Statistics show that men are much more likely to experience hair loss at some point in their lives than women are. More than 55% of women and 85% of men are likely to experience some kind of hair loss in their lifetime.
While higher testosterone levels drive more obvious baldness in men, female hair loss happens when a woman who is genetically predisposed to the condition is exposed to androgens – predominantly male hormones that also exist in women.
You may be more likely to go bald if your dad is bald — but this isn't always the case. The AR gene is found on the X chromosome. In men, the X chromosome is inherited from your mother. That's why many people believe the baldness gene comes from your mum's side of the family.
There are racial differences, however, in the incidence of male pattern baldness. The highest rates are found among Caucasians, followed by Afro-Caribbeans. Chinese and Japanese men have the lowest rates. For some unknown reason, this form of hair loss is does not occur among Native Americans.
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.
Caucasians Lose The Most Hair
In terms of which ethnicity tends to experience the most hair loss, Caucasians are the undisputed leaders.
Some people who don't lose their hair have low levels of the enzyme that converts testosterone, and so more recently researchers have been seeking ways of blocking the enzyme in others. A treatment called finasteride works on this principle, but it is expensive and needs to be or hair loss begins again.
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.
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.
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”.
The average diameter, or thickness, of Asian hair is from 80 to 120 µm, compared to 65 µm in Caucasian hair and 55 µm in Black hair. The average diameter of Hispanic/Latino hair tends to fall between that of Asian and Caucasian. Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied.
Male pattern baldness is a very common condition, affecting up to 1 in every 2 men over 40 years of age. Male pattern baldness is usually hereditary (genetic) and in most cases, it can't be prevented. There are a few medical treatments that help to manage male pattern baldness and reduce 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.
The authors concluded: “We found no correlation between the mortality and the extent of graying of the hair or baldness or facial wrinkles in either of the sexes, irrespective of age.
By the age of 21, 25 percent of men are thought to have been somewhat bald with a male pattern. At the age of 35, this figure is up to 66%. By 50 years of age, 85% of men will suffer from male baldness patterns.
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.
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.
Asian hair the most dominant hair type in the world out speeds the rest with a growth rate of 1.3cm per month, and despite an estimated 80,000 to 140,000 scalp hairs, it usually has the least density.
H. Harris, publishing in the British Journal of Dermatology in 1947, wrote American Indians have the least body hair, Chinese and black people have little body hair, white people have more body hair than black people and Ainu have the most body hair.
Japan, Spain and Sweden are widely known for having people with healthy hair, but there are also other countries like India, France and Russia that are also known for helping people keep their hair natural and not messing with any artificial coloring.
While you may have heard that blonds suffer more hair loss than brunettes, the reality is that your natural hair color doesn't have any effect on your likelihood of experiencing hair loss.