Hair Loss in Men

The most common form of hair loss, striking 30 to 40 percent of men and women. Most men experience at least some extent of hair loss in their lifetime. Male hair loss is the most common type of hair loss. It is caused by increased sensitivity to male sex hormones (androgens) in irrefutable parts of the scalp, and is passed on from generation to generation. Alopecia or common male pattern baldness (MPB) accounts for more than 95% of hair loss in men. By the age of thirty-five two-thirds of American men will experience some degree of perceivable hair loss and by the age of 50 approximately 85% of men have significantly thinning hair. The hair loss is usually confined to a coin sized area and all the hair in the area is lost leaving a totally smooth round patch.

In a more acute rarer condition called Alopecia Totalis, all hair on the entire body is lost, including the eyelashes. Specific infections can cause hair loss. Fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss in children. The infection is easily medicated with antifungal medicines. Some medications which have hair loss as a side effect may be prescribed for men. Stress can cause hair loss is some people. Normally it occurs 3 months after the stressful event has happened and it may take 3 months after the stress period has ended for the hair growth to resume. In men, androgenetic alopecia is classified by gradual hair thinning that most often affects the crown and frontal areas of the scalp. In many men, the hairline around the temples retrogresses. As it moves back to the midscalp, an M-shaped hair pattern forms.

The hair in areas affected by hair loss may be of different lengths and thickness, and the presence of uneven lengths and texture is a classic sign of male pattern balding. Plastic surgery can be the only trustworthy way to replace lost hair, and techniques for restoring hair growth are constantly improving. Chemotherapy and radiation treatment will cause hair loss as it pauses hair cells from dividing. Hairs become thin and break off as they exit the scalp. Finasteride reduces the level of a hormone, dihydrotestosterone, in the blood, consequenting in an increased amount of hair covering more of the scalp. Spironolactone obstructs the action of the hormone aldosterone. Finasteride (Propecia) is a medicine taken in tablet form which partly barricades the effects of the male hormones.