Dealing With Male Hair Loss
Lots of men, especially once they reach a certain age, begin to experience hair loss. It is a pretty inevitable part of life and growing old. But what causes it, and is there anything that you can do to prevent it or, at the very least, slow it down? This is what we are going to look at in this article.
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What causes male hair loss?
Male pattern baldness (MPB) is caused by dihydrotestosterone (DHT) sensitivity and is fully determined by your genetics – there is not a lot you can do about it. An increase in DHT will help you grow your beard, but it will also impair your right to sustain your hair.
This is why you see many older men with thinning hair on top but some pretty epic beards. The statistics back up the commonness of male pattern baldness.
Around half of all men will experience it by the time they hit their 40’s, and 67% will see it by the time they hit their 60’s. Again, look at your maternal grandfather – that is usually (but not always!) an indicator as to the degree you will experience it.
It isn’t something you can stop, and it isn’t something that you have done wrong – it is your genetics, just like your height, your hair color, and your eye color. However, you do need to learn to love what you see when you look at yourself in the mirror.
Are there other factors that can affect male hair loss?
As we mentioned above, it is not something you have done wrong. If you are predisposed to it, it is going to happen whatever you do. However, some things might ‘speed up’ the process or make it more apparent, and they may be things you want to consider stopping or changing if you are worried about male pattern baldness and hair loss.
Poor diet
A healthy diet is crucial for so many things, and hair is just one of them. Protein, for example, is crucial for the anagen (growing) stage, so eat a diet rich in protein if you want it to grow. A diet lacking in iron can see increased hair loss, too. There are medications that you can take to help, finasteride tablets being one of them.
Smoking
Most of us are aware of the dangers of smoking – increased risk of cancer and heart disease – but did you know it can affect hair loss? Heavy smokers (those who smoke more than twenty cigarettes a day) are much more likely to experience hair loss. This is because it affects blood circulation around the body, which means significantly less blood to the hair follicles, so less new hair growth.
Medications
While there are some medications you can take to reduce hair loss, there are plenty of medications out there that can worsen it. Of course, a lot of this is determined by the type of medication, the dosage, and sensitivity.
Some drugs which may cause hair loss include medication to lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels, anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, some antibiotics, and thyroid medication. Of course, no one takes these unless necessary to protect other aspects of their health, but be aware that long-term use can worsen or speed up male pattern baldness.
Stress
We have all heard the phrase ‘pull your hair out,’ right? Well, that is because stress can quite literally make your hair fall out. We can’t avoid all stress in our lives, as nice as that would be, but we can take steps to manage it and cope with it in healthy ways.
Certain medical conditions
There are other health problems associated with hair loss, which include: skin disorders such as psoriasis and dermatitis, fungal infections, and medical conditions such as diabetes, anemia, lupus, and thyroid disease.
An aging hairline
As mentioned above, age is a significant factor in hair loss. Once you have left puberty, you will probably begin to notice gradual thinning of hair around the temples and at the top of the head, as well as previously thick hair starting to thin out a little.
While hair loss is an inevitable part of life for most men, some factors can speed it up or make it more apparent. By knowing these factors, you may be able to take steps now to slow it down – or get used to it!
