The Balding Crown: An Early Sign Of Male Pattern Baldness
When youre young, you feel invincible. You take your hair for granted wearing it long or styling it freely. And, in the joys of youth, youd never think your hairs days are numbered.
The tragic thing is that, for the majority of us men, a full head of hair doesnt last forever. And the first signs of balding inevitably come as a shock. Its usually a receding hairline, or thinning hair across the whole scalp. Yet, theres another early sign of balding that can be really traumatic. Thats the bald spot.
In this article, well talk you through some of the early signs of the balding crown as well as a couple of steps you can take to manage it. We know you might not feel its the best look, but its not the end of the world. With effective hair loss treatments out there, you can regain that youthful confidence.
When To See A Doctor
See your doctor if you dont see any progress with the use of home or over-the-counter treatments for thinning hair, especially if your hair loss is causing you stress or disrupting your daily life.
Seek medical help as soon as possible if you notice any of the following along with thinning hair:
- losing large amounts of hair elsewhere on your body
- losing hair in large patches or chunks
- losing or gaining an abnormal amount of weight without any major diet or lifestyle changes
- unusual symptoms like fever, chills, or fatigue
The Thyroid Disease Connection
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that rests in the front base of the neck. It secretes thyroid hormones that are used by every cell in the body. There’s a connection between hair loss in women and thyroid disease. Imbalances in thyroid hormone levels are a common reason for hair loss in women. Too much thyroid hormone and too little thyroid hormone may both trigger hair loss. Other symptoms of hyperthyroidism include weight loss, rapid heart rate, inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, and anxiety. In addition to hair loss, hypothyroidism may be associated with weight gain, fatigue, feeling cold, slow heart rate, and constipation. Luckily, thyroid hormone imbalances are easily detectable with blood tests. Treatment helps alleviate symptoms, including hair loss.
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Beware Of Big Promises
There are numerous devices and products that are marketed as effective hair loss treatments, but many of them do not work. Beware of all of the false advertising associated with these products. If a cure for hair loss in women sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Before-and-after pictures may have been doctored to be misleading. How do you know if a hair loss treatment really works? Ask your dermatologist about any treatment you are considering. Look on the FDA and Federal Trade Commission websites to search for approved medical devices and drugs.
How To Stop Hair Thinning And Prevent Balding
Unless youre rocking a shaved head, you most likely want to maintain a full head of hair. But unfortunately, hair thinning and balding has become a common problem these days.
Some factors that can contribute to or lead to thinning hair or baldness are genes, untreated medical conditions, poor nutrition, vitamin deficiency, exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays and living in a highly polluted area.
Severe physical or emotional trauma, post-pregnancy hormonal changes and chemotherapy also can cause hair thinning and balding.
Even styling your hair can lead to thinning hair and bald patches over time. Continual use of hot styling tools, frequent shampooing, vigorous or frequent brushing, and using a lot of hair products can all lead to breakage and thinning hair.
Although you cant reverse balding that is related to genetics, you can protect your hair from damage that may eventually lead to thinning. If youre already dealing with thinning hair or bald spots, these home remedies also promote hair growth.
Here are the top 10 ways to stop hair thinning and prevent balding.
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What Steps Can I Take To Prevent Or Slow Hair Loss
Unfortunately, certain types of hair loss are genetic, and very little can be done to prevent them. Genetic types of hair loss include alopecia areata and female pattern hair loss.
But other types of hair loss can be brought on by stress and a poor diet. Do your best to eat a balanced diet, and find ways to take care of your mental health.
For added benefit, stay up to date with your routine checkups. Anemia, low levels of vitamin D and abnormal thyroid hormones can all affect the health of your hair. Simple bloodwork from your primary care physician can determine if these conditions are contributing to your hair loss.
Black women in particular are prone to a type of hair loss called traction alopecia, which is caused by heat, chemicals and tight styles that pull at the hair root, including some braids, dreadlocks, extensions and weaves.
Get A Hormone Boost To Reduce Hair Loss
Hair loss increases after menopause when estrogen levels fall. This also increases the relative influence of the small amount of testosterone hormone that is made in the ovaries and adrenal glands.
Testosterone is converted into a stronger hormone in hair follicles which increases male and female-pattern hair loss which is genetically determined.
If you are willing to take estrogen hormone replacement therapy, this will help to boost hair quality. Once again, this is something that you can discuss with your doctor.
An alternative approach is to consume more plant estrogens, especially isoflavones and lignans. Although these are between 500 and a thousand times less active than human estrogen, they can provide a useful hormone boost. Isoflavones are found in edamame beans, tofu, miso, and other soy products, sweet potato, lentils, nuts, and seeds.
As well as having an oestrogen-like action, lignans provide an additional benefit by inhibiting the enzyme , which converts testosterone to the stronger dihydrotestosterone in hair follicles. Research shows that increasing your intake of lignans are associated with a reduced rate of hair loss and hair regeneration.
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How To Thicken Hair
When it comes to making thin hair thicker, combating the issue at the source is often the best option. As such, lifestyle changes can be incredibly useful for preventing and treating hair loss. In particular, your diet can have a significant effect on your hair, so be sure to watch what you eat and drink. Adding more protein, Omega 3, iron, and vitamin C to your diet as well as drinking more water and less alcohol can seriously improve the health and growth of your hair. Alternatively, speak to your doctor about taking supplements or hair growth vitamins if you arent getting enough nutrients naturally. Due to its power to increase circulation, regular exercise is another factor that can help thicken your hair.
