Is baldness more common today? The answer to this frequently asked question is yes. See why more men are losing their hair younger here…
Hormonal changes, autoimmune diseases, thyroid disorders, and stress are among the known causes of hair loss in young men and women. However, diet can also strongly influence hair health. The growing popularity of vegetarian and vegan diets could be contributing to millennial hair loss.
New self-reported data out of China has led researchers to claim millennials may be losing their hair faster than older generations. However, the research is only anecdotal. There is currently no evidence in Western medical literature about any changes in the rates of hair loss.
Research indicates that up to 50 percent of men show some degree of androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness, by the time they reach 50 years of age. Unfortunately, although some interesting developments appear to be on the horizon, there's no cure for male pattern baldness at the moment.
It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but it's more common in men. Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most common cause of baldness.
The group was followed for 16 years. The authors concluded: “We found no correlation between the mortality and the extent of graying of the hair or baldness or facial wrinkles in either of the sexes, irrespective of age.
"It's genetics, good old-fashioned genetics," said Cole. But scientists have had a hard time pinpointing the precise gene that causes baldness. Scientists found one gene in 2009, but they've had a hard time getting results with various therapies targeted to that gene.
Can hair loss be cured or reversed. There is no cure for hair loss. Some hair loss is temporary and the hair will grow back. For those experiencing male pattern baldness, treatments like Finasteride and Propecia can help halt hair loss and in some cases stimulate regrowth.
In June 2022, the FDA approved the first treatment for a type of hair loss in which the immune system attacks hair follicles, known as alopecia areata. The drug, called baricitinib, was already approved for the treatment of another autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis.
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.
On the other hand, China is a country where the number of men who go bald is the least. Some other countries like Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia also have low levels of male pattern baldness.
Excessive weight lifting can cause an increase in testosterone levels that can harm your hair growth. When testosterone levels are too high your hair follicles shrink causing hair thinning and can delay the growth of your 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.
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.
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.
There's a difference between cloning the follicle itself, i.e. making a brand new follicle that regenerates its own hair, explains Dr. Wasserbauer. That is probably 10 or 20 years away. What is imminent is the cloning of dermal papillae cells, which serves to thicken existing thinning hair.
Lifestyle factors could include using certain hair products, wearing your hair up too tightly, experiencing high stress levels, or not getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals in your diet. People who have immune system deficiencies could also have thinning hair.
Scientists have found a potential cure for baldness after identifying a single chemical which could be responsible for hair loss. Protein TGF-beta controls which stem cells in hair follicles grow and which die, according to University of California researchers who published their findings in the Biophysical Journal.
The study found not only an increased risk of heart disease in older men, but also in men younger than 60. Among those men, baldness raised the risk of heart attack by a full 44 percent.
Men all have roughly the same amount of testosterone. Certain genes make your hair follicles more or less sensitive to the amount of testosterone in your body. Basically, an enzyme converts testosterone into a substance that shrinks hair follicles.
Bald men are typically older, and tend to be seen by women as more intelligent and wiser, according to a separate study conducted at the University of Saarland.
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.
When it comes to the race that tends to lose the most hair, that goes to Caucasians. Additionally, West Asian (specifically Indian) people are likely to experience similar hair loss levels to Caucasians.