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Causes of hair loss
Male Pattern Hair Loss (MPHL)
Male pattern hair loss (MPHL) is the most common form of hair loss in men and is experienced by nearly two thirds of men during their lifetime. MPHL is genetically determined and is caused by a particular sensitivity to a specific male hormone that disrupts the normal pattern of hair growth.
There are a number of other types of hair loss, including:
Alopecia areata - is characterised by small patches of hair loss that can grow and spread. There are two different types of alopecia areata:
Alopecia totalis - is loss of all scalp hair
Alopecia universalis – where all body hair is lost, including eyebrows and underarm and pubic hair
Telogen effluvium is characterised by excessive hair shedding, leading to thinning hair. It can result from stress, surgery or infection
Anagen effluvium is caused by disruption of the growing phase of the hair follicle cycle, leading to significant hair loss, for example following chemotherapy or radiotherapy
Scarring alopecia hair loss which may result from scarring caused by, for example, deep infections or burns
Some men are genetically determined to be particularly sensitive to the effects of a male sex hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that disrupts the normal pattern of hair growth. In these men, DHT causes the hair follicles to shrink. As a result, the growth phase becomes shorter and over time, normal hairs are gradually replaced by finer, downy hairs. Eventually, all that is left is a miniature hair follicle with no hair inside it.
MPHL can follow a number of different patterns but in most cases, the hairline begins to recede at the front and sides and/or hair is lost from the top of the head, leading to a bald patch at the crown. Gradually, the bald area increases and eventually, many men with MPHL are left with a narrow horseshoe-shaped band of hair around the back and sides of the head.
With MPHL, the actual rate of hair loss varies. Some men go completely bald in less than 5 years but for most, the process is much slower and hair loss occurs gradually over 15-25 years.
Frequently asked questions
What are my chances of suffering with hair loss?
Research has shown that the risk of developing MPHL is linked to both family history and age.
Ageing is a risk factor for hair loss in all men, regardless of their family history background. Hair loss can begin as early as the teens and by the age of 35, almost 40% of men show some degree of hair loss. A survey in four European countries of men with varying degrees of MPHL showed that the average age at which hair loss was first noticed was 24.
Family history also plays a key role. If your father does not have MPHL, the chances are that you will keep a good head of hair. Men whose fathers have experienced some degree of hair loss were more likely to develop the condition.
For many years it was believed that male pattern hair loss was always inherited from the mother's father. Recent research shows that while the hair loss status of the mother's father plays an important role in determining the risk of hair loss, hair loss in a man's father is also an important factor. So it appears that a tendency to hair loss can be inherited from either side of the family.
