Male Patterns

Androgen Hair Loss

The problem is genetic. If you have relatives that have gone bald then you are at serious risk of having hair loss. What happens is that you may have a gene that then may turn the susceptiblity to 5DHT (5 Dehydroytestosterone) that then leads to an affect on the hair follicles and causes "miniaturisation" and the cycle change from long "androgen" phases to shorter phases, and then terminal hairs are replaced with softer smaller (invisible) hair.

How big is the problem

47% of men will suffer from some form of hair loss in their lifetime and 15% of women. It can start in the teens or first show it's self in the 60's. You will have lost at least 50% of your hair cover in an area before you will notice it, then it may be too late to get it back.

Benefits to you

 

Hair serves to protect (balding men have a significantly higher rate of skin cancers on their scalps) and insulate. Hair is also important in the way we present ourselves and is intimately involved in our well being. We use a significant time grooming it, with shampoos and conditioners and we spend a reasonable amount of money on cutting and styling it. Premature hair loss creates considerable negative thoughts and anxiety associated with feelings of diminished attractiveness. Society places importance on physical attributes of which our hair is an important part. For some people the problem is with lack of confidence, lack of performance because of confidence, consequent lack of success. The opposite gender often sees loss of hair as an undesirable feature when directly compared to hair being present on a potential partner.

Research in the British Journal of Psychology found that "bald and balding men are generally rated less favourably on dimensions such as physical attractiveness, self- assertiveness, social attractiveness, personal likeability and life success." They found that "Increasing degrees of hair loss were associated with loss of self-esteem, depression, introversion, neuroticism, and feeling unattractive." They add that the younger a man is when he suffers baldness, the greater the psychological impact. Also American research in the Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour found that "bald men were underrepresented in American high elective office: the number of bald and balding members of Congress fell significantly short of what would be expected of a randomly selected group of men of the same age."

How do I find out more?