Hair Loss – An Introduction

Prevent hair loss; understand hair and what it is, how it grows, and what can make it stop growing. Comprehension is the best prevention.

Hair Facts

Due to keratin proteins, your hair is the fastest growing tissue in your body. There are three layers in each strand of hair: the inner medulla, which is only present in thicker hair, the middle cortex layer that determines hair's color, texture, and strength, and the outer protective cuticle. Follicles encase the roots, from which the hair grows. A thin layer of skin called the dermal papilla is located beneath this; the dermal papilla is constantly fed through the bloodstream, which channels the nutrients that are vital to the growth of hair. Only the attached roots of your hair are actually composed of living cells, meaning that the visible parts of hair are dead tissue, unable to heal itself in any way. Thus, you must take care of your scalp and the rest of your body to ensure that your hair stays healthy.

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Hormones (called androgens) including testosterone are often the culprits that cause hair follicles to shrink, resulting in the thinning of lengths of hair and, eventually, hair loss. In fact hair grows in such a rapid manner that bone marrow is the only other part of the body that grows faster. An average person has between 100,000 and 150,000 individual hairs and only about 10% are in a resting state at any given time. Antagen, catagen, and telogen are the three stages of hair growth.

The anagen phase, which lasts longer for women than men, occurs when hair is growing; it is longer for scalp follicles than for follicles in other areas. It is a natural process for follicles to undergo atrophy, and for hair to eventually fall out: this is called the catagen phase in the scientific community. The catagen phase passes soon and finally the follicle enters the telogen phase where it is resting. These consist of the 10% at rest that are referred to above. Typical anagen phases last an estimated five years, while categen phases can last approximately three weeks and telogen phases can extend through a 12-week period. People naturally lose a little hair all the time; in fact, most people lose an average of 100 hairs daily. Most people will not notice their hair loss until at least half of their original hair is gone.

Hair Loss Basics

All through the years, hair loss has been observed and examined and some impressive findings have been uncovered. The first pattern that scientists noticed was that not a single eunuch (castrated male) went bald. This discovery made it obvious that testosterone levels were responsible for loss of hair. It has since been discovered that the more recessive the hair gene is, the higher predisposition the person is to experience excessive hair loss. Since blond hair is a recessive trait, blondes are more likely to loose hair than dark haired people, obviously meaning that Caucasians experience hair loss more so than any other race. As well as the genetic predisposition some people have, there are also quite a few foods that can trigger hair loss. Since this is within your realm of control, the notion is promising.

Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) is usually the reason for baldness. Hair loss however can also affect women; therefore the proper term is androgenetic alopecia. The cause of hair loss is a genetically inherited predisposition to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5-alpha-reductase. Hair loss is the result of testosterone (male hormone) that has been converted into DHT (recognized substance) all due to the effects of 5-alpha-reductase enzyme.

Testosterone is produced by males and is part of the sex hormone family of androgens. The adrenal glands produce androgens. The human body responds to threatening situations using the adrenal glands, by producing adrenaline. The high-impact nature of daily life in a modern Western society results in an almost permanent state of alarm in people, meaning that the body becomes unable to determine the differences between everyday stresses and actually threatening situations. The adrenal glands, therefore, are overactive in the majority of the population today, constantly creating adrenaline throughout the body and just as naturally producing excessive testosterone alongside it. Over-consuming substances such as red meat, as well as many high-fat foods, will result in an overactive adrenal glad, further aggravating the situation.

The prostate gland has a clear partnership with the syndrome of Male Pattern Baldness. When it becomes enlarged, prostate problems can result in serious difficulties with urination, and there is a chance that the prostate has become cancerous. In the case that the enlarged prostate is non-cancerous, the syndrome is referred to as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or in short BPH. It is the responsibility of DHT to divide the cells in prostate, and is generally ejected by the prostate. Prostate enlargement can result when the prostate doesn't get rid of DHT and it accumulates in the body. Most countries do not have high levels of prostate cancer and BPH, unlike northern Europeans and North Americans, probably due to the diets of people in those areas. The significance of this is that, due to the fact that overproduction of DHT is a primary culprit for BPH and prostate cancer, it is also identifiably responsible for MPB or androgenetic alopecia. BPH research has created products that also help with hair growth and hair loss prevention.

Hair loss, although not a threat to health, has the potential to cause self-confidence problems in some people. Feelings of vulnerability, jealousy of men with full, healthy hair and helplessness are feelings expressed by men suffering from hair loss, according to a research study held at the University of Virginia. Modern medical advances have allowed for the creation of many ways to treat hair loss, so you must be careful to choose one that suits your situation.

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The information on this site is designed for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your family doctor.