As a condition that involves millions, do you know what male hair loss actually is? DO you suffer from it, or have done in recent years?
Firstly, we need to tackle the facts about male hair loss before suggesting solutions or ideas on how to combat the loss of your hair.
Male hair loss
There is a natural amount of hair loss for both men and women. On a man's scalp at any time there is about 10 percent of hair in what is known as a resting phase, which after 2 to 3 months will fall out - this is technically male hair loss.
New hair will grow in its place and the growing phase will last from 2 to 6 years. Roughly 90 percent of a mans total hair is growing at any one time.
Some men will never go bald but all men's hair thins as they get older. There are several different types of male hair loss that come into play over and above age alone.
For example 'alopecia areata' are patches of baldness that usually grow back, 'traction alopecia' is the thinning from tight braids or ponytails and 'telogen effluvium' is the rapid shedding after childbirth. Whilst these types of hair loss can be disturbing they are usually relatively slight and often can be temporary and/or reversible.
The most common type of hair loss is referred to as 'male pattern baldness'. This is marked by a receding hair line and baldness on top of the head. This is simply caused by an increased sensitivity to male sex hormones (androgens) in certain parts of the scalp and is passed from generation to generation. Therefore, this is a hereditary tendency to lose hair, the medical term for which is 'androgenetic alopecia'. Despite much research there is little that can be done to slow down or reverse this process.
In the pages of this section, we have explained in simple English all the above conditions from a more scientific stand point, but hopefully in plain English to ensure you can follow the facts rather than the science as such.
