How To Treat Thinning Hair On Crown
Its not entirely clear what causes thinning hair in men.
We do know that male pattern baldness has something to do with androgens. These are hormones responsible for controlling bodily processes that happen during and after puberty, including hair growth.
Testosterone is the most well-known androgen. An androgen called DHT is most involved in hair growth. High levels of T and DHT may influence the speed of your hair cycle, which can lead to thinning hair.
First, heres a quick refresher on hair growth:
- Your hair grows out of little capsules in your skin called follicles.
- Each follicle supports the growth of a single hair by a little under half an inch per month for about 2 to 6 years this is called the anagen phase.
- The follicle eventually shrivels up and cuts the hair off from the blood supply underneath, pushing the hair out permanently this is called the catagen phase.
- The follicle spends a few months resting and eventually generates a brand-new hair this is called the telogen phase.
- The process restarts back at the anagen phase and goes through the same phases again.
- These phases go on for many years until a follicle eventually cant produce any more hairs.
Its believed that the androgen receptor gene may increase T and DHT levels and speed up this cycle.
But a 2017 study found that at least 200 other possible genes may contribute to your chance of male pattern baldness.
Some environmental and lifestyle factors can also affect hair loss, including:
What Causes Hair Loss
Now, here’s the thing, male pattern baldness is caused by your sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone and it’s totally determined by your genetics. A boost in DHT will help with the growth of your beard, but it’ll also hinder your ability to keep your hair. This is why you see a lot of guys who are losing their hair, but have great beards.
So, almost every man goes through hair loss or male pattern baldness. Off the top of my head, I think 50% of men will see MPB by their 40’s and 67% of men will see it by their 60’s. When and the degree it affects you is up to your genetics. While your mother’s father will play a role into your hair loss, it’s not a 100% indicator. Ultimately, if a bunch of people in your family are bald, chances are it’ll happen to you, too.
I’d like for you to think of your hair loss like any other genetic factor – such as your height, eye color, or skin color. There are things you can do to work with it, but at the root of the issue, you’ll have to love the person looking back at you in the mirror. IE, you’re going to have to be cool with balding because that’s part of what makes you, you!
Change Your Hair Products
There is some evidence that many gels and other styling products may contribute to hair loss, as the chemicals within these products stay on the scalp and become trapped in the follicles, preventing the hair from coming to the surface. Avoid excessive use of hair gels and try more natural styling products, which contain fewer chemicals.
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How Does Hair Grow
Your scalp is home to about 100,000 hairs. Each one has its own life cycle. A follicle produces a single hair that grows at a rate of half an inch per month. It hangs in there for 2 to 6 years, then stops for about a month. When the next cycle starts up, that hair falls out. At any given time, most of your locks are in the growth phase.
Hair Loss Prevention: How To Stop It Falling Out And Thinning With Stress
Causes, prevention and treatment… we speak to an award-winning hair doctor to get some advice on preserving your precious locks
e are living in stressful times.
For some the mask wearing, hand washing, food hoarding and job uncertainty will cause sleepless nights, for others it might trigger, or exacerbate existing, hair loss.
Its well established that hair loss can be related to emotional stress or anxiety, award-winning dermatologist Dr. Serkan Aygin tells the Standard. When youre stressed or anxious, your body produces whats known as the fight or flight response. This is when your body is making extra hormones to prepare it to deal with whatever it thinks of as being a potential threat. This change in your hormone levels can have effects all around your body. When these extra hormones are made, they can affect the growth patterns of the hair follicles on your scalp.
Theres usually about a three-month delay between the stressful event or time period and the moment your hair starts falling out. So anyone feeling the Covid-19 anxiety, might not actually notice any hair loss until the end of summer.
The good news though, is that hair loss due to stress tends to be temporary. Unless theres another underlying medical reason for your hair loss, it should only last for as long as youre going through that particular period of stress or anxiety, says Dr. Aygin, who has treated over 10,000 patients for hair loss at his eponymous specialist hair clinic.
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Combat Hair Loss And Encourage Growth
If your hair loss is genetic, see a doctor. You could be on the road to stopping the loss and growing new hair in no time. Do not wait or think you are beyond help. You are not.
