Male pattern baldness tends to develop slowly
Treatment can reduce further hair loss, and some men regrow a bit of their hair. The men who tend to see the best results start treatment soon after noticing hair loss. Here's what's available to treat androgenetic alopecia (the medical name for this type of hair loss).
While there's no cure for hair loss, there are ways to effectively treat the symptoms and keep the hair you have. Regular use of minoxidil or finasteride (or a combination of the two) can mitigate the effects of male pattern baldness and stop hair loss.
Male pattern baldness generally isn't a sign of a serious medical problem, but it has been linked with some other conditions including coronary heart disease, an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.
There is no cure for hair loss. Some hair loss is temporary and the hair will grow back. For those experiencing male pattern baldness, treatments like Finasteride and Propecia can help halt hair loss and in some cases stimulate regrowth.
On average it takes 15-25 years for men to go completely bald. This process can begin at any age. About two thirds of men are either bald or have a balding pattern by the age of 60. In a nutshell, there is no particular age when you can expect to see hair loss.
By the time you turn 30, you have a 25% chance of displaying some balding. By age 50, 50% of men have at least some noticeable hair loss. By age 60, about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern. While hair loss is more common as you get older, it doesn't necessarily make it any easier to accept.
Blood-thinning medications, oral contraceptives, drugs for depression, anti-inflammatories, and beta and calcium channel blockers can all lead to thinning hair or baldness. Too much vitamin A and vitamin A–based drugs called retinoids can cause hair loss as well.
Those people who have long hair and wonder, “Does having long hair make you bald?” will be pleased to know that simply, long hair does not cause balding. Balding, also known as androgenetic and pattern hair loss, is a hereditary condition. Pattern hair loss is biological.
Wearing your hair too long will make it look thinner
Hair gets thinner at the ends, so the longer your hair, the more obvious your thinning locks will be.
Hair type. Fine hair features thinner strands, which can make the scalp more visible. This is a natural characteristic and not necessarily a sign of hair loss or thinning. On the other hand, those with thicker hair strands usually have less visible scalps due to the increased volume and density of their hair.
About 70% of men will lose hair as they get older. And 25% of bald men see first signs of hair loss before age 21. “Recent advances offer a lot of hope in both treating and preventing different types of baldness,” says dermatologist Amy Kassouf, MD. For example, researchers can now grow hair follicles in a lab.
One-fifth of men will experience significant hair loss by age of 20(!), and that percentage grows proportional to age. Bauman says that significant loss increases steadily with age: 30 percent will experience it in their 30s, 40 percent in 40s, and so on.
The X or female chromosome carries the primary baldness gene, and men inherit this X chromosome from their mothers. This makes the hereditary factor around baldness most dominant on your mother's side.
There is no wrong time to do it.
There's no wrong time to go bald, but there are some more common times guys usually get it done: when hair is thinning, falling out, receding, etc.
3. Hair Loss. Even though many men experience male pattern baldness naturally, a decrease in the amount of testosterone may also be a significant contributing factor to balding. Hair loss in patients with low testosterone isn't limited to the scalp, thinning body hair may also be a signal of a testosterone deficiency.
Men normally lose their hair when three main factors interact: genetics, age, and hormones. Also known as androgenetic alopecia, male-pattern baldness happens as hormone levels change over the course of a man's life. Genetic factors also affect the likelihood of male-pattern baldness.
“Vitamins are essential for healthy hair growth and may help in preventing hair shedding and thinning,” says Michele Green, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist in New York. “The best vitamins for hair growth include B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, biotin and iron.