Cause of Hair Loss

There are many myths in the society regarding hair loss. Reasons from diet to dandruff and change of water to  family stress have been cited as the cause for hair loss. There also have been a lot of research on the cause of baldness. In this post I would like to tell you about real cause of hair loss. It is always an advantage to know your enemy if you want to defeat him. I hope, with this working knowledge you would be able to plan your fight against hair loss in a better way.

 On the basis of cause hair loss or alopecia can be divided into three basic groups

1. Male Pattern or Androgenic alopecia, by far the common balding.
2. Diffuse pattern alopecia usually caused by disease
3. Scarring alopecia where injury to scalp causes hair loss.
   
   
   More than 95% of hair loss in men is due to androgenic alopecia. For androgenic alopecia to occur, three conditions must be met,
   
   
   1.Genetic predisposition to balding:This is not as simple as it sounds. You may have a father with full head and brothers with some baldness but you have a clean pate. The inheritance is usually polygenic, meaning multiple genes and their expressions play a role in development of baldness.
   However, if every man in your family loses hair by thirty, there is a stronger possibility that you will follow suit. Genetic factors are non modifiable. You must live with them.

2. Androgens or Male Hormones: All men and all women (YES!) produce male hormones. These hormones are generated in different quantities in men and women and typically the levels are much higher in males. This is also the reason why patterned baldness is much much more common in males than in females.
The male sex hormone, Testosterone is converted to another product called Di Hydro Testosterone (DHT) which is presently considered the main reason for hair fall. The conversion of Testosterone to DHT is mediated by an enzyme called 5 alpha reductase. DHT progressively destroys the hair root in genetically susceptible hair by a process called “miniaturisation” which leads to baldness.

         3.Time: Time or ageing is the third factor that plays arole in balding process. Nobody           loses hair before puberty (because DHT is not present in the body) but after that, everybody loses some hair. The pace of hair fall vary amongst individuals but it takes approximately 10 hair cycles for a strong anagen hair to become velus hair.

          Although much less important let me discuss other causes of baldness as well. Diffuse thinning of hair may be caused by anemia, thyroid or other hormonal disorder, severe physical stress etc. A rare type of diffuse thinning called diffuse unpatterned alopecia may even involve permanent hair zone.

On the other hand scarring alopecia could be due to injury, burn or skin conditions. Alopecia areata is a rare autoimmune disease in which hair are lost in bunches and body hair may also be involved.I hope it is now clear that change of water, tension and helmets are not the cause of your hair loss. And repeated shaving or oiling is not going to save them either.

Top 5 Hair Loss Myths

When you are suffering from hair loss, every one will offer you an advice or two. From office boy to neighborhood auntie, each can tell you cause and remedy of your hair loss. How they became so knowledgeable is anybody’s guess but here is a list to tell you when they are right and when they are not.

Myth No.1 : Shaving the Head will Prevent Hair Loss

NO! NO! NO! Shaving does not prevent hair fall. Probably the origin of this myth lies in the fact that short stubble feels coarser and is therefore considered made of better quality hair. In fact, it only feels harder because the hair is short and not because hair quality has improved overnight.  

Another contributing factor to the popularity of this myth may be that you stop “seeing” hair loss. After shaving your head, you don’t see hair in your hands or pillow like you used to. This is again because the hair is so short that you don’t notice its fall and not because hair loss has stopped.

Remember, the hair is falling due to hair root injury and shaving can not change this process. Hair fall will continue even if you shave your head hundred times.

Myth No.2 :  Dandruff causes Hair Loss

Again not true. The origin of this myth is the fact that every time you scratch your scalp you get one or two hair in your hands. These are just weak telogen hair that were about to fall any way. Dandruff on the other hand is a surface infection or colonization by a fungus. It happens in oily scalp and is medically treatable. It does not cause any damage to hair roots. Also remember that flaking of dry scalp is different from dandruff and only requires good hair conditioner.

Myth No.3 : Tension causes Hair Loss

False.  I  don’t know where this came from. Severe prolonged stress due to injury or disease can cause telogen effluvium, but day to day stress does not exacerbate hair loss.

Myth No.4 : Helmet or Hat causes Hair Loss

Wrong. Tight helmets or hats may contribute to hair fiber damage, but it does not cause root injury. On the other hand, pulling the hair too hard while wearing a turban or cornrows, can cause permanent hair loss. This is called traction alopecia and requires surgical treatment.

Myth No.5 : Oiling Prevents Hair Loss

Not true. Adequate oil is produced by your scalp to nourish hair roots. In fact, evey hair has its own oil producing gland. If you have very long hair, then putting hair oils may improve the texture, but short hairs do not require oiling. Head massage with oils can relax you but does little for hair growth.

So, what causes hair loss? I shall discuss this in my next blog.