How To Treat & Prevent Hair Loss As A Tee
Hair loss can be a stressful event, especially when it occurs relatively early in your life. Its quite common and normal to feel stressed and alarmed when you first notice that your hair is thinning or that your hairline is receding.
Luckily, male pattern baldness is treatable. Although dealing with hair loss early might feel like a curse, the reality is that by acting quickly you can protect your hairline and maintain your hair as you get older.
Remember, the earlier you start treating hair loss, the more of your hair youll generally be able to protect and maintain.
Is There Anything I Can Do To Stop My Hair From Falling Out Naturally
Everyone loses hair naturally and it is normal for hair to thin somewhat when you get older. But the truth is that male pattern hair loss is a genetic condition that cannot be stopped entirely.
There is a condition called Traction Alopecia, which is caused by constant pulling or tension of your hairs over a long period. You dont have to be dragged around the floor by your head to suffer from this either if you often wear tight braids, particularly cornrows, or tight ponytails, you are more likely to get Traction Alopecia. So try not to pull your hair tight excessively. Some experts also recommend exercise as a good way to maintain a healthy head of hair.
And There’s Nothing Wrong With A Bald Head
Were all about taking action when it comes to dealing with hair loss but when your hair loss becomes so extensive that you dont have many options, such as those weve talked about above, then shaving your head is OK.
The good news is, if youre bald youll probably be able to grow a nice thick beard, and the two go hand-in-hand. After all, the bald look by itself is pretty bland, but when you pair it with a beard, it takes on a different and much better look.
Now, like a patchy beard, a bald hairstyle will look better shorter. Some guys choose to go completely bald on the entire head and that can require a little more maintenance than a stubble style. The other advantage of the stubble bald look is if you wear a hat, others won’t be able to tell you are thin up top. Other considerations of balding will be to grow a beard out and to accessorize with sunglasses or hats which we talked about in this video on bald style techniques.
With that, hopefully you are well prepared to tackle your hair loss journey. Don’t worry about it as most guys will deal with it in some shape. It sucks because it’s out of our control, but many obstacles in life are. Hair or no hair, you’ll still be able to find your soulmate, find friends, get a job, and live a long and healthy life.
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What Can I Do About My Hair Loss
If you have male pattern hair loss, you have options to consider after seeing your health care provider. You could do nothing at all, shave your head, or use medication that helps hair growth.
Doing nothing: If your hair loss isnt due to a physical condition, theres no medical reason for you to treat it. Losing your hair wont make you any less healthy. Some guys feel totally comfortable with their hair loss, and thats great! If you dont feel comfortable, thats totally normal too.
Shaving your head: Some guys start shaving their head, and like how it looks.
Some bald men you might recognize:
- Kevin Garnett, NBA all-star
- Dwayne The Rock Johnson, actor and former professional wrestler
- Terry Crews, actor
- Pitbull, musician
Medication: If you would like to treat your hair loss, the FDA has approved two medications for use in men in the United States.
- Minoxidil: Minoxidil is a medicine that works to promote hair growth. It comes in two forms that are applied to your scalp: a solution or a foam. You can buy it over-the-counter at a local pharmacy or supermarket. If you use Rogaine®, make sure to read the directions carefully. Minoxidil should be taken for at least two times a day for at least 4 months to see any early results.
- Finasteride: Finasteride is another medicine that supports hair growth. It comes as a tablet . You need aa prescription from your health care provider in order to get this medicine.
Remember
Going Going Gone: I Started Losing My Hair At 16
Sam Wolfson was a schoolboy when he noticed a bald patch the size of a coin on the top of his head. Soon, he was wearing hats all day. At 24, is it time to consider surgery?
If Id always been as hairless as I am now, that would be one thing. But I can remember a time when I didnt have to tilt my head back in photographs. A time before I wore beanies like self-esteem prophylactics, when Id be OK about someone walking behind me when going down the stairs.
