Causes of baldness

In today’s society, baldness is not an admired trait. Baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, is a state most people try to avoid. It can create psychological stress for both men and women. As people age, hair does thin out. However, “pattern baldness” can affect some individuals more than others. Many men start to go bald as young as age 30. Many more are bald or balding by the time they are 60. Younger balding men and women find the loss of hair to be particularly distressful.

Male and female pattern balding

 In both male and female pattern balding, hair thins on the forehead and the top of the head. A general thinning of the hair indicates chronic baldness. Typical male pattern baldness entails a receding hairline and reduction around the top with eventual bald spots. Ultimately, only a horseshoe-shaped ring of hair around the sides remains. Female pattern baldness mean hair thins all the way through the scalp while the frontal hairline commonly continues intact. In severe instances, no hair at all remains – the person becomes completely bald, bereft of all hair.

The mechanism behind baldness is the hormone DHT. How it accomplishes baldness is currently unknown. There is, however, some relationship between it and genetic susceptibility to baldness. The DHT initiates a process referred to as follicular miniaturization. As a result, the hair follicle decreases in width until the hair depth diminishes to the proverbial “peach fuzz” or disappears totally.

Whether the baldness is total or patchy, the result is the same. People are embarrassed and seek a wide variety of “miracle” cures. Still others try to cover it up through combing, various hairstyles, wearing toupees or wigs or constantly sporting different hats.

There are other causes of baldness. Some are temporary. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy, for example, results in interim hair loss. Certain surgeries, the ingestion of specific poisons and even the hormonal effects of childbirth can result in balding among individuals.  Doctors refer to the hair loss condition, in these cases as telogen effluvium, making it distinct from alopecia.

Other medical conditions, hormone related, result in baldness. If the thyroid is malfunctioning, resulting in hypothyroidism, hair thinning, is common. This is particularly true of the eyebrows.  Various types of mycotic infections and the presence of sebaceous cysts are also causal factors in hair loss. In the former, massive baldness can result; in the latter, baldness is usually restricted to the immediate area of the cyst.

In addition, ringworm of the scalp, burns, hormonal imbalances produced by the birth control pill, severe stress, fever and burns result in baldness. For some of these illnesses, no treatment is necessary. The hair will grow back, eventually -normal 6 months to 2 years late for menopause or childbirth, when the illness has ended or the therapy is finished back in the case of chemotherapy.  Frequently an individual wears a wig, hat, scarf or any other covering until the hair grows back.

There are other more mundane instigators of baldness.  Some of these, easily eliminated, may reduce the incidence of baldness. They include the overuse of such chemical products as hair dyes, tints, straighteners and shampoos. While it is fine to use these products, do so moderately. Be aware of the chemicals you are applying to your scalp and consider the overall effect these products might have over time and through overuse.

Examine, too, how you take care of your hair. If you compulsively comb your hair, you may be on the way to baldness. If you obsessively tug on your hair, particularly if it is in a ponytail or in cornrows, you might induce hair loss. The same applies if you continuously retain your hair in an unnatural hairstyle. Take care of your hair properly and you can help reduce your chance of baldness.