Everyone loses hair all the time, maybe up to 100 strands a day. They fall out, then grow back in, and the cycle starts over again. But eventually, most guys will start to notice that they’re losing more than before -- and it’s not growing back.
As many as 85% of men will have some sort of hair loss in their lifetime. It can happen for different reasons.
Most Common Cause: Male Pattern Baldness
Up to 95% of guys with thinning hair can blame it on this condition. It’s caused by genes you get from your parents.
Scientists think the gene may affect how sensitive your hair follicles are to a hormone called DHT, which makes them shrink. As they get smaller, the hair that grows back tends to be finer, thinner, and shorter. Eventually, it takes longer for hair to grow back. Then, the follicles will shrink so that no hair grows at all.
Male pattern baldness shows up in a telltale shape: a receding hairline with thinning strands around the crown of your head. Over time, that area will go bald, but you’ll still have a horseshoe pattern of hair above your ears circling to the lower back of the head.
Men with this trait can start to lose their locks as early as their early teens. In general, the sooner it starts, the greater the loss will be.
Other types of hair loss tend to happen faster than male pattern baldness.
Spot baldness, or alopecia areata, makes your hair fall out in smooth, round patches, but it usually grows back. The condition is a type of autoimmune disease, which means your body attacks itself. In this case, it destroys your hair.
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Scarring alopecia is a rare disease that destroys your hair follicles and makes scar tissue form in their place. Hair will not grow back.
Other Reasons for Hair Loss
When your locks fall out suddenly, instead of gradually thinning over time, it’s usually from something other than male pattern baldness. Other causes include:
Diseases like anemia or a thyroid problem
Radiation or chemotherapy treatments
Medications, such as blood thinners, high doses of vitamin A, and steroids that some men take to help build muscle, called anabolic steroids
Scalp infections
Problems with your diet, like getting too little iron or too much vitamin A
Stress
Keeping hairstyles like tight ponytails, cornrows, or braids for many years
For most of these issues, your hair will grow back once you take care of what’s causing it.
Are There Any Risks to Hair Loss?
Male pattern baldness generally isn’t a sign of a serious medical problem, but it has been linked with some other conditions including coronary heart disease, an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.
If you notice your hair starting to fall out, keep track of the pattern and how much you’re losing. You can talk to your doctor to rule out a more serious problem.
5 Reasons for Sudden Hair Loss, and How You Can Get Help
Everyone experiences hair shedding, and it happens to each of us every day. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle, more on days you wash your hair. But what if you check your pillow, shower drain, or comb and it looks like you’re suddenly losing much more than that?
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The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor or dermatologist. They’ll get to the bottom of why you’re losing hair, and they’ll make sure you get the right treatment in case a medical condition is to blame.
Here are just some of the reasons you could have sudden hair loss.
Possible Causes
Telogen effluvium. This type of hair loss can happen about three to six months after you go through something stressful. The American Academy of Dermatology says these stressors can include:
Surgery
Giving birth
Getting a divorce or losing a job
Having a high fever
Recovering from an illness
Mayo Clinic says abrupt hair loss due to telogen effluvium could even happen a few months after the stressful event.
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Alopecia areata. This kind of hair loss often shows up as round bald patches. It can make you lose hair suddenly and seemingly out of the blue, according to NYU Langone Health. The condition happens when your body’s immune system mistakenly attacks your hair follicles. Your hair may grow back on its own or with treatment, the American Academy of Dermatology says.
Other medical problems. Yale professor of dermatology David J. Leffell, MD, writes that ailments including thyroid conditions and bowel diseases could be to blame.
Certain medications. Blood thinners or chemotherapy drugs could be the reason for your sudden hair loss.
Nutrition problems. These can include getting too little iron or too much vitamin A.
Get Help Now
There are many treatments for hair loss. Some can even help reverse it. The right treatment for you depends on the cause of your hair loss, which is why it’s important to see a doctor and get diagnosed.
Don’t wait. The sooner you address the symptoms of hair loss, the more likely you are to prevent irreversible damage. Speak to a medical professional today to begin your journey to a fuller head of hair.
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