My aunt ran a leisure centre, and once a year throughout my childhood she would close it to the public and hold a Hanukah party for our extended family often the only time I would see my relatives. Before fressing and presents, the whole family would go for a swim. On this one day, I would see my uncles and cousins, semi-naked, splashing about in a recreation of the placental gloop from which we all came. These bald, chubby men, covered in damp, matted hair everywhere except where it should be sloppy otters slipping into a lake.
Then there was me. With thick, copper locks that looked golden under strip-lighting, I felt very different from these suburban, unsexual blobs on my family tree. I was a skinny-jeaned indie kid who knew where the good squat parties would be, and who got to snog girls a lot more attractive than I was. My hair was what separated me from them it made me feel like a tearaway.
Im shown my pattern of hair loss on a chart of men with pixellated faces, as if they’re ashamed to be seen
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Women Reveal What It’s Like To Experience Hair Loss
Androgenetic alopecia is a slow and progressive reduction in hair volume, Kingsley said. It occurs when you have a genetic predisposition that causes hair follicles on your scalp to be sensitive to normal levels of circulating androgens .
In other words, your hair follicles gradually shrink and produce hairs that are slightly finer and shorter with each passing hair growth cycle. Even though this type of hair loss is mostly reliant on genes, Kingsley said other factors can influence it as well. For instance, certain contraceptives and hormone-replacement therapies that effect hormone levels can aggravate the problem if there’s already a genetic predisposition to follicle sensitivity.
Telogen effluvium, on the other hand, is characterized by excessive daily hair fall with more hairs falling out when women shampoo or brush/style their hair. It can take 8-12 weeks for hair to fall out after a triggering event. It is a reactive alopecia, triggered by an internal disruption, Kingsley said. As hair is non-essential tissue, it is very sensitive to fluctuations to general health.
Certain vitamin deficiencies like Vitamin D, iron and ferritin , for instance and other factors like crash dieting, thyroid issues and pregnancy can also trigger telogen effluvium.
Hair Treatment Coloring And Styling
Regularly coloring your hair or getting chemical hair treatments can damage your hair, and potentially lead to an increase in hair breakage. These treatments dont usually affect your hair root, and your hair will likely grow back once you stop treatment.
Chlorine found in swimming pools, bleaching your hair, and exposing your hair to excessive heat are also all potential causes of hair damage.
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How Can I Treat It
Baldness is a natural process. Firstly you need to ask yourself whether you really want to treat it or if you can find a way to accept it rather than try to camouflage bald spots or regain your hair completely.
If you do want treatment, there are two drugs that can help.
Minoxidil lotion is applied twice daily to the scalp. Not available on NHS prescription, but can be purchased over-the-counter. About 60 per cent of patients benefit from it to varying degrees. Its effects start to wear off as soon as it is stopped.
Finasteride is a medicine taken in tablet form that partially blocks the effects of the male hormones . Propecia has been shown to halt further hair loss and promote re-growth of scalp hair in approximately 80 per cent of patients after three to six months. The treatment benefits also stop when you stop taking the medication. Only available on prescription and is available on some NHS primary care trust lists for certain conditions.
You might also consider cosmetic surgery, which is a reliable way to replace lost hair. Methods include transplants, scalp reductions and flap surgery although all are expensive long-term solutions.
Taking Oral Birth Control Pills
If youre one of the many women who are sensitive to hair shedding or thinning due to hormonal changes, the wrong oral birth control can weaken your hair. A pill that contains androgens can cause hair loss for someone whos androgen sensitive and doesnt know it, says Dr. Bauman.
Save your strands: Switch to low-androgen index birth control pills like norgestimate , norethindrone , desogestrel , or ethynodiol diacetate . If you want to know whether you have an androgen sensitivity, a hair restoration physician can perform a quick cheek-swab genetic test.
MORE:The Crazy Link Between The Pill And Inflammation
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Common Causes For Hair Loss In Teenage Girls
Hair loss in teenage girls can cause emotional trauma at a critical time in their lives.
If youre an aging adult, you’ve probably come to terms with and have started to accept that youre slowly losing your hair. On the other hand, what if you are a teenage girl, losing her precious hair at the prime of her life? Hair loss in teenage girls can cause emotional trauma at a critical time in their lives.
However, this hair loss can happen for several reasons, and you can often treat and prevent it successfully.
1. Hormones
As young girls turn into growing teenagers, they go through many bodily changes, including changes in their hormones. These hormones then fluctuate their emotions, eating habits, and their hair growth.
Because the root cause of hair loss lies in one special hormone, present in both men and women, you can understand how hormonal changes and imbalances create such a problem. The hormone responsible for hair loss in anyone is dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. This hormone usually manifests in men however, women and girls have low levels of testosterone as well.
Unfortunately, with the help of an enzyme that rests in the hairs oil glands, testosterone changes to DHT. Then, DHT literally shrinks the hair follicles, causing hair to fall out. Teenage girls may experience this hair loss until the hormones balance out in their bodies.
2. Medicine
3. Poor nutrition
4. Over-Styling
5. Deeper Medical Condition
Other Possible Causes Of Hair Loss
Although most hair loss is caused by male pattern baldness, several other factors may cause you to shed hair during your teens:
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Nutritional deficiencies.Several nutritional deficiencies, including iron deficiency and others, can cause shedding and temporary hair loss. Some vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin D, are also important for healthy hair growth.
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Stress, anxiety and other psychological factors. Stress, traumatic experiences and other events can cause a form of temporary hair loss called telogen effluvium a topic weve talked about more in our guide to stress-related hair loss.
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Medical conditions and infections. Some medical conditions, such as thyroid disease and hormonal health issues, may cause hair loss. Infections that affect your scalp may also cause you to lose hair on certain parts of your head.
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Damage to your hair. Some types of damage, such as tension from certain hairstyles, scarring or follicular damage from autoimmune diseases, can affect your hair and result in temporary or permanent hair loss.
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Medications. Some medications, including acne medications, ADHD medications and some medications used to treat psychological disorders, may cause hair loss as a side effect.
Our guide to the causes of hair loss explains more about the numerous factors that may lead to hair loss during your teens, 20s and later in life.
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If Your Hairs Suddenly Feeling Thinner Heres What Could Be Going On
While it’s odd to think of yourself shedding hair in the summertime, it’s a reality for many of usespecially those who live in a place that experiences big temperature swings this time of year.
What’s going on? “When you have a major environmental change, so like right now when the temperature’s going from the 50s to the 90s in a day, that sudden change can shift more of your hair into what’s called the telogen phase,” says Adam Friedman, MD, an associate professor of dermatology at George Washington University.
Friedman explains that this telogen hair phase is also known as the “death” phase, and it’s completely normal. In fact, around 20% of your hair is in this death phase at any given time. That means it has stopped growing, and will soon fall out. “A healthy woman loses 150 to 175 hairs a day, while men lose a little less,” Friedman says. Meanwhile, you’re always making new hair.
But when the seasons transition and the weather goes through violent temperature swings, those shifts can place mild stress on your body. “That stress can force some of your hair from the growth or anagen phase into that telogen phase,” Friedman explains.
First of all, your hair won’t fall out immediately or all at once. It will take a couple months for the phase shift to result in hair loss. So while your body may have felt the temperature-induced stress in April and May, you may not notice your increased rate of hair loss until July or August, Friedman says.
Why Am I Losing My Hair Is It Genetic
If you have male pattern baldness, you are losing your hair because your body is becoming increasingly sensitive to male sex hormones called androgens. The extent to which your scalp is affected by this process is hereditary.
You can also lose your hair because of illness or surgical procedures, stressful circumstances, changes in hormone levels and scalp infections. But in many cases hair loss is not permanent.
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