A Look at Male Hair Loss

At a research study held in a university in Norfolk, Virginia,it was found that 84 percent of men suffering from hair losswere preoccupied with the loss. They described feelings ofhelplessness, vulnerability, and jealousy of men with full,healthy heads of hair. Men who had begun losing their hair intheir early twenties were more likely to have problems with lowself-esteem. Male hair loss occurs because of a hormone imbalance. Themedical term for male-pattern baldness is Androgenetic Alopecia.This term will help you understand the factors involved inexcessive male hair loss. Androgen refers to any of the manyhormones that control the appearance and development ofmasculine traits. An example is testosterone. Genetic refers toheredity, the inheritance of genes from either the mother orfather. Alopecia simply means hair loss. So we could say thatmale hair loss occurs because of male hormones affected bygenetic inheritance.DHT (testosterone and 5-alpha-reductase) is a naturallyoccurring hormone that helps in sexual development. Geneticswitches in certain men after puberty cause changes in hairfollicles; specifically androgen receptor sites on the folliclesthat regulate healthy hair growth. As DHT levels increase as menage, binding at the follicle receptor sites increases. Thiscauses an imbalance in the biological processes of the hairfollicles that are more sensitive. Slowly, the follicles beginto degrade as DHT builds up on the site causing hair to growback thinner and shorter, eventually making it so thin and shortthat it can't be seen. Men lose their hair in different ways based on their geneticpredisposition. Male hair loss usually involves receding at thetemples, loss on the top of the head, and thinning over largeareas. These patterns are identified on something called the"Norwood scale," which classifies different types of hair loss.