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Male
Pattern Hair Loss
Although
there are many causes of hair loss, such as hereditary,
stress, frequent usage of harsh hair care products, the
most common form of hair loss, Androgentic Alopecia, or
male pattern baldness, is experienced by over 70% of Caucasian
men, 50% in Asian men and about 30 to 40% in African Americans.
Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) represents close to 95% of all
hair loss among males. Androgenetic, consist of ANDROGEN
(The hormones that control the appearance and development
of masculine characteristics such as testosterone) and GENETIC
and AGE.
Male hair loss usually occurs at the front and at the vertex
of the scalp with these signs and symptoms:
- Thinning and fine hair;
- Receding hairline
- Moderate to extensive loss of hair, especially on the
crown areas.
Male pattern hair loss usually starts with the hair at the
temples, which gradually recedes to form an "M"
shape. Hair becomes thinner and does not grow as long as
it once did. Sooner or later, hair loss also starts at the
crown area of the head. As the condition progresses, the
point of the "M" continues to recede, while the
bald spot at the crown widens. Eventually, the thinning
crown and receding point may meet. Eventually, a horse-shoe
pattern of hair appears around the sides of your head. Usually,
the remaining hair in the balding areas is thinner and grows
very slowly, the form of hair also changes from long, thick,
coarse, pigmented hair to short, fine and colorless baby
hair .
A receding hairline can reflect age, but not necessarily
occurs at old age, more and more young men have experienced
hair loss. Many of them experience receding hairline or
even baldness before their thirties. Since male pattern
hair loss is mostly related to hereditary, a man can usually,
although not always, predict the extent of his future baldness
by looking into his family hair loss history.
Current scientific study shows that when age coupled with
genetics, it represents a time clock that will signal the
hair follicle to produce an enzyme named 5 alpha reductase.
When the testosterone present in the follicle combines with
the enzyme 5 alpha reductase, it produces dihydrotestosterone
(DHT). Hair follicle receptors are very sensitive to DHT
and they genetically shrink when exposed to excessive DHT.
As the follicles become smaller, the hair growing phase
shortens and the dormant phases lengthen, therefore the
hair becomes increasingly thinner and less firmly rooted.
Then the process of male pattern hair loss starts.
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