Each hair on your head has a growth cycle. With male pattern baldness, this growth cycle begins to weaken and the hair follicle shrinks, producing shorter and finer strands of hair. Eventually, the growth cycle for each hair ends and no new hair grows in its place.
Hair Loss, Male Pattern Baldness
About Hair Loss, male Pattern Baldness
Hair Loss, male Pattern Baldness
Hair Loss, male Pattern Baldness
Male pattern baldness, also called androgenic alopecia, is the most ordinary type of hair loss in men.
One cause of male pattern baldness is genetics, or having a family history of baldness. Research has found that male pattern baldness is associated with male sex hormones called androgens. The androgens have many functions, include regulating hair growth.
Symptoms of male pattern hair loss
Symptoms of male pattern hair loss
The typical order of hair loss in men with male pattern hair loss is loss of hair from the temples (sides of the head), which progresses to loss of hair from the front of the head. The hair loss is gradual and referred to as a receding hairline.
Over time, a bald spot may develop at the back or crown of the head, and, in some men, the whole top of the head may become bald over time, leaving a horseshoe-shaped rim of hair. And even that can be lost in some men.
Causes male pattern hair loss
Causes male pattern hair loss
The changes that happen in male pattern hair loss are caused by an increased sensitivity of scalp hair follicles (the tiny sacs from which the hairs grow) to male hormones. This increased sensitivity is an inherited condition which runs in families.
- the lag time between the end of the resting phase and the next growth phase increases
- fewer hairs emerging from each follicle;
- each hair becoming finer;
- the anagen growth phase of each hair gradually becoming shorter, so that each hair exists for a shorter time;
- the telogen hairs are shed faster; and
Treatment
Treatment
The type of treatment recommended will depend on the extent of the hair loss, in addition to other factors.
Treatment for male pattern baldness can help prevent future hair loss and may result in regrowth of some hair. In most cases, long-term treatment is needed to prevent hair loss from recurring.
- Minoxidil
- Oral medication
- Hair transplant
- Laser treatment
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