Men inherit the baldness gene from the X chromosome that they get from their mother. Female baldness is genetically inherited from either the mother's or father's side of the family. Baldness may be influenced by a number of other factors as well, including age, health, diet, hormones, seasonal changes and climate.
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.
One popular myth is that hair loss in men is passed down from the mother's side of the family while hair loss in women is passed down from the father's side; however, the truth is that the genes for hair loss and hair loss itself are actually passed down from both sides of the family.
There are several other causes of hair lossincluding medical illnesses like thyroid, or diabetes; stress, certain medications can cause it too like anti-coagulants, blood thinners, etc, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalance, crash dieting, and oral contraceptives.
As for the heredity of baldness we have found out that both parents play a major role in the baldness gene and hope we have answered to the "Will you be bald if your father is?" question. So, how to know if you will go bald, the short answer is, if your dad is bald there's a high chance that you'll be bald as well.
Male pattern baldness tends to be hereditary and runs in families. Sometimes men go against family traits and lose hair even if their male relatives don't. This may be due to the baldness gene skipping a generation or lifestyle choices switching the gene on.
The only way to absolutely predict whether or not you will go bald is to have a swab test to determine your sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
You have a chance of going bald even if your mom doesn't have baldness in her family. Many of these other baldness genes are involved in making hair. Your hair grows out of tiny holes called “follicles”. And the cells that make the hair are called “hair follicle cells”.
If your mom's dad is bald, then there's a high chance you'll go bald in the future. If your father is bald as well, then those chances go up even more! But even if baldness doesn't run in your mom's family, it's still possible you'll go bald.
Skipping a Generation: Myth or Fact
There is no scientific basis for the idea that baldness skip generations, regardless of any old wives tales you may have heard from the grapevine.
Baldness is hereditary
So while you may well share some of your father's DNA as well as your grandfathers' on both sides - as well as DNA from the female sides of your family - it doesn't necessarily mean that you will inherit the gene - or set of genes - involved in genetic hair loss.
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.
Certain races have higher rates of hair loss compared to others. Caucasians have the highest rates out of all the ethnic groups. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Native American Indians, Inuits, and Chinese have the lowest rates.
The stages of progression of hair loss may or may not travel through each of all the stages and the development may stop at any time. Also, as previously stated, after the age of 30-35, hair loss slows down and gradually stabilizes.
Baldness can of course skip generations! If you have bald relatives on both sides of your family tree the chances are high you will be too. However, if the baldness shows up only on one side, it's highly possible the MPB gene will skip not only you but also your siblings.
Hereditary hair loss cannot be prevented, but there are medical treatments that can maintain, improve, and optimize hair growth, such as minoxidil, finasteride, and spironolactone. Topical minoxidil is FDA-approved for hair loss in men and women.
It usually takes 15-25 years to go bald, but can be quicker. Typically, at first the hair begins to thin (recede) at the sides (temples). At the same time, the hair usually becomes thin on the top of the head. A bald patch gradually develops in the middle of the scalp.
It is related to aging, heredity, and changes in the hormone testosterone. Inherited, or pattern baldness, affects many more men than women. Male pattern baldness can occur at any time after puberty. About 80% of men show signs of male pattern baldness by age 70 years.
While there is a link between some androgens (male sex hormones) and hair loss, the theory that bald guys have more testosterone and thus lose more hair is false.