Male hair loss

What is Androgenic Alopecia?

Male Hair loss also knows as Androgenic Alopecia is probably the best known form of Alopecia both for men and for women, less frequently (female type of Androgenic Alopecia). In simple words Androgenic Alopecia is the thinning of the skull.

It is a problem which unfortunately pesters many people and more than often the individual suffering from Androgenic Alopecia feels socially isolated thus suffering more problems in his/her everyday routine. Reports indicate that about 70% of men and 50% of women may develop such symptoms within their lifetime while 50% of men over the age of fifty suffer from Androgenic Alopecia.

Androgenic Alopecia is not necessarily a permanent phenomenon. In some cases it appears as a temporary condition subsiding after treatment and actions taken. This mainly depends on the causes of appearance which vary according to each case. More than often there is a combination of causes leading to the thinning of the scalp.

Causes of male hair loss

Causes of Androgenic Alopecia are various and there are often more added to them. The most important ones are Heredity, Hormonal causes, Psychological causes (stress), Dietary disorders, Way of life even external factors such as exposure to a surrounding which harms the health of the scalp.

At this point it must be noted that the cause may not be singular in each and every case. Many a time a combination of causes and adverse conditions causing loss of hair are reported. It is paramount in order to tackle Androgenic Alopecia even a slight form of hair thinning, to establish the cause as the approach to the problem varies according to each case.

Manifestations 

There is no specific way in which Androgenic Alopecia manifests itself. Nevertheless, for most men there is a thinning of the frontal area of the scalp (Front line) and the top of the hair which evolves, leading to the unification of the two areas. The side of the scalp (parietal area) and the lower part of the scalp (occipital area) do not develop this problem.

There is no standard pattern for the development of Female Type of Androgenic Alopecia. As in the case of men there is also a standard pattern which is quite different for women though. More specifically thinning of the hair and weakening of it make their appearance first in women. At a second stage, more advanced, thinning of the hair at the central part of the scalp and more seldom the front part appears in women.

It should be noted here that Androgenic Alopecia does not evolve evenly but varies in intensity as time goes by.  For example there is a period of intense hair weakening and loss (regression stage) followed by a period of stability (solidification stage). The duration and intensity of these stages is defined by the causes of the hair loss. Finally, it must be made clear that the thinning is a combinational result of the weakening as well as the reduction in numbers of the hair.