Medical Reasons for Baldness in Men & Women

Hair loss, be it mild or severe, is a natural result of the aging process and affects every man and woman. The reasons for its occurrence are numerous and varied; they range from heredity to habit, disease to infection. There are medical explanations for every reason, however, which help clarify the hair loss process.

Androgenous Alopecia

• Androgenous alopecia, also known as male and female pattern baldness, is one of the more common types of hair loss. It results in a thinning of the hair followed by baldness, and occurs in varying degrees among people. Generally, men suffer hair loss more extensively and faster than do women. The condition is caused by a combination of a hormone shared by both men and women, plus natural genetics. A common misconception is that it is inherited from only one side of the family; this is false--it can be inherited from either side. Also, massaging the scalp does not prevent it, nor does not wearing a hat or shampooing.

Alternative Alopecia

• Alopecia areata is characterