Hair loss

What is male pattern hair loss?

Male pattern hair loss is balding amongst men. It’s not always easy to identify at first, but early signs include a receding hairline, where hair starts to disappear at the temples of your head, producing a hairline that’s shaped like an ‘M’.

Another sign of it is crown hair loss, where your hair begins to thin at the crown (just off the top of your head). The thinning here leaves a bald spot.

In the areas where your hair is getting thinner, you may also notice that individual strands of hair are more fragile, and they don’t grow as quickly as hair in areas that are less affected.

If you find that you are losing a lot of hair either on the towel, comb or brush after showering, this can point toward male pattern hair loss. If you find that you’re losing a lot of hair after you’ve showered on a towel, or on a comb, this can point towards male pattern hair loss. If And if the hair on the sides or the back of your head is not affected, but you’re losing hair on top of your head, this can be an early indication of male pattern hair loss too. This is because hair on the sides and back of your head is not as sensitive to the hormone DHT.

With male pattern hair loss, some men are more sensitive than others to DHT (or dihydrotestosterone, which is a type of testosterone in the body). This sensitivity causes hair follicles to shrink, and stops men from growing new hair. It also reduces the lifespan of hair follicles, meaning that you lose hair more often, and at a faster rate.

So you lose hair more quickly, but the hair is also replaced more slowly, and it doesn’t grow back as rapidly.

Who gets hair loss?

Male pattern hair loss is very common. It can start to affect men as early as their teenage years, and between 30 and 50% of men will have it by the age of 50.^[1]

If male pattern hair loss runs in your family, you’re also more likely to get it. It tends to be hereditary.

Hair loss: what causes it?

Certain types of hair loss (or alopecia), like male pattern baldness or male pattern hair loss are permanent, while other forms of hair loss are only temporary.

An illness, stress, treatment for cancer, weight loss and iron deficiency can all trigger more short-term hair loss, but it tends to grow back or stop shedding once you recover, and usually doesn’t require treatment.

Male pattern baldness is usually hereditary, so if it runs in your family, you’re more likely to experience it. And high levels of androgen hormones in your body like DHT can make hair follicles shrink. DHT can be responsible for you losing your hair quickly, and sooner than you may expect.

But given the long-term nature of male pattern hair loss, treatment is often needed to help stop any further hair loss, or to help hair grow back.

Is there a ‘cure’ for hair loss?

There’s no ‘cure’ as such, but there are treatment options available.

Hair transplants are available for men with certain types of hair loss, but this is a surgical procedure carried out under local anesthetic. So if you’re looking online for clinics that perform hair transplants, make sure they use state-licensed doctors.