In the case of hair loss due to illness or some other medical condition, many of the same changes made for environmental hair loss can help you.
Start today with a few simple steps at your fingertips. Decide to go to bed earlier tonight. Make a change in your work or social calendar that allows for just an hour or two each week for self-care. Add one or two fruits or vegetables to your daily meal plan. Even with smoking, you can start today. Determine that you will only smoke outside, while sitting down, with no distractions. It is the first step to limiting your habit and changing it up a bit.
All of these small changes can have enormous impacts on your hair growth. It only takes you deciding to try one small thing, and then another, and then another.
Secondary Factors In Hair Loss
Yeah, its true that MPB is primarily driven by genetics and the other three-headed monster, DHT. But there are other things that potentially figure into the mix, too.
Age Weve kind of touched on this one already, but the bottom line is that the rate of hair growth slows as you get older. An elderly guy with a full head of hair is worthy of our praise because he has somehow defied the odds of aging and genetics. Bravo, kind sir!
Smoking You know that smoking is bad for you, but were not here to lecture. Among smokings many negative health effects, heavy smokers are more likely to experience hair loss than non-smokers. By heavy smoker, we mean someone who smokes 20 cigarettes a day, or more. Why? Because smoking messes with your blood circulation and that means less blood flow to your hair follicles.
Alcohol Many men enjoy a cocktail or two at the end of a long day of a work or a long week, and theres absolutely nothing wrong with that. But unrestrained alcohol consumption may contribute to hair loss because alcohol raises estrogen levels while Zinc levels are reduced. And Zinc is an essential mineral for growing hair.
Poor Diet Maintaining a healthy diet is excellent for a lot of reasons, including that its good for hair health. For instance, protein is essential for prolonging your hairs growing phase, so making sure that your diet includes a sufficient amount of protein is important. A diet that doesnt include enough iron can lead to hair loss, as well.
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Inappropriate Hair Styles And Styling Tools
Blow dryers
The use of different styling tools for example blow dryer causes significant damage to your hair because the heat from the dryer strips the serum from your hair making it look dry and dull. To reduce damage on your locks, you should set your hair dryer on a low setting and constantly move it in up and down motions.
A 2011 study published in the Annals of Dermatology reports that using a hair dryer causes more surface damage than natural drying. When using a dryer you can use it at a distance of 15cm with continuous motion which causes relatively less damage.
Other styling treatments like straightening and curling contribute to more hair loss when done frequently.
Fix
When using a hair straightener or curler to style your hair, you should use less heat to avoid hair breakage. Minimize the frequency of use.
Hair Claws/Clamps/Clips
This are tools used to hold hair. These tools can lead to hair falling not only when used inappropriately but also when used correctly.
Fix
Of course the best way is to avoid these hair holding tools if you can. If you must use them, make sure to evenly separate your hair before sectioning. This will help reduce occurrence of pesky crosshairs.
Heat Damage-Flat Irons etc.
Heat also causes mid-shaft splits which opens and results to hair breakage, it also leads to the issue of split ends widening.
Solution
Trims are the best way to end this problem. If you carry out this process ensure not to overdo it. Just once in a while.
Fix
Products And Hair Styling Tools To Avoid
Hair breakage can be as a result of too harsh products that can leave your hair less and unhealthy. According to top stylists the worst hair products that should be avoided at all costs include the following:
Plastic brushes: According to Caroline Greyl president of Leonor Greyl, plastic brushes should not be used on your hair because they have a tendency to break the hairs. Instead you should try a pure boar bristle brush, like wigo cushion 100% boar bristle brush.
Cheap shampoo: According to Saviano, you should be careful when buying shampoo since some brands strip color and remove hairs natural oils with high quantities of sulfates and other lathering ingredients. If you do choose a drugstore shampoo, look for one that is low in sulfates and contain moisturizing components.
Zinc pyrithione and coal Tar: These ingredients are the most common active properties in dandruff-fighting shampoos but Greyl warns that they can be incredibly harsh on the scalp and surrounding skin.
Salt sprays: Many salt sprays actually dry out your hair in the process of obtaining those crunchy waves which makes your hair dry leading to breakage.
