don't know yet what's causing the hair loss.
The most obvious signs of hair loss in men are a thinning of the temples and hairline recession. But sometimes you won’t even realise you’re losing your hair until half of it has gone - this is called invisible baldness and is the case where the head loses hair all over, but at a gradual and more balanced rate.
But before you do get to treatments and cures for hair loss (also known as androgenetic alopecia in men), you might want to think about why it’s falling out. What is actually causing the hair loss in the first place?
Well, we’ve compiled a nifty list of some of the most common reasons as to why you’re shedding hair. Hopefully, and in many cases this will be possible, you might be able to halt the dreaded thinning…
Genetics
There’s an age old tale that your hair loss depends on the hair of your mother’s father. This simply isn’t true. Hair-loss genes can be inherited from either your mother's or father's side of the family, or a combination of the two, and there are multiple variations (hundreds even) of the genetic formula that make up your hair. In short, no one really has the same follicular outcome, and it’s definitely not down to whether your mum’s dad has a good head of hair.
What genetics do have an impact on, however, are your sensitivity levels to dihydrotestosterone (known as DHT: the hormone created by the body’s testosterone). DHT is a sex hormone that can overstimulate hair follicles, causing them to shrink, and in turn fall out, or simply not grow. Men with a high sensitivity to DHT will be the first to experience a weakening in their follicles, and it will usually begin as puberty ends, so around your early twenties. DHT-related hair loss is a key factor in male pattern baldness, and results in thinner and more brittle hair around the crown and hairline, as well as far more shedding over time.
PHL (pattern Hair Loss) affects 70 per cent of men and contrary to common belief, and is this genetic reaction to DHT. It is literally as simple as the fact that if you are going to go bald – you will go bald, because it’s linked with the presence of androgens (hormones that control masculine characteristics).
Other DHT causes
DHT isn’t just a hereditary issue, and you can actually accelerate it yourself. Lifestyle choices are a major factor in what causes hair loss, so you may want to start to think about some of your more nasty habits. Smoking and drinking alcohol have major effects, as does stress (a little more on that later). The gym too may be speeding up your hair loss, as creatine supplements and anabolic steroids can speed up the rate of DHT and lead to hair loss.
Nutrient deficiencies
Like anything, your hair needs nutrients, usually from food, to grow. Some vitamin deficiencies may also cause hair loss. For instance, if you’ve been on a crash diet or extremely unwell, you may have found that your hair has begun to fall more often. Usually riboflavin, biotin, folate, and vitamin B12 deficiencies have been associated with hair loss, while an increase in vitamin B2 (riboflavin), which is a component of two important coenzymes, may be beneficial.
Stress and hair loss
Now stress is a funny one. Despite what most people think, according to the doctors at Lloyds Pharmacy, stress is a rare cause of widespread hair loss as only one type of hair loss - telogen effluvium - is caused by intense physical or emotional stress (the sort you get from a job). This type of hair loss causes a sudden widespread thinning, rather than a receding hairline, and while you can’t just quit your job for obvious reasons, regular exercise could be of help, and hair growth could be back to normal after six months.
Psoriasis
Yep, psoriasis can cause hair loss. Anyone who has psoriasis - the overstimulation of skin growth on the scalp - will know that already. If you suspect psoriasis is the cause, you should treat the auto-immune disease with specific shampoos as prescribed by your doctor, which should halt it and help get your hair growth back to normal.
STIs
Yep, some STIs can even cause hair loss, so be careful where you’re doing your business. Those with syphilis might experience patchy hair loss in the disease’s second stage (a few weeks after the sore disappears). This is temporary and can be treated easily.
Now read our jam-packed guide to hair transplants
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