Excessive hair fall can be a sign of male pattern baldness. Read this article to know 5 signs of male pattern baldness.
What’s common between Hollywood actors Bradley Cooper, Daniel Craig, John Travolta, and Matt Damon? They’re all among the hottest actors from a few years ago. Run an online search for their current photos and you’ll notice they’ve all balded.
Male pattern baldness is common. Male pattern baldness has different stages.
Most men above the age of 35 experience androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness. Humans lose 100 hair strands every day, which is normal, but a rapid rate of hair fall may lead to balding. There are numerous male pattern baldness causes: age, stress, lifestyle, pollution, sensitivity to DHT (a sex hormone), diet, genetic hair loss, and family history.
Also Read: How chemicals like chlorine can damage your hair?
What Causes Male Pattern Balding?
Research shows that about 90% of cases of baldness are caused due to androgenic alopecia – baldness due to family history. The male hormone DHT is another common cause. Moreover, a standard hair growth cycle is important. Let’s understand the science behind it. Each hair follicle grows for three years, after which, the hair sheds and a new one grows. In the case of male pattern baldness, the follicles gradually grow smaller and are unable to grow back. The hair growth cycle, too, becomes shorter.
Also Read: Male pattern baldness as a leading cause of depression
Identifying balding is not as easy as it can be confused with normal hair fall. Here are 5 signs to be aware of:
5 Signs You’re Balding:
1st sign you’re balding: Overall hair thinning
A lot of men experience overall thinning of hair, not just hair thinning at the crown. Around 50% of men over the age of 50 experience overall thinning of hair. This is caused by the weakness of hair follicles due to age. This is another sign of male pattern baldness. Hair may begin to thin at the back of your head. Because we tend to not look at the back of the head on an everyday basis, men may miss out on this sign of male pattern baldness completely.
2nd sign you’re balding: Receding hairline
The first sign – thinning of hair at the hairline. Men would feel it when brushing their hair because the hair won’t set the way it used to earlier. Here’s how to examine if it’s male pattern baldness. Examine your scalp. If the hair is normal on the sides and at the back and there’s thinning of hair at the temples, it’s a clear sign of balding. This pattern often continues to spread until it forms the M-shaped hairline when seen from the front of the face.
3rd sign you’re balding: Excessive hair fall, a key sign of male pattern baldness
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Shedding excessively? You might be balding. A lot of men ignore this sign thinking the shedding is seasonal or natural. If you’re noticing a lot of hair on your pillow, on your comb, or hair strands on your clothes, it may be a sign of male pattern baldness. Even stress hormones called cortisol reduce hair growth. Not only will your hair not grow, but your stands also become weaker and your hair starts to shed. Our scalp has around one lakh hairs and on average humans lose around 100 hair strands every day. Losing excessive hair in chunks is also a sign of androgenic alopecia.
Read More: 7 Stages of Male Pattern Baldness: How to stop it | Treatment
4th sign you’re balding: An itchy scalp
In rare cases, itching could be a sign of male pattern baldness. At times, scratching the scalp due to excessive itching causes the hair follicles to become weak and leads to hair fall. It is advisable for men to consult a dermatologist. In case, you’re unable to physically consult a dermatologist then you can speak to one here.
Read More: Can dandruff cause hair loss?
5th sign you’re balding: Shorter hair growth cycle
A key sign of male pattern baldness is a shorter hair growth cycle. Here’s the scientific reason: when hair follicles shrink, the new hair from the follicle becomes thinner and the hair growth cycle becomes shorter. What does that mean? The hairs grow and shed in a lesser time frame than they used to earlier. If you notice that your hair is not growing at the speed that it used to grow, it may be a sign of male pattern baldness.
How to Control Male Pattern Balding?
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While balding can rarely be reversed naturally, men can try hair loss treatments. Here are some that have worked for some men:
- Find a good DHT blocking shampoo with DHT blocking agents such as Saw Palmetto and Caffeine to prevent male pattern baldness
- Include essential DHT Blocking foods with vitamins such as Biotin, vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin B in your diet
- Genetic hair loss treatments stress on proper diets. Hence you need to stay away from this list of foods that unknowingly contribute to hair loss.
- Reduce stress as stress can cause your hair to fall out
- Find out if any particular medicine or pill is causing hair loss. Depending on your case of balding and reason for hair fall, you can use Redensyl to regrow your hair, Minoxidil to regrow lost hair, or Finasteride, a DHT Blocker.
If your receding hairline and hair fall is affecting you emotionally, it is better to speak to a professional.
Also Read: Ways in which you can regrow your hair
FAQs
Can balding happen quickly?
Yes, balding may happen quickly. It usually takes 15-25 years to go bald. But in some cases it can take 5 years also.
How can you tell if you have hair loss early?
When your hair gradually starts thinning on the top of the head or when there are circular or patchy bald spots. When you comb your hair and start noticing chunks of hair sticking to the brisils means that your hair may have started loosening. Even when patches of scaling that spread over the scalp (signs of ringworm)
How early can balding start?
Balding can start at any age as you enter adulthood. You can start as your late teens and early 20s also. It can also happen post 50 years of age. There is a lot variation from person to person. It depends either on your genes or the outside environment.
Can you reverse the effect of balding?
Yes, you can reverse the effect of balding by postpoing balding through DHT blockers which will reduce DHT levels in the body. Also, Drugs like finasteride and minoxidil are clinically proven to treat male pattern baldness and even reverse hair loss with a majority of men, and they're approved by the FDA.
References
- Harvard Health, December 2018; Hair Loss- https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/hair-loss-a-to-z
- Zhou Z, Song S, Gao Z, Wu J, Ma J & Cui Y, October 2018; The efficacy and safety of dutasteride compared with finasteride in treating men with androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review and meta-analysis- https://www.dovepress.com/the-efficacy-and-safety-of-dutasteride-compared-with-finasteride-in-tr-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-CIA
- Gupta M, March 2016; Classifications of patterned hair loss: a review- https://www.jcasonline.com/article.asp?issn=0974-2077;year=2016;volume=9;issue=1;spage=3;epage=12;aulast=Gupta
- Shafia Mushtaq, Md. Raihan, Azad Lone, and M Mushtaq, March 2017; Alopecia Areata – A literature Review- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318195638_Alopecia_Areata_-_A_literature_Review
