You have a chance of going bald even if your mom doesn't have baldness in her family. Many of these other baldness genes are involved in making hair. Your hair grows out of tiny holes called “follicles”. And the cells that make the hair are called “hair follicle cells”.
Sometimes men go against family traits and lose hair even if their male relatives don't. This may be due to the baldness gene skipping a generation or lifestyle choices switching the gene on. Male pattern baldness is due to hair follicles being sensitive to DHT which is a derivative of testosterone.
One popular myth is that hair loss in men is passed down from the mother's side of the family while hair loss in women is passed down from the father's side; however, the truth is that the genes for hair loss and hair loss itself are actually passed down from both sides of the family.
Common folk wisdom says that baldness comes from the mother's side of the family. But it's not that simple. “The genes for hair loss are actually inherited from both sides of the family, not just your mother or your father,” Adam Mamelak, MD, a dermatologist in Austin, Texas tells WebMD Connect to Care.
Genetics play a large role in determining how much hair loss you'll see as you age. However, other factors — such as stress levels, nutrition, and medications — also cause balding. Genetic hair loss can't be reversed, but there are steps you can take to slow it down and maximize your hair growth potential.
At what age do people typically start to lose their hair? Hair loss can start as early as your teenage years or might not occur until you're well past retirement. Generally, people begin noticing signs of hair loss in their 30s and 40s. More significant hair loss often happens when people reach their 60s and beyond.
On average it takes 15-25 years for men to go completely bald. This process can begin at any age. About two thirds of men are either bald or have a balding pattern by the age of 60. In a nutshell, there is no particular age when you can expect to see hair loss.
It usually takes 15-25 years to go bald, but can be quicker. Typically, at first the hair begins to thin (recede) at the sides (temples). At the same time, the hair usually becomes thin on the top of the head. A bald patch gradually develops in the middle of the scalp.
In most cases, hair loss actually can be prevented, but taking early action is important. “Baldness is preventable, but early intervention is key. If a person starts to notice thinning and shedding or hair loss of any kind, it is important to get on a regimen as soon as possible.
Some people who don't lose their hair have low levels of the enzyme that converts testosterone, and so more recently researchers have been seeking ways of blocking the enzyme in others. A treatment called finasteride works on this principle, but it is expensive and needs to be or hair loss begins again.
There are racial differences, however, in the incidence of male pattern baldness. The highest rates are found among Caucasians, followed by Afro-Caribbeans. Chinese and Japanese men have the lowest rates. For some unknown reason, this form of hair loss is does not occur among Native Americans.
Male-Pattern Hair Loss
It is the most common cause of hair loss and will affect up to 70% of men and 40% of women at some point in their lifetimes. Male Pattern Baldness will affect a lot of men, and is a result of a combination of factors including age, hormones, and genes.
It may sound silly or even hard to believe, but excessive sweating can also cause hair loss. Sweat is made up of not just water, but also natural salts. These other components to sweat – when triggered by excessive exercise – can clog and damage your hair follicles which can lead to hair loss.
Thankfully, technology has advanced so that you can actually grow your own hair back with a minimally-invasive, more heavy-duty treatment. With a follicular unit extraction (FUE) treatment, surgeons can transplant viable hair follicles and implant them in bald spots.
Also, not all men a prone to male pattern baldness as this condition is usually passed on in the genes so man whose father suffers hair loss, is genetically predisposed to also experience it and is much more likely to lose their hair than a man whose father still has a full head of hair.
But baldness can be deceiving: Two-thirds of men face hair loss by age 35, and a bad genetic hand is often to blame. Male-pattern baldness is an inherited sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone (DHT, a by-product of testosterone), which leads to finer hair, a receding hairline, and finally a deserted scalp.
No evidence of a link between hair loss and premature death was found in a large and well-known Danish study published in 1998 in The Journals of Gerontology. Perhaps surprisingly, other signs of aging like wrinkles and gray hair were not linked to early deaths, either.
By age 60, about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern. While hair loss is more common as you get older, it doesn't necessarily make it any easier to accept. It's never too late to address your hair loss. No matter what stage you're in, there are solutions that can help.
About 70% of men will lose hair as they get older. And 25% of bald men see first signs of hair loss before age 21. “Recent advances offer a lot of hope in both treating and preventing different types of baldness,” says dermatologist Amy Kassouf, MD.
The hairline is only about one to 1.5 inches above your highest wrinkle. This is typically as far as a mature hairline will recede. If your hairline is about the width of your finger above the top wrinkle, you probably have a mature hairline. If it's receding onto your scalp, it may mean balding.
The Czech Republic is the country with the highest percentage of men losing their hair. In the Czech Republic, approximately 43 percent of men have either lost their hair or are losing their hair.
South Americans, Central Americans, and Mexicans have varying degrees of baldness. Those with a higher rate of blood directly descending from Spain are more likely to be bald. Individuals that have more Native American genes or sub-Saharan African genes have less male pattern baldness.
Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied. Black people have the lowest. Asian people have hair density that falls somewhere in between.
A study by researchers at the Charité Universitätsmedizin teaching hospital in Berlin revealed the devastating psychological effects of going bald, including an “enormous emotional burden.” Losing one's hair can affect a person's self-esteem and even trigger psychological disorders like body dysmorphia, which can ...