What is Hair Loss in Men?
Hair loss in men is a condition where the hair begins to thin out at the crown of the head, and eventually it will disappear completely. Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss and is also called androgenic alopecia.
Hair loss in men is not a disease, but instead a condition that all men will suffer at some point in life. However, when the process starts is very different from one man to the next, it can vary from the young teens to well into old age. Hair loss in men is a hereditary condition in which the hair follicles are affected by the male sex hormone.
Although hair loss in men is not a disease, it is still considered a major problem – especially aesthetically. This is especially true if the condition occurs in your younger years, as baldness is often considered a sign of old age.
Where are men most affected by hair loss?
When your hair begins to fall out, it will typically become thinner at the top first. The hair thins out on the scalp, and eventually you get the so-called “moon” shape. Next, higher temples will appear as the hairline begins to recede into the sides. It can lead to patchy baldness because you can still have hair at the back and sides.
It often causes some men to completely shave their hair off so that they get a uniform look instead of alternating spots of hair and baldness.
Why do men lose their hair with receding hairlines and hair thinning?
It is perfectly normal and inevitable over time to lose hair as a man. But why is it happening? There may be several causes.
Genetic and hormonal factors
In the vast majority of men’s hair loss cases, in fact for 9 out of 10 men, the hair loss is due to ‘androgenetic hair loss’. That is, hair loss affected by both hereditary and hormonal factors.
At puberty, young men start producing testosterone in large quantities. Testosterone production causes the hair follicles to shrink, and eventually they become so small that the shed hairs no longer grow back again. It therefore leads to baldness, thinning hair and receding hairlines in men.
If you are genetically predisposed to hair loss, your hair follicles will be more sensitive to the sex hormone testosterone. If you are more sensitive to it, the hormone will develop into dihydrotestosterone, which is a growth inhibitor that will result in hair loss.
So, it is not the amount of testosterone that determines whether you lose your hair earlier or not – it is your reaction to it. Men who keep their hair for longer neither have more or less testosterone than those who lose it faster.
Poor diet and vitamin deficiency
Although, in most cases, hair loss in men is due to genetics and hereditary genes, in some cases poor diet and vitamin deficiency may be a contributing cause of hair thinning.
There are some vitamins that are especially important for hair growth and strength. This includes both vitamins B and C. If you are particularly lacking in biotin and niacin, which are both B vitamins, it can lead to thinning hair. If you are not adequately supplied with vitamin C, your body may need extra help producing collagen, which is an important protein for healthy and voluminous hair.
Stress-related hair loss
Also, stress can be your hair’s worst enemy. This applies to both men and women. Stress is therefore one of the most frequent causes of hair loss in men – in addition to the hereditary factors.
When the body is stressed, it creates a hormonal imbalance. It is the hormone cortisol that is especially linked to stress. If you become stressed, the body creates more cortisol, which causes you to function both physically and mentally in a different way.
Disease-related hair loss
Hair loss due to illness is often more prevalent on the scalp. It can be hair loss as a result of metabolic disease or skin diseases such as dermatitis or psoriasis. These appear as a scaly eczema in the scalp and can, in severe cases, cause hair loss thanks to the unhealthy scalp condition.
Medical treatments
Medication can be another reason why you are losing your hair. Often chemotherapy in a comprehensive cancer treatment is the cause of your hair loss. However, other types of medication may also have hair loss as a side effect. It should be stated in the package leaflet if a that particular drug has hair loss as a side effect.
Who is most affected by hair loss?
Hair loss affects all men sooner or later – it’s a natural process. The question is just when. It is estimated that approximately 20% of all men in their 20s experience hair loss, approximately 40% of all men in their 40s, and up to 60% of all men in their 60s, experience natural hair loss.
Men who are genetically predisposed to premature hair loss are therefore those who typically lose their hair first
What hair loss treatment for men is available?
Is there a remedy for hair loss in men? The answer is both yes and no. A hair loss treatment for men who struggle against receding hairlines is going against the direction of nature. However, there are good ways to improve the condition.
Products to slow down the hair loss process
When you, as a man, lose your hair, it is due to some imbalance in the growth of the hair that puts an end to the natural hair growth. Australian Bodycare has developed three unique products that help slow down the hair loss process and thus counteract the risk of hair loss.
All of the products contain Tea Tree Oil and Capilia Longa ingredients, which help strengthen the scalp and hair. In addition, the serum from Australia Bodycare contains Biotin.
Biotin is a B vitamin that’s important for healthy hair conditions and Tea Tree Oil is a 100% natural ingredient with antibacterial properties that cleanse the scalp free of impurities, giving hair the best chance to grow strong and thick.
Capilia Longa is derived from natural tropical and subtropical plants and is a multi-active ingredient that re-activates latent cells to rebalance hair growth.
The three products are a serum, a shampoo and a hair spray.
The serum is applied to the scalp to ensure the optimum scalp environment so that your hair gets stronger and can grow better.
You can use the shampoo as your daily shampoo. It is gentle while effectively removing impurities that can inhibit hair growth.
You can use the hair spray after hair washing or even when you skip washing your hair. The spray strengthens the hair strands to make them more resistant to breakage.
You can therefore counteract the risk of hair loss by using these products, which can be used separately or combined for the best results.
Medical treatment
The formation of the growth inhibitor dihydrotestosterone slows down hair growth so that new hair does not form to replace the old ones. For this problem, there is hormone therapy available in tablet form.
The treatment aims to block the sex hormones that impair hair growth, but a treatment like this often causes potent side effects, such as impotence. You need to see your doctor for prescribed hormone treatment tables, he or she can assess whether this is the right treatment for your hair loss.
Hair transplantation
Another and very comprehensive treatment of thinning hair and a receding hairline is a so-called hair transplant. It consists of a technique where hair follicles from a healthy scalp area with many hairs – most often the back or side of the head – are moved to the bald areas. Often the hair follicles are removed individually and re-placed in the exposed areas.
After a few weeks, the transplanted hair will fall out so that the newly planted follicles can grow new ones. This takes approximately after three months. This treatment requires patience, as the final result (a full head of hair) will only appear after 1-1.5 years.
Prevention of hair loss in men
What can you do to prevent hair loss and receding hairlines as a man? Although the natural aging process can be difficult to slow down, you do not have to wait passively while your hair diminishes.
Plan your time
Stress-related hair loss is often a transient condition. But to prevent it, you can better plan your time. It helps to have a good structure in your everyday life, so you don’t stress your body to such a high degree.
With a clear plan in everyday life, you will be better able to accomplish all the daily tasks you face both at home and work. It is important for your hair health to reduce the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol.
Exercise and dietary supplements
Most people know that exercise is good for body and soul. But did you know that it can also be good for your hair? By introducing daily exercise, the brain secretes endorphins, which help to reduce stress – which can also help reduce your hair loss.
If your diet is deficient in vitamins, it may be a good idea to introduce supplements into your everyday life. This is especially true of B and D vitamins that help the growth of hair follicles, while helping to restore the hormonal balance in men, giving your hair the best chance to grow strong.
