Do you know those nightmares where your hair falls out? Then you have reached the point in life when you became aware of your hair growth. A little consolation for the threatened baldness: You are not alone with it. We look at the reasons for hair loss and which is better: a bald head or treatment..
Why is hair loss a problem?
Not only Samson yes yes, the Bible has lost its hair and with it its superhuman strength. Even celebrities likeie André Aggassi,Jürgen Klopp,Wayne Rooneyand Patrick Lindner are faced with hair loss, the only difference being that they have found a solution to it..
Hair loss is part of the life of many men. Now of course we could say: take it with composure and dignity. Many bald men are sexy. Just shave everything off and get used to your new style and so on and so forth. And none of these statements would be wrong. But you're here for a different reason: hair loss can make men feel like they are no longer fresh, young, agile, attractive, or masculine. And whatever the reason for you: It is not up to us to evaluate it, but to tell you what possible causes and treatment options are for most cases.d.
The types of pathological hair loss and the causes
It starts with half of men over the age of 20 that they lose more hair. Before you get nervous about a few hairs in the bathtub drain, it's perfectly normal to lose 100 hairs a day. In spring or autumn there can be a few more. The good thing about healthy hair roots is that they produce new hair. We differentiate between the following phases:en:
- the growth phase, anagen: this is where the hair is formed. The phase lasts about two to six years.
- the transition phase, Katagen, runs for a few weeks. In this episode, the hair is peeling off and falling out.
- the resting phase telogen: Here the follicle recovers and the process starts again after two to six months.u.
Small catch in the life cycle of your hair: The process is repeated about 14 times in life, then the hair root leaves you completely and dies. The receding hairline will spread, the hair volume will be lighter and lighter, the hairline will recede or bald spots will form on the back of the head, tonsure or forehead.n.
Only when you notice that you are losing significantly more than the 100 or so hairs a day over a long period of time, would we possibly speak of pathological hair loss. And this is what this is about.
The causes of increased hair loss can be very different. It can simply be due to the genes, too much stress, certain medications or iron deficiency.
The most common forms of pathological hair loss are:
1. Hereditary hair loss
Testosterone is to blame: Although you owe him your first beard and pubic hair as a teenager, you will leave the hair on your head through him. In the case of hereditary hair loss, the hair roots cannot cope with the masculinity hormone. Specifically: You are hypersensitive to dihydrotestosterone, or DHT for short. The testosterone prevents the hair roots from being adequately supplied with the important messenger substance cAMP. This leads to shorter growth phases and thus to the first receding hairline and thinning hair on the back of the head.
There was still the matter of inheritance: you don't necessarily have hereditary hair loss through your maternal grandfather. The other grandpa could have bequeathed it to you too.
2. Circular hair loss
If there are many gaps in the hair in a large number and in a short time, oval to round and about the size of a coin, it is circular hair loss. With one to two percent share, this form is one of the rare forms of hair loss. In contrast to hereditary hair loss, you not only lose head hair, but also beard, eyelashes or intimate hair.
The cause of circular hair loss has not been fully clarified. One of the assumptions is that it is a defect in the immune system in which defense cells attack components of the hair. Circular hair loss was also observed more frequently within the family. However: The follicles themselves do not die in the process, so that the hair can potentially grow back.
3. Diffuse hair loss
Typical of diffuse hair loss is that the hair becomes thinner overall and it falls out from all possible head ends and that evenly. It is structurally different from hereditary hair loss. Diffuse hair loss is related to an undersupply of the hair: if no energy is supplied to them, they cannot function.
The causes can accordingly be different: emotional stress, excessive physical strain e.g. also through excessive exercise, medication treatment or malnutrition. That means: take good care of yourself and your body in order to prevent this!!
4thOther possible causes of hair loss in men
We notice: hair loss can have different causes. Hereditary and diffuse hair loss are among the more common variants, but they are not the only ones. Hair loss can e.g. occur in humans when they consume anabolic steroids.
The causes of hair loss also include fungal infections on the scalp that disrupt hair growth, as well as poor nutrition: hair needs vitamins and nutrients! These include iron, zinc, biotone, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, C, E, B3, B6 and B12. Sounds like a lot, but in practice it means: Eat vegetables and fruit, and now and then fish. By the way, this is not only good for your hair, but also for your skin.
Hair loss: what can men do?
Do you suspect that you are suffering from pathological hair loss? If you want to intervene here, you should get help from experts. And the sooner the better! Because if necessary, they can treat the cause before you completely lose your hair..
Ideally, you should ask your dermatologist for advice and refer you to hair experts. There you would create a trichogram. This is a precise analysis of the hair roots, in which a few hairs are removed from both the healthy head region and the sick one. Using the samples, the practice then calculates how many hairs are growing or just resting. This allows initial indications of the type of disease. Another form of analysis is the scalp biopsy: Here the practice uses tissue samples to create a hormone status.
Depending on the findings, different forms of treatment are possible:
- Minoxidilis an active ingredient that is applied to the head as a solution or foam in the case of hereditary hair loss. The side effects are comparatively low. Dizziness or a drop in blood pressure are possible, but the effectiveness is not a promise of healing: The effect takes a few months to become visible and is completely lost as soon as Minoxidil is discontinued.d.
- Finasterideis, however, more effective against hereditary hair loss: It intervenes in the conversion of testosterone to the harmful dihydrotestosteroneone and thus wants the loss of hair prevent. Optimally it is combined with Minoxidil for a stronger result. However, the side effects can also be strong. These sometimes include restricted libido, erectile dysfunction or limited fertility. So the question here is: cap bald or not bald.
- FromHair transplantswe hear more often these days: It can cover bald spots temporarily or even permanently. Jürgen Klopp and Patrick Lindner have shown the way. But it remains to be seen how long the laid hair will last, because you do not get a guarantee for life. There are two approaches to hair transplantation: the strip method and the follicular unit extraction, also known as the FUE method. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If a hair transplant is really an option for you, you should seek advice from experts who are familiar with both methods.
Also iscaffeinean interesting, preventative approach if you are one of the lucky men who is unaffected by hereditary hair loss. The caffeine stimulates blood flow to the scalp and thus also the follicles. This makes them stronger and better able to produce hair. This is why many men's shampoos and hair lotions contain caffeine.
Male despite hair loss?
It's a question of your attitude towards yourself. One thing is clear: there are pretty cool guys who don't have hair. Bruce Willis, for example, or Lord Voldemort. And so far they have got by without treatment.
The main thing is that you are comfortable. #staysober
Simon