Causes Of Thinning Hair
One of the most devastating discoveries you can make about your hair is that there is less of it than there used to be. There are a number of reasons why you may be losing your hair- understanding is the first step to working out the best action to prevent further hair loss or even increase your hair.
The first thing to be aware of is that hair is continually growing, resting and shedding – it is normal to loose some hair everyday. Up to 100 hairs a day would be considered normal hair shedding. Did you know that hair grows for up to 8 years, then stops(over a period of a few weeks) then rests for about 3 months. After that it falls out and the process starts up again. When hair follicles are damaged the hair doesn’t grow for as long, and finally fails to restart the cycle when the hair has fallen out.
It’s Always Your Parents Fault!
The most usual reason for thinning hair is genetic, statistics have more than 95% of thinning hair cases are caused by genetics. Have a good look at your family members, if your father or mother has thin or balding hair, then you will have to be very lucky to escape it yourself! There are other reasons for your hair to suddenly start to thin or fall out and these should be checked out by your doctor. They include illness, hormonal changes, diet and stress.
Alopecia
Hair loss is called alopecia and is caused by sensitivity to DHT (Dihydrotestosterone); this is where testosterone is converted to DHT and interferes with the growth of new hair cells. The hair follicles start to shrink and the hair they produce falls out sooner and eventually the affected hair follicles stop producing hair at all. If left unchecked it will lead to baldness in men and very thin hair in women.
Pattern Baldness
Hair loss tends to follow a pattern – often called pattern baldness (male or female). The technical term is Male pattern baldness is androgenetic alopecia or AGA. Male pattern baldness is different to female pattern baldness; thinning hair in men is different to thinning hair in women. In men, the hair tends to recede from the front temples, then a bald patch develops on the back of the head and lead to all round thinning and balding. This can be seen in the Norwood chart for seeing the different stages of male pattern baldness.
Female Pattern Baldness tend to be thinning hair on the top of the head, but little recession and can be shown in the following diagram
Whilst you may not be able to avoid having thinning hair, there are thinning hair treatments available to help you keep your hair. The most important thing is to discover early if you have thinning hair and to take the appropriate steps.