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Understanding Male and Female Hair Loss
Alopecia New York, New Jersey, Boston
Physicians divide hair loss into two basic types: scarring and non-scarring alopecia. As Drs. True and Dorin explain at our New York, New Jersey, and Boston offices, scarring alopecia encompasses a variety of diseases that cause patchy hair loss. Stress can also cause hair thinning over the entire scalp. Only one type of hair loss, however, will produce a distinctive pattern of loss in men and women. This is a genetic disorder called female and male pattern baldness, primarily caused by the effects of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, on the hair follicle. All human beings have a certain amount of male hormone in their bodies, which is broken down by the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase into DHT.
Subtleties in Male and Female Pattern Alopecia
In cases of female hair loss, DHT causes a slow thinning of the hair on top of the head over many years. (It should be noted, however, that the hormonal mechanisms for female pattern baldness involve more than DHT and are still under investigation.) This produces the Ludwig patterns 1, 2, and 3. Loss of estrogen after menopause adds to this effect. In rare cases, women may experience thinning all over the scalp, rather than pattern baldness. Diffuse thinning is generally not treatable with hair transplantation, unlike female pattern loss.
In men, distinct and progressive male pattern baldness usually starts in their 20s, 30s, or 40s and continues for eight to fifteen years. Hair loss then slows down, but continues on a gradual and progressive course for life. Again, as in females, the result of the interaction of DHT with the hair follicles is the main cause for pattern baldness. Since men have considerably more DHT than women, our doctors presume this to be the reason for the more rapid progression of alopecia noted in our New York, New Jersey, and Boston patients.
Common Male and Female Pattern Alopecia Characteristics
In both female and male pattern baldness, there is a gradual miniaturization of the hairs, produced by affected follicles until they eventually stop growing and fall out. This is why a person's hair will be finer in texture for several years before actual baldness occurs. In pattern baldness, the hair around the sides and back is immune to the effects of DHT. This hair is also immune to DHT if it is moved to another area of the scalp. This very concept of donor dominance explains why the results of a hair transplant are permanent.
Learn More about Treating Alopecia
Those dealing with hair loss should contact the True & Dorin Medical Group. Our doctors can determine whether we can use hair transplantation to treat your individual alopecia condition at our New York, New Jersey, or Boston area offices.
Article from Drs True and Dorin.
http://www.truedorin.com/pages/alopecia
Alopecia New York, New Jersey, Boston
Physicians divide hair loss into two basic types: scarring and non-scarring alopecia. As Drs. True and Dorin explain at our New York, New Jersey, and Boston offices, scarring alopecia encompasses a variety of diseases that cause patchy hair loss. Stress can also cause hair thinning over the entire scalp. Only one type of hair loss, however, will produce a distinctive pattern of loss in men and women. This is a genetic disorder called female and male pattern baldness, primarily caused by the effects of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, on the hair follicle. All human beings have a certain amount of male hormone in their bodies, which is broken down by the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase into DHT.
Subtleties in Male and Female Pattern Alopecia
In cases of female hair loss, DHT causes a slow thinning of the hair on top of the head over many years. (It should be noted, however, that the hormonal mechanisms for female pattern baldness involve more than DHT and are still under investigation.) This produces the Ludwig patterns 1, 2, and 3. Loss of estrogen after menopause adds to this effect. In rare cases, women may experience thinning all over the scalp, rather than pattern baldness. Diffuse thinning is generally not treatable with hair transplantation, unlike female pattern loss.
In men, distinct and progressive male pattern baldness usually starts in their 20s, 30s, or 40s and continues for eight to fifteen years. Hair loss then slows down, but continues on a gradual and progressive course for life. Again, as in females, the result of the interaction of DHT with the hair follicles is the main cause for pattern baldness. Since men have considerably more DHT than women, our doctors presume this to be the reason for the more rapid progression of alopecia noted in our New York, New Jersey, and Boston patients.
Common Male and Female Pattern Alopecia Characteristics
In both female and male pattern baldness, there is a gradual miniaturization of the hairs, produced by affected follicles until they eventually stop growing and fall out. This is why a person's hair will be finer in texture for several years before actual baldness occurs. In pattern baldness, the hair around the sides and back is immune to the effects of DHT. This hair is also immune to DHT if it is moved to another area of the scalp. This very concept of donor dominance explains why the results of a hair transplant are permanent.
Learn More about Treating Alopecia
Those dealing with hair loss should contact the True & Dorin Medical Group. Our doctors can determine whether we can use hair transplantation to treat your individual alopecia condition at our New York, New Jersey, or Boston area offices.
Article from Drs True and Dorin.
http://www.truedorin.com/pages/alopecia
