Male Pattern Baldness 

What is male pattern baldness?

Male pattern baldness is a very common type of hair loss that affects millions of men in the UK and across the world. It is less common for women to experience this type of hair loss but it is possible and is generally known as female pattern baldness. 

Male pattern baldness is not a disease but a genetic condition that can begin anytime from the late teens onward. By the age of sixty most men will experience some degree of hair loss. The age at which male pattern baldness begins, and the extent of the hair loss is also to some extent hereditary. 

If you are experiencing male pattern baldness, you will initially notice some thinning of the hair in certain areas of the head, followed by more extensive hair loss which leaves parts of the scalp visible and exposed. 

What causes male pattern baldness?

The particular type of hair loss known as male pattern baldness is caused by oversensitive hair follicles, a condition you may have inherited from either parent. The hair follicles react to a substance called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, produced by the male hormone testosterone. 

Exposure to DHT can cause oversensitive hair follicles to reduce in size making it easier for the hair to fall out and leading to thinning hair. Eventually DHT causes the hair follicles to stop working altogether, resulting in hair loss. 

Men or women that experience male pattern baldness do not have any more testosterone in their bodies than people with a full head of hair, it’s just that their hair follicles are particularly sensitive to the testosterone or the DHT that they do have. 

Why is it called male pattern baldness?

Male pattern baldness is so named because the hair loss associated with this condition tends to occur in a set pattern on the head. There are two areas where hair loss usually begins: 

In highly progressed cases of male pattern baldness, the receding hairline and the thinning patches on the crown and temples meet up leaving a large bald section on top of the head and a semicircle of hair around the back. It is rare for people with male pattern baldness to lose all of their hair, and the hair around the back of the head usually continues to grow well, but in severe cases all of the hair might eventually be lost. 

Can I prevent the onset of male pattern baldness?

Hair loss can be distressing and can lead to reduced self-esteem or in severe cases depression, so people are continually looking for ways to prevent it. Unfortunately, if you have inherited the genes responsible for male pattern baldness, there is no magic remedy and you can’t altogether prevent hair loss. However, there are treatments available to slow down the progress of male pattern baldness, and if your hair loss is already extensive there are various hair replacement techniques you can try. 

At Senator Hair Clinic in Birmingham, we offer:

 

* images sourced by Wikipedia 

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