As for your hair itself, be sure to treat it carefully to maintain its health and ability to grow. Not only does this mean that you should use specialized products, but it also requires limiting your use of hairdryers and hot styling tools. As high heat can damage your hair and cause breakage and hair loss, allowing your hair to dry naturally is ideal if youre looking to thicken your locks. If you must use a dryer, be sure to put it on a low setting and use a heat protectant spray. If, after making these changes, your hair still requires an extra boost, consider trialing natural hair remedies, regrowth treatments, and volumizing products.
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!
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Be Mindful Of Birth Control Pills
Birth control pills are a form of contraception that works by suppressing ovulation and/or making it more difficult for a fertilized egg to implant into the lining of the uterus. Hormonal hair loss in women may occur when women start or stop taking certain kinds of contraceptives. The hormones that make birth control pills effective may also cause hair thinning in women who use them. You are more likely to experience this side effect from birth control pills if you have a family history of hair loss. Stopping the pill is also a cause of hair loss in women. Hormones are not the only medication that may be associated with hair loss. Blood thinners and blood pressure medications may do it, too. So can drugs used to treat depression, heart disease, and arthritis.
Follow This Healthy Hair Lifestyle Checklist
- Avoid excess stress.
- Stimulate the circulation to your scalp with a daily finger massage. Also take handfuls of hair and gentle move the scalp to and fro, and side to side, to loosen tension and promote blood flow.
- Use a shampoo containing green tea caffeine which blocks DHT production and stimulates hair growth. Caffeine also reduces smooth muscle constriction around hair follicles to improve blood flow and nutrient delivery.
- Ask your doctor if you need any tests to assess your thyroid function, to measure your serum ferritin levels to look for iron deficiency, or if any other hormone imbalances are likely.
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Early Signs Of Balding And How To Stop Hair Loss
Medically reviewed by Kristin Hall, FNP
Like most signs of aging, androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness, doesnt happen overnight. In fact, for most men, going bald is a gradual process.
One of the keys to stopping hair loss is learning about the common signs of baldness and taking action as early as possible. Simply put, the earlier you take action to prevent hair loss, the more hair youll be able to save.
Unfortunately, identifying hair loss isnt always easy. With many myths about balding circling the internet, it is easy to mistake normal hair loss for male pattern baldness.
Luckily, there are some real signs of male pattern baldness that you can use to identify and deal with hair loss. Learn about hair loss treatments from Hims.
Childbirth May Be A Trigger
Moms-to-be are often very happy that their hair seems much fuller during pregnancy, but they are then disappointed when they experience hair loss after giving birth. Losing hair after pregnancy is not true hair loss and is normal. That’s because hormones and hair loss in women are linked. Hair falls out after women give birth due to decreasing estrogen levels. Some women notice that they lose a lot of hair in a short period of time after giving birth. The good news is that after this shedding period, hair fullness often returns to normal within 1 to 2 years. Many people wonder what’s the best treatment for hair loss in women? For postpartum moms waiting for their full head of hair to return, using over-the-counter volumizing shampoo and conditioner formulated for fine hair can make hair appear fuller.
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Consider These Useful Supplements For Healthy Hair
- A multivitamin and mineral to guard against deficiencies .
- Soy isoflavones . If you have a medical history of a hormone dependent condition check with your doctor before taking them although evidence suggests they are beneficial in these cases, too.
- A probiotic will supply beneficial digestive bacteria which may help to increase conversion of soy isoflavones to a stronger oestrogenic version called equol.
- Flaxseed oil is one of the richest dietary sources of lignans.
- Some nutritionists may recommend l-lysine amino acid supplements.
Ringworm And Hair Loss
Ringworm is a fungal skin infection that causes patches of hair loss. The official medical name for ringworm on the scalp is tinea capitis. The infection starts out as a small pimple that grows larger. Affected areas are itchy, red, inflamed, scaly patches with temporary baldness. The skin may ooze. People may have one or more bald spots. Ringworm is more common in children, but adults can get it, too.
The fungus triggers hair loss by causing hair to become brittle and to break off. The skin often appears most red around the edge of the lesion, with a more normal appearing skin tone in the center. That is one of the reasons the condition is called ringworm. The condition is contagious with skin-to-skin contact. It is also transmissible by infected combs, hairbrushes, unwashed clothing, and surfaces in gyms, showers, and pool areas. Your doctor can treat ringworm with oral antifungal medication. Ringworm on the scalp is one potential cause of hair loss in women that is reversible.
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What Are The Myths About Hair Loss
Myths about hair loss are widespread. Nothing in the following list is true:
- Youre losing hair because you shampoo it too much, or because youve colored it or gotten a perm.
- Dandruff causes permanent hair loss in women.
- Stress causes permanent hair loss in women.
- If you shave your head, your hair will grow back twice as thick.
- If you stand on your head youll increase circulation, stimulating hair growth.
- If you brush your hair 100 strokes a day that will make your hair healthier.
- Hats and wigs cause hair loss in women.
- Hair loss only affects intellectual women.