The Cause and Problem of  Hair Loss

Dihydrotestosterone (5α-Dihydrotestosterone), [DHT] is a male sex hormone, an androgen. Male and female adults can lose hair as a consequence of changes in the metabolism of androgen in the body – men far more commonly than women. Most men experience hair loss from the effects throughout their life. The incidence increase with age; however, some men can experience it even in their adolescent years.

Male pattern baldness, [MBP] is also known as androgenic alopecia or androgenetic alopecia, is caused by the hair follicle’s sensitivity to DHT. The follicles miniaturize [shrink], reducing the lifespan of the follicle resulting in abnormal production of hair. Hair loss is considered to be a legitimate medical problem that in some individuals leads to serious depression.  DHT plays a major role in hair loss.

Female Pattern Baldness, [FPB] also has an androgenic component but can also have some other contributing factors.  The best hair restoration surgeons will order additional tests to isolate that the cause is androgenic. In patients where this is accurate than hair transplant is a natural, proven and permanent solution.

Hair Transplant Surgery is a Great Solution (watch video)

Hair loss is correlated to stress. Hair loss induced by stress usually occurs after severe stress, such as surgery or illness. Stress and hair loss don’t have to be permanent. Getting your emotional stress under control or alleviating a physical stressor usually results in your hair growing back.

Parsa Mohebi, MD reviews stress related hair loss effects.

Sudden hair loss can signal an underlying medical condition that requires treatment. If needed, your doctor may suggest treatment options for the hair loss as well. And if efforts to manage your stress on your own don’t work, talk to your doctor about stress management techniques. Be sure to consult a physician if you notice sudden or patchy hair loss or more than usual hair loss when combing or washing your hair.

Stress is defined as “a demand upon physical or mental energy.” A physical or emotional demand that is a person is finding difficult to overcome. Stress puts demands on people to perform well above their capacity. Stress has a negative perception and connotation, however, stress is an everyday occurrence that affects most people at some time in their life. This longer the duration of the demand the more difficult it is to maintain without relief.

Stress can also be:

• Stress is can be a recent phenomenon and is everywhere we turn to
• Stress does not feel good; it is not experienced in pleasant situations
• Stress exists when problems go out of control

Dr. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic points out that three specific hair loss conditions are related to stress.

• Alopecia areata. A variety of factors are thought to cause alopecia areata, possibly including severe stress. With alopecia areata, white blood cells attack the hair follicle, stopping hair growth and making hair fall out.
• Telogen effluvium. In this condition, emotional or physical stress pushes large numbers of growing hairs into a resting phase. Within a few months, the affected hairs may fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair.
• Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania (trik-oh-til-oh-MAY-nee-uh) is an irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.

When experiencing hair loss an evaluation by a Los Angeles hair restoration doctor can be very helpful.

Diabetes is a common disease that has fallen upon many Americans. Often times people suffering from Diabetes will come to US Hair Restoration wondering whether they qualify for a hair transplant procedure. The question we often ask our patients is how well their diabetes is maintained.

Patients who have diabetes are able to have successful hair restoration procedures as long as the condition is under control. For many years Diabetes was a disorder that lowered a person’s life expectancy, and because of the risk of wound complications and infections, elective surgeries were limited. With modern medical science and updated methods for controlling diabetes, patients can safely have their transplantation procedures and other elective procedures without a major risk of infection or complication’s during the healing phase.

The protocol Dr. Mohebi has established here at US Hair Restoration requires there to be a clearance from the patient’s regular physician who monitors their diabetes more closely. When the blood glucose range is at a normal level and there is managable control over the diabetes, then a hair restoration is a viable option.

There have been times when patients ask about sex and hair loss. Some have even bragged about rapidly losing their hair because they have had very active sex lives. Most patients will always try and find a convenient reason for their progressive balding during the earliest stages.

Those with active sex lives are not the only ones suffering from hair miniaturization who try and find a reasonable excuse for their predicament. Often times the person’s partner is blamed, stressful situations, bad relations, or significant changes in their lives. When viewing the issue realistically, time, genetics, and gender, are the only true contributing factors to permanent hair loss. Other environmental factors merely accelerate the speed of the genetically predisposed hair loss. Individuals who are not genetically prone to balding may lose hair because of stress or trauma, but only for a time once the stressor is gone. For people prone to hair loss, once it’s gone it is gone. That is when other options such as hair restoration is needed.

The fact is, we are genetically predisposed in many ways. Our physical makeup may favor one parent over another, but as we become more acquainted with different family members on both sides, we start to find common traits with various members from our families. Though one parental side may be more dominate over the other, our hair and the loss thereof, to a significant point, is also hereditary.

Perhaps you know someone who in their teens or early twenties started to experience thinning hair, the odds are the culprit is hidden in that complex of genetic code we call our ‘family tree.’

Hereditary hair loss is characterized by:

• Progressive miniaturization of hair follicles
• Shortening of the hair’s growth cycle
• The growth phase decreases
• Hair becomes thinner and shorter
• Eventually, the graft ceases to exist.  

Modern Advances in hair restoration have made male-pattern and female-pattern androgenetic alopecia very treatable. Many men and women have enhanced their self image and esteem through successful hair restoration under the guidance of a highly skilled and qualified hair restoration medical doctor. MPB and FPB are common and today’s medical professionals have been paying attention the result being that both surgical and medical hair loss treatments have high rates of success.

Because hereditary hair loss is gradual, the sooner treatment is started, the better the chances of results. Checking your family tree to see if you have a possible genetic predisposition to hair loss might help you recognize the symptoms early enough to slow the progression.

Hair loss and hair thinning is a result of testosterone formed in different areas like the prostate gland or hair follicles, which is converted to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the scalp area.  Hair follicles prone to genetic male patterned baldness contain DHT receptors, thus thinning hair and loss of hair can result.  Over time men produce an abundance of DHT and the molecules affect their hair follicles and cause a decrease in size and eventually see their natural hair fall out permanently. Because of this common occurrence, hair loss in men is frequent.

DHT and hair loss from having the gene for male pattern baldness are the most common factors for male pattern baldness. Women suffering from female-pattern baldness, unlike their counterparts with male-pattern baldness, are not usually characterized by higher production rates of DHT from lower levels of testosterone. On the other hand, if for a number of possible reasons, a woman has increased testosterone, she can develop female patterned baldness like a man does through the same mechanism.

Hair in the prone areas to male patterned baldness: Corners, top, and crown are filled with DHT receptors in men who suffer Androgenic Alopecia The hair on donor areas such as back and sides, however, have fewer DHT receptors.  This is precisely why hair is more permanent on the sides and back and not the top and front.

The distinction in the hair quality of different areas, such as the donor and recipient areas, allows for hair loss surgeons to remove the hair from one area and transplant it to the bald portions of the scalp.  These newly transplanted hairs are permanent and immune to DHT. Finasteride (Propecia) is a drug which blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT as a result of it blocking the enzyme alpha reductase.  The amount of DHT in hair loss patients decrease when they are on Propecia and this helps to maintain healthy hair, and also helps some of the miniaturized hair become stronger.

We at US Hair Restoration often recommend medical treatment with DHT blockers in many of our patients who undergo a hair transplantation procedure in order to help maintain their own hair in addition to the newly restored, formerly balding areas because of a hair restoration surgery.