What
causes hair loss?
Androgenic alopecia, or pattern baldnss, develops
when the hair follicle (the place under the skin where
hair grows from) experiences a reduction in size,
as well as a time reduction in the active growth phase.
this translates into a simple fact: more and more
of the hair follicles will spend time in the resting
state where hair is shed once the state is completed.
Fortunately, androgenic alopecia does not develop
in all hair follicles at the same time. This is why
some part of the scalp seems to be losing more hair
than the other.
What
causes androgenic alopecia? As boys grow up, their
hair follicles are exposed to androgen (any hormone
that controls the appearance and development of
masculine characteristics) that their body has synthesized.
Once hair follicles are exposed to androgen, they
become "androgen sensitive" and androgenenitic
alopceia can develop later in time. Stopping the
hair follicles from interacting with androgens seems
to prohibit any chance of androgenetic alopecia
development.
To
put it in a more detailed explanation there are
two types of androgen that need to be considered:
testosterone and DHT (dihydrotestosterone). An enzyme
called 5-alpha-reductase converts testosterone to
DHT. Once DHT is formed, it has the ability to bind
to any androgen receptor in hair follicles. This
binding reduces follicle activity, shrinks the hair
follicle which in turn slows the hair growth cycle,
reduces the diameter of the hair shaft and over
times hair growth ceases.
For
females, the mechanism of the condition is similar
to that of the males. the source of the androgen
is the combined activity of the ovaries and the
adrenal glands. Hair loss in women can many times
be directly related to pregnancy or menopause and
their effects.
Why
do some people seem to have more extensive hair
loss than others? Recent research suggests that
the answer has something to do with the differences
in the concentration of 5-alpha-reductase in skin
and hair follicles of people who have androgenetic
alopecia. It is possible that some people just produce
more of this enzyme, which in turn converts more
testosterone to DHT, which will result in greater
hair loss. Also, some people just develop greater
sensitivity of androgen receptors in their hair
follicles. This means that a certain concentration
in others with less sensitive androgen receptors
in the follicles.
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How common
is hair loss?
Do you feel that you are the only one losing hair?
You're not! The most common form of hair loss, Amdrogentic
Alopecia, or pattern baldness, is experiences by 50-80%
of Caucasian men. The number of Chinese males affected
are half of the Caucasian counterparts while African
Americans have a lower incidence of the condition
as well. For women androgenetic alopecia occurs between
20-40% of the general female population. In summary,
it is safe to say that pattern baldness is experienced
by the norm of the population, you're not alone, but
actually in the majority.
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What do I
do about losing my hair?
We offer a complete line of Nioxin products. Nioxin
is a professionally developed non drug solution to
thinning hair and hair loss. Nioxin uses scientific
analysis of the scalp beyond anything achieved before.
It helps inhibit the recurring causes of hair loss
and helps maintain an extra measure of cleanliness
to ensure that your scalp hygiene is not compromised.
For more information on Nioxin, click
here.
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Are there
myths about hair loss?
Be careful in believing everything that you hear about
the cause of hair loss! for example, have you ever
heard those that say that shampooing your hair too
often will make you lose hair? Well, contrary to popular
beliefs, that is NOT true, Here is a list of myths
that you do not need to believe regarding hair loss:
1. permanent hair loss is caused by perms, colors,
and other chemical treatment
2. Shaving your head will cause hair to grow back
thicker.
3. Dandruff causes permanent hair loss
4. Stress causes permanent hair loss.
5. Hair loss does not occur in the late teens.
6. hair loss affects only intellectuals
7. Smoking causes hair loss (research on this topic
is only preliminary and does not give a supported
explanation of why smoking might promote hair loss)
8. Standing on your head will stimulate hair growth
9. Androgenetic alopecia is inherited from mom (in
other words, you can inherit the gene for baldness
from mom or dad)
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What are
some other causes of hair loss?
1. Physical stress - surgery, major illness, rapid
weight change
2. Emotional stress - mental illness, death of a loved
one, job layoff
3. Medications - high dose of Vitamin A, blood pressure
medications, gout medications
4. Hormonal changes - pregnancy, birth control pills,
menopause
5. chemotherapy
Physical and emotional stress might cause hair loss
since body is recuperating from an overwhelming turmoil
and simply shuts down hair production, thinking that
it is not necessary for the body's survival, thereby
contributing all energy toward repairing vital body
parts. there can be up to three months delay between
the major incidence and the actual hair loss. Moreover,
there is also period of three months before the loss
hair is replaced. This then means there is a total
of a minimal of 6 moths for the total hair loss and
regrowth cycle. Of course there are things that might
contribute to hair loss such as anemia, low blood
count, and thyroid abnormalities.
Chemotherapy agents are basically poisonous chemicals
administered to kill cancer cells. Unfortunately,
they kill more than just cancer cells: they hurt healthy
cells as well, including hair cells. Usually the patient
loses a huge amount of hair during treatment and there
is no hair growth stimulant, shampoo or conditioners
that can reverse this effect. the good news is that
once chemotherapy is completed, hair usually grows
back. Adequate hair growth may take anywhere from
6-12 months.
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Do you have
any more interesting hair facts?
We sure do! Here goes:
- There
are 120,000 hairs on the average adult head with
blondes having most (140,000) and redheads least
(90,000)
- Hair
grows faster in the summer, during sleep and between
the ages of 16 and 24
- Between
the ages of 40 and 50 women tend to lose about
20 percent of their hair
- Healthy
hair is highly elastic and can stretch 20 or 30
percent before snapping
- A
human hair is stronger than copper wire of the
same thickness
- The
combined strength of a head of human hair is capable
of supporting the weight equivalent of 99 people
- A
single strand of hair lives for up to seven years
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