Does alopecia just affect men?
Hair loss is natural and happens to everyone. Throughout the day you could lose up to 100 hairs which have already been replaced. But when the loss is excessive you should pay attention because it could be a symptom of alopecia.
Androgenetic alopecia
Androgenetic alopecia is the most common type of alopecia and can be found in men as well as women. This type of baldness is hereditary and stems from genetics. Incidentally, alopecia is maternally inherited, in other words, if your maternal grandfather is bald, there is a higher probability that you will suffer from alopecia.
Why do you suffer from alopecia?
Androgenetic alopecia appears as a hypersensitivity of the hair follicles to male hormones; androgens. This leads to a reduction in the size of the hair bulb and the body of the hair, and the follicle produces thin hair with a small diameter, like fluff. The hair growth cycle is also affected: there is a reduction of hairs in the anagenous phase or the growth phase and a relative increase in the number of follicles in the telogen phase or the resting stage.
Characteristics of Male Alopecia
- Androgenetic alopecia is more frequent in the white race than in black or Asian races.
- Hair loss usually occurs after puberty, which is when the male hormone levels increase.
- Men that begin to lose their hair between 20 or 30 years old have a higher probability of losing more hair than those whose hair loss begins at an older age.
- The loss of hair in men usually begins at the forehead and the top of the temples given the name “receding hairline”. If the alopecia advances, you will experience a loss of hair around the superior occipital (vertebral region) and around the forehead. Finally, the bald areas will get closer to each other bit by bit until a bald patch in the centre has formed.
- Androgenetic male alopecia is classified into 7 stages according to the well known “Hamilton-Norwood classification”.
Characteristics of Female Alopecia
- When talking about androgenetic alopecia in women, the hair loss usually begins between 30 and 40 years old. The hair loss usually begins in times of hormonal change.
- For women, there is a general reduction in the thickness of the hair across the top of the scalp. The classification of baldness in women is measured on the Ludwig scale.
- Apart from the genetic cause, hair loss in women can be due to other causes. Some of which include combing your hair into pigtails or a bun, starting or stopping taking the oral contraceptive or the menopause.
Looking after your hair and paying attention to the first symptoms is vital to stop the hair loss. Also with the help of specific hair products you can stimulate hair growth and stop hair loss. Do you already know about the latest line of Hair System 3G hair products by MartiDerm?
