Male Pattern Hair Loss

What is Male Pattern Hair Loss?

Male pattern hair loss, also called male pattern baldness, is a genetic condition known as Androgenetic Alopecia. It is a genetically passed condition associated with the androgynous system that causes hair loss. As the name implies, the hair loss is found in a general pattern from man to man. Usually there is balding at the crown and top of the head along with a receding hair line at the forehead. An extreme example of this condition is seen when a man is completely bald on the top of his head but still has a ring of good hair growth around the sides and posterior area of the scalp. Interestingly enough, this area rarely sees hair loss from this condition.

What Causes Male Pattern Hair Loss

The cause of this condition is well known even if a complete remedy has not been found. Both men and women have a hormone called testosterone. It is considered the male hormone even though both sexes posses it in varying concentrations. When a man is suffering from pattern baldness he develops an enzyme called 5alpha-reductase. This enzyme in turn will convert some portion of the testosterone into a metabolite known as DHT or dihydrotestosterone. This DHT is the real culprit when it comes to the loss of hair.

The hair follicles located on the top of the head seem to be overly susceptible to bonding by the DHT. There are receptors on the follicle that match perfectly with the DHT. Once bonded, it forces the hair follicle to slowly stop producing hair shaft material. This material, known as keratin, is actually what you see when you look at the hair on your head. As the follicle becomes weaker and weaker the hair shaft continues to shrink until it is no longer capable of supporting itself and it breaks off or falls out. At this point the chances of reinvigorating the follicle to begun production again are very negligible.

Using the fact that there continues to be good hair growth at the back of the head, cosmetic surgeons have developed different hair transplantation techniques to move living follicles from this area to the balding spots. This gives a very natural look as the hair at the back of the head matches the hair around the bald spot since they both belong to the patient. A well performed procedure is basically unnoticeable even upon very close inspection. The only tell tale signs are slight incision scars at the back of the head but these can be reduced over time by the use of scar softening solutions.