Hair loss in men is often a topic less discussed in society. Men who suffer from it can experience a range of difficult emotions and most of the time might be unhappy with their situation. Hair plays a vital role in determining self-image and forming social perceptions. While it might not be a life-endangering physical change but the loss of hair among young men can lead to personal, social and work-related problems.
Studies have found hair loss to be psychologically damaging. Men with severe hair loss are more likely to experience emotional distress than those with mild hair loss. It is often seen as a failure to conform to the beauty standards floating in society. For some hair loss is genetic, for others it could be caused by environmental, and health factors and sometimes as a part of ageing. Hair loss has been linked to psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.
As per the American Hair Loss Association, men who suffer hair loss might do anything to prevent it. It also tends to affect their professional lives. It is not uncommon for young men to change their career path owing to physical change.
Why does it happen?
Androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness accounts for more than 95 per cent of hair loss in men. By the age of 50, a significant percentage of men suffer hair thinning. Approximately twenty-five per cent of men who suffer from male pattern baldness begin the painful process before they reach the age of twenty-one.
There are many possible reasons for hair loss in men, including serious disease, reaction to some medication, sometimes a stressful event can contribute to it and in many cases, it is genetics that has to be blamed. Sometimes, injury, infection and inflammatory skin diseases can also cause it to happen. Nutritional deficiencies like iron deficiency, malnutrition, chronic diseases like diabetes and consumption of blood thinners can lead to loss of hair.
Male pattern baldness happens when men start to lose hair as hormone levels change over the course of their lives. If it happens in young adulthood, it can be damaging to their self-esteem and men might pursue psychological treatments to come to terms with it.
Testosterone plays an important role
Androgens or male reproductive hormones play an important role in hair loss among men. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a derivative or by-product of testosterone. While there is a lot more to know about the causes of hair loss, scientists have come to an understanding that DHT shrinks hair follicles and the suppression of this chemical can allow the hair follicle to thrive.
According to the American Hair Loss Association, male pattern baldness is generally characterized by the onset of a receding hairline and thinning crown. Hair in these areas including the temples and mid-anterior scalp appears to be the most sensitive to DHT. This pattern eventually progresses into more apparent baldness throughout the entire top of the scalp.