Silicone-based products: Silicone creates the illusion of healthy, shiny hair while actually further drying out the hair from the inside which is exactly unlucky as it sounds. Silicone coats the hair shaft for a smooth shiny finish but it prevents the real nutrients from conditioners to penetrate into the hair shaft.
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Top 5 Hair Loss Hairstyles For Hair Thinning At The Crown
1. Boy Cut
In my grandmas day, it was a bouffant hairstyle, and it is the one she has always sported. Hair cut super short, what we would call a boy cut or a pixie cut today, and then blown dry and blown out, sprayed and teased up. The more voluminous the effect, the less the eye is drawn to your thinning crown.
2. Bob It
Whenever I cut my hair short, I typically go with a boy cut and then grow it out to a bob. I love bob haircuts, and because you have a bit more hair length, you can create styles around your face that draw attention away from your crown.
3. Beehive
If you are a rebel with a cause, you can sport an Amy Winehouse cut. Allow your hair to grow long and then pile it up on top of your head with lots of blow-drying and product. It is one of the coolest looks I have ever seen, thinning hair or not.
4. Texturize!
You can truly achieve this look with any hair length or cut. It is my go-to when I leave my hair down, short or long. Think beachy curls, messy waves, wild bob. It is a great on-the-go look, too, because the intention is for it to look carefree. You just wash, dry, throw some mousse or texturizer in, and ruffle your hair up a lot. You can let it air dry or blow dry it if you must.
5. Invest in a Wig
Causes Of Hair Loss In Men
Men can experience baldness or hair loss for different reasons.
While there are many causes of hair loss, the most likely cause is genetics. Finding out whether hair loss is due to genetics or another factor can help a doctor determine the best course of treatment.
Male pattern baldness is a hereditary condition and the most common cause of male baldness. It can start as early as puberty or develop much later in life. It often occurs gradually and in predictable patterns, affecting the temples and the front of the middle of the scalp.
Most often, a man will be left with a horseshoe pattern of hair. Heredity affects how fast, at what age, and to what extent someone will experience baldness.
Men with male pattern baldness inherit hair that is sensitive to DHT, the hormone that can shorten the lifespan of the individual hair follicles.
Some of the other more common causes of hair loss for men include:
Some less common causes of hair loss include:
- Radiation treatment: If a man receives any sort of radiation treatment near the scalp, the hair may fall out and grow back in a different way than before.
- Hairstyles or treatments: Wearing hair in ways that pull it excessively or treating it with oils and color can cause permanent hair loss.
- Natural triggers:Stress, childbirth, fever, surgery, or extreme trauma may result in loss of hair. Often, the thinning will reverse when the triggering event is over.
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How Much Is Considered As Normal Hair Breakage
Owing to the fact that there are different types of hair, the amount varies from one hair type to another or at least person to person. According to hair experts, losing few strands isnt a problem. It is normal. But hair that is consistently breaking in large amounts is sign that there is something wrong.
Fact: No matter how cautious, soft or tender with your tresses, a few strands will have to fall out. You can as well have hair breakage accidently. It does happen. You aim should be to reduce and prevent the chances of breakage.
Underlying Causes For Hair Loss
Numerous problems can trigger female hair loss. Some are external, such as taking certain medications, frequently wearing hairstyles that pull the hair too tight, or even a stressful event such as surgery. In other cases, thinning hair is triggered by something going on inside the body for instance, a thyroid problem, a shift in hormones, a recent pregnancy, or an inflammatory condition.
Hair loss may also be genetic. The most common genetic condition is known as female-pattern hair loss, or androgenic alopecia. Women with this condition might notice a widening of the part at the top of the head, often beginning when a woman is in her 40s or 50s. You might experience this if you inherit certain genes from one or both parents. Hormonal shifts that occur during menopause may also spur it.
Another trigger for hair loss in women is an inflammatory condition affecting the scalp. That might be eczema, psoriasis, or a condition called frontal fibrosing alopecia, which typically causes scarring and hair loss sometimes permanent at the front of the scalp above the forehead.
Other common causes of hair loss include overuse of damaging hair products, or tools such as dryers and other devices that heat the hair. Underlying illness, autoimmune conditions such as lupus, nutritional deficiencies, or hormonal imbalances may also cause hair to shed.
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