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Typically, men start losing hair in their late 20s and early 30s.
Twelve per cent of men lose most of it before their 30th birthday. By
the age of 50, more than half develop a bald spot and receding
hairline. Hence, we face the problem of Male Pattern Thinning.
The irony is that those shiny bald spots aren't actually bald.
Sometimes, one finds that hair are still there, but instead of the
thick, lush hair we 'find clear 'pitch fuzz' hair that sprout out of
tiny, miniaturized follicles.
Saw Palmetto, is a herb, which is considered to be a breakthrough
treatment in Male Pattern Baldness. The medicine Serenoa complex
comprises of this herb and it reduces the production of DHT from
testosterone.
Now, as scientists begin to understand the mechanics of the hair cycle
itself, they're aiming for new drugs that could do just that - regrow
hair. Till then there are three solutions to the balding problems
namely - surgical, non-surgical and temporary hair camouflage.
FACTS ABOUT BALDNESS IN MALES
1. The Hair follicles of a person are developed in the 4th month of the mother's womb
2. A person has the same number of hair follicles throughout his life as he/she has at the time of birth
3. Male Pattern Thinning is a progressive disorder. It can neither be reversed nor stopped, but can only be slowed down
Hair transplantation was once a difficult operation and it involved
taking big chunks of skin and hair moving them around. These days it
moved well beyond the artificial-looking "doll's hair" plugs that were
used in the 80's.
Surgeons pull out a thin strip of skin and hair, usually from the back
the head (where hairs don't fall out in response to DHT), and dissect
it under a microscope into follicular units - one or two hairs stuck
together. Then they make tiny slits on the top of the scalp and slip
the hairs in. Generally, we can move a thousand or a few thousand hairs
in one session trying to reconstruct the hairline and cover as much of
the bald spot as they can, in as natural-looking a way as possible.
A DIFFERENT PATTERN TO FEMALE BALDNESS
For women, hair loss is a complex matter. Diet, disease, even grooming
can cause thinning. For instance, Mrs. Joana was only 32 when she
noticed the small bald spot right in the middle of her hair. "It looked
like someone took a lawnmower and left a little patch," she says.
That small spot grew into an obsession. She found herself thinking
about the fact that tall people could look down on her and see it. She
would compulsively put her hands in her hair, and made her husband
check every night to make sure the patch wasn't growing.
When she noticed another bald spot a few months ago, she couldn't stand any longer and scheduled an appointment.
When men lose hair, it doesn't make much difference to their look,
however, when women start losing hair it becomes the serious cause of
concern. Hair loss is far more visible in men - but in fact, nearly 40
per cent of women lose substantial amount of hair after menopause, and
10 per cent to 15 per cent experience thinning in their 30s.
The pattern of loss is different from that of men; women don't usually
develop bald spots the way men do. Instead, their hair tends to thin
out all over. "It's rare to see a woman lose all their hair, but they
can thin dramatically. Female hair loss, like male-pattern hair loss,
is related to the testosterone level and the level of one of its
by-products DHT.
Although testosterone is a male hormone, women generally have small
amounts of it too - and when estrogen levels decline, testosterone
becomes more abundant in proportion. Testosterone can certainly cause
women to lose hair under special circumstances. Female athletes
sometimes take testosterone to bulk up their muscles - and often find
they start shedding hair as well.
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