Most men get confronted with hair loss at one time or another during their life. It’s a problem that can do a lot of harm for your self-esteem.
Most men tend to blame it on their bad genes or don’t even know how it came to be. It’s undeniable that genetics do play a role in balding (or more concisely in male pattern baldness) but it’s not the only cause. In this article at Mens haircuts trends you’ll get an overview of all the possible causes of hair loss.
First let’s dive into the topic of non-genetic causes for hair loss.
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Hair loss that’s not cause by genetics
You’ve probably guessed the biggest and most well-known cause for hair loss that doesn’t involve your genetic make-up. Yes, stress. But it’s not the only one. Even bad hair care or an infection of your scalp can have a lot of impact on your hair health. Let’s check it out.
The impact of stress on your head
Stress is so common it’s almost rare to find someone who doesn’t suffer from it. Everyone has stress and complains about it. Yet, as everyday as it might seem, it does come with consequences. And hair loss is one of these negative side effects that’ll make you cringe. Although, it’s important to point out that stress does not cause male pattern baldness – more on this later.
Scalp infections
If you’ve lived for a while you’ve most likely will have experienced some kind of infection. And yes, it can happen on your scalp too. When you notice that you’re starting to lose hair, have scaly and inflamed areas all around your head, you most likely have an infection. Contact a medical professional to get it looked at. You’ll get a treatment and once this kicks in you’ll start to see your hair coming back.
Genes – the bad guys when it comes to hair loss
As talked about above, there are other reasons why you might be losing your hair. But sadly the most common reason still remains that it’s in your genetics. Male pattern baldness (MPB) is a condition that is only caused by your genes.
Most commonly people say it’s your mother’s father’s fault. While there is a truth to this saying, it’s not a complete one.
The X chromosome which is inherited from your mother can have a certain variant in it that is linked with early-onset MPB. There have been studies that took a closer look at this and they all mention that it does have a link with your mother’s genes. But there’s of course more to it than that.
And that’s because it’s not always only her fault. A study by German researchers found that there is another variant of a specific chromosome that could potentially be at the base of male pattern baldness. The researchers discuss in this study that if you have both this chromosome 20 variant and the X chromosome variant your chances are at least seven times higher to develop significant hair loss. This might actually be from your father’s side.
That explains why it’s not only your mother’s fault that you are losing your hair. Because the variant of chromosome 20 doesn’t necessarily come from your mother. It might actually be from your father’s side.
Treating hair loss
As you can see, the causes of hair loss aren’t always black and white. That’s why there’s a complicated science that goes into solving the issue, too.
Luckily, researchers have developed highly effective treatments that can prevent hair loss, and in many cases even regrow hair!
There are two types of treatment that are scientifically-proven to help treat hair loss for the majority of men who take them: Minoxidil, which is a topical liquid medicine, and Finasteride, which can be taken either in tablet form or a topical solution.
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