For most the thought of losing their hair is disturbing. For some words such as male-pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia are newly familiar terms which give them the same warm and fuzzy feeling as having a flat tire on the way to the airport. In this informational article titled male-pattern baldness we will dissect the condition and make a few helpful suggestions as to how you can slow its unrelenting march.

Male-pattern baldness is known in medical terms as androgenetic alopecia. This condition is a genetic based hormone facilitated form of balding that affects both men and women. Some estimates have this condition affecting up to 90% of the population. To better understand why this happens take a few minutes to walk with me through the technical aspect of this confidence bursting condition.

The human scalp is filled with over 100,000 hairs; each of which spring forth from a pouch like sac known as the follicle. Every day there is a delicate balance of hair loss and hair regrowth taking place right on top of your head with approximately125 hairs being lost only to be replaced. The head hair replacement mediator is a cranky enzyme called 5 alpha reductase type 2 which converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). When too much DHT is produced new hair growth is for the most part paralyzed and your existing hair becomes fine and brittle. DHT also interrupts the growth phase and accelerates the number of hairs lost.

Most men with this condition first notice it on the top of the head with perhaps slight balding on the crown. They are also likely to experience a receding hair line. For those men, whose hair loss started in their teens, they likely will lose all of the hair on top of their head but retain hair on the sides and back of the scalp.

In women, hair loss begins on top of the head and is generally recognized as an overall thinning process rather than complete hair loss. They are fortunate in that the receding hair line so prominent in men is not often a part of the process. In women the condition is appropriately called female-pattern baldness.

What can be done!

If is probably fairly obvious by now that any success treatment must have a component that blocks DHT’s ability to interrupt the hair replacement cycle. There are a couple of herbs that have been effective in this pursuit with the most well known being Saw Palmetto. The next step is to find a product that is rich in vitamins and extracts that can provide a fertile ground for hair regrowth. And lastly, consider a topical hair growth stimulator such as minoxidil or perhaps a natural blend of stimulating oils (almond, pumpkinseed) to accelerate hair growth.

In summary, there are no easy answers. Chances are if you have already lost most of your hair due to male-pattern baldness your options will be limited to surgery, a hairpiece, or loving your partially bald new look. On the other hand if only a moderate to small amount of balding has occurred, your chances of slowing and possibly reversing the condition are very good. If you fall in this category there are a number of excellent hair regrowth products formulated specifically for treating male-pattern baldness that are worth considering.