Understanding Male Pattern Baldness
04 / 26 / 16

Understanding Male Pattern Baldness

There are 55 million men in this country who struggle with hair loss—and if you’re not one of them, you may be worried that you could be. Hair loss is something that causes no small amount of anxiety in men, especially those who know that it’s a family trait. If your father lost his hair, there is a good chance that you’ll follow suit—or so the thinking goes.

But what really causes men to lose their hair? There are actually a number of potential factors, some of them hereditary but some of them related to stress or to other medical conditions. Male pattern baldness is by far the most common. And while male pattern baldness can be treated, and lost hair restored, it’s first important to understand exactly what it is.

The Causes of Male Pattern Baldness

The underlying cause of male pattern baldness usually involves a combination of genetics and male sex hormones. Frankly, if your genetic code includes male pattern baldness, you are likely to develop the symptoms, though the sex hormones in your body may also play a role. When male pattern baldness manifests, it usually begins with a receding hairline before hair loss starts occurring around the crown.

To get into the science of all this just for a moment, the nuts-and-bolts reason for hair loss is that the hair follicle shrinks. Hair follicles grow hair, but as they shrink the hair produced becomes thinner and smaller. Eventually, the follicle will simply stop growing hair altogether.

Identifying Male Pattern Baldness

If you are losing your hair, it can be helpful to know the exact cause: Is it male pattern baldness, or some other factor, such as stress?

Male pattern baldness usually works in the same basic pattern. It begins when the hairline recedes, moving further and further away from the face. After that, hair loss begins along the crown, and the hairline forms an M shape. Hair grows shorter and thinner over time, and ultimately the man is left with a U shape—a ring of hair along the outside of the head.

As for how much hair is ultimately lost, it varies from one guy to the next, and is simply determined by genetics.

Addressing Male Pattern Baldness

There is no need to seek medical intervention for male pattern baldness—but for most men, hair loss is a less-than-desirable prospect, and restoring lost hair is something of great interest. The first step is to check with a salon, like LH Hair, about simple and affordable solutions: Sometimes a hair system can address the problem, or even a simple change in hairstyle.

There are other solutions available, as well, and they are simply dependent on the extent of the hair loss and the steps the man is willing to take to restore lost hair and to prevent further thinning. Learn more about some of the hair loss solutions that are out there. Contact our team at LH Hair at your earliest convenience.