When Benjamin Franklin stated long ago that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, he didn’t get it quite right. He should have said ‘death, taxes, and male baldness.’ That’s because most men will experience hair loss at some stage in their life. That may make for depressing reading if you happen to be male, but it doesn’t mean you just have to sit there and wait for your hair to fall out. The good news is that some types of hair loss are treatable.
As with many things, knowledge is power. If you understand some of the causes of baldness, you’re in a much better position to take steps to prevent it from happening. Sometimes that won’t be possible; some types of hair loss are inevitable, after all. Nevertheless, acquainting yourself with the facts about baldness may help you prevent what is preventable, delay what is inevitable, and treat in the best possible manner any hair loss that comes your way. Read on to learn more!
Common Causes of Hair Loss
Family Traits
Some men experience hair loss as a direct result of their genetic inheritance. If you want to know if you fall into that category, take a look at your older male relatives. If there’s a history of baldness in the family, then the odds are that you too will experience something similar.
Even if you do fall into the ‘doomed-by-genetics’ category, all is not lost. There are still treatments open to you; more of that shortly.
Medical Reasons
Some medical conditions can cause hair loss. If you have a serious illness that requires a course of radiotherapy or chemotherapy, there’s a high chance you’ll experience hair fall on the heels of that. Strong medication can also affect your hair. Steroids, blood thinners, antidepressants, and high doses of Vitamin A can all contribute to hair loss.
Other conditions that may result in hair fall include anaemia and thyroid problems. Scalp inflammation, psoriasis, and dandruff are also danger signs. The itchiness these conditions cause often triggers scratching on the part of the sufferer. This loosens the hair and can, in severe cases, result in scarring on the scalp.
Autoimmune diseases happen when the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies an external threat and commences to attack otherwise healthy cells. This can result in a form of patch baldness known as alopecia areata.
Lifestyle Factors
Poor diet is another important contributor to hair loss. A lack of critical nutrients in the form of protein, vitamins, fatty acids, and zinc can cause a type of hair loss known as telogen effluvium. Other lifestyle factors such as smoking and a lack of exercise can affect the hair’s natural growth cycle by constricting the flow of blood to the scalp. Stress, too, can cause our hair to fall.
How to Treat Your Hair Loss
Prevention
Prevention is always better than cure. It’s reassuring to know, therefore, that some of the causes of baldness we’ve just mentioned can be stopped and even reversed, in some cases. Identifying the underlying cause of your hair loss is a crucial step in this.
For example, most cases of hair loss caused by medical conditions or treatments will start to disappear once the condition has improved and the medication taken to treat it is no longer necessary. Changes to your diet or lifestyle will also correct hair fall resulting from those factors.
Treatment for Advanced or Genetic Hair Loss
Not all hair loss can be reversed so easily. Baldness that is at an advanced stage or that results from genetic factors can’t simply be reversed by lifestyle changes. Individuals on stage three or higher of the Norwood Scale for measuring hair loss may need a more direct intervention.
A decision on the appropriate treatments should always be taken in consultation with a hair expert, but a hair transplant is one such option. Advances in science and techniques have seen huge improvements in the effectiveness of modern hair transplant surgery. One of the most popular and effective procedures is carried out using Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) surgery. This involves transplanting hair follicles from donor sites on the head to the balding areas.
Another option is Micro Scalp Pigmentation (MSP) which involves creating a shaved head look through the application of pigment to the scalp in a process that has similarities with tattooing.
Final Thoughts
While hair loss in men is increasingly common, it can still be a fairly traumatic experience for some individuals, particularly younger guys. That’s why it’s reassuring to know that there are options available to help you prevent, delay, and treat hair loss. All you need to do is find out what these are – hopefully, this article has helped with that.
If you’ve tried some of the remedies we’ve outlined above but you’re still concerned about your hair loss, it might be time to speak with the professionals. At Vinci Hair Clinic, we offer a free consultation with one of our experts to all our new clients. This is an opportunity you shouldn’t pass up – get in touch and book your appointment today!
