According to Mayo Clinic, the majority of baldness is caused by genetics, usually known as male-pattern baldness and female-pattern baldness, and cannot be prevented.
While there's no cure for hair loss, there are ways to effectively treat the symptoms and keep the hair you have. Regular use of minoxidil or finasteride (or a combination of the two) can mitigate the effects of male pattern baldness and stop hair loss.
You might be able to reverse hair loss, or at least slow it. With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year. Treatments for hair loss include medications and surgery.
Can Alopecia Be Reversed? Whether your hair loss is caused by hormones or an autoimmune disorder, regrowing your hair by using new medications and modifying your diet can be possible as long as you start treatment early.
Male pattern baldness does not indicate a medical disorder, but it may affect self-esteem or cause anxiety. The hair loss is usually permanent.
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.
The most obvious signs are a thinning of the temples and hairline recession. Otherwise, the hair loss can be more widespread and balanced. This steady shedding is called “invisible baldness”, since the hair becomes gradually less dense until suddenly it is perceptible to the naked eye.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Approximately 25 percent of men who have hereditary male pattern baldness start losing their hair before the age of 21. By the age of 35, approximately 66 percent of men will have experienced some degree of hair loss. By the age of 50, approximately 85 percent of men will have significantly thinner 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.
Going back to the hormones theory, you may be wondering why all men don't experience hair loss if they all produce testosterone and therefore, create the same testosterone by-product. This is thought to be down to the fact that some men create more than others, and some have more receptors than others.
Although we usually associate hair loss with middle age, it's quite common to begin to lose hair before the age of 25. In fact, research shows that approximately 16 percent of men between 18 and 29 years of age are affected by moderate to extensive hair loss.
Baldness can of course skip generations! If you have bald relatives on both sides of your family tree the chances are high you will be too. However, if the baldness shows up only on one side, it's highly possible the MPB gene will skip not only you but also your siblings. This is how the recessive gene works.
Hair loss starts between 18-25 in most men. As a man passes 35-40, it usually slows down and by the time they are 50-60 it is often, but not always stable. Hair transplants at your age do very well.
Stress and hair loss don't have to be permanent. And if you get your stress under control, your hair might grow back. If you notice sudden or patchy hair loss or more than usual hair loss when combing or washing your hair, talk to your doctor.
Men inherit the baldness gene from the X chromosome that they get from their mother. Female baldness is genetically inherited from either the mother's or father's side of the family. Baldness may be influenced by a number of other factors as well, including age, health, diet, hormones, seasonal changes and climate.
Certain races have higher rates of hair loss compared to others. Caucasians have the highest rates out of all the ethnic groups. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Native American Indians, Inuits, and Chinese have the lowest rates.
Approximately three months later (90 to 100 days), new hair starts to grow and continues to grow at a normal rate. About six months after a hair transplant session, the transplanted hairs begin to take on a natural appearance and will continue to grow for a lifetime.
While the numbers are different according to different surveys, it appears that either Greece, Macedonia, or the Czech Republic has the highest rate of baldness in the world. These nations each have over 40% of men with acute hair loss.