More Male Baldness Myths

There are a lot of myths about baldness and why men become bald. Perhaps this is driven, in part, by the fact that as many as two out of three men will begin to lose their hair by age 60. With so many men developing a hair loss problem, theories of why will abound! This article will look at three of the most well-known myths and find out what the truth is.

Myth 1: You inherit your tendency to lose hair from your mother’s side of the family.

The answer to this myth is yes and no. You do inherit part of your tendency to hair loss from your mother, but you also inherit part of the tendency from your father. While the mother’s contribution has a greater impact than the genes from your dad, if your father has lost his hair, you’ll be more likely to as well.

Myth 2: Only older men can lose their hair.

Unfortunately, this is false. You can actually start to bald in your late teens! While this is rare, a certain percentage of men will have this happen. Further, others may begin to bald in earnest by their 20’s and 30’s. Another unfortunate fact is that if you begin to bald at an early age, your hair loss is likely to be more severe.

Keep in mind that the primary cause of hair loss is androgenic alopecia. This hormonal hair loss is caused by DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, which is a form of the male hormone testosterone. This type of hair loss results in the starving of hair follicles, as DHT blocks their receptors. Hair follicles then die, and the hair is permanently lost.

Qualified hair transplant physicians, such as the surgeons at Sure Hair, can help with this type of hair loss, right from the earliest stages. Medications are now available that address hair loss, which may allow you keep more of your natural hair. Once your hair loss is stable, the same doctor can then evaluate you for a hair transplant, to improve the cosmetic look of your hair loss.

Myth 3: Wearing a hat makes your hair fall out.

It’s hard to tell sometimes if the hat precedes the hair loss or the hair loss precedes the hat! But the truth of this myth is that those beloved caps that most men wear are not the culprits behind their hair loss.

However, dirty caps can be a problem. If your hat is dirty, it can lead to a scalp infection. Scalp infections can lead to permanent hair loss, because the infection affects the follicles. You can make sure that your favorite cap doesn’t impact your hair by following a couple of simple rules: 1) rotate your caps so that your scalp cannot be irritated by the same cap worn constantly, and 2) have your caps cleaned periodically to ensure that they are not harboring dirt and bacteria.

By Ron on December 24, 2014   /   SureHair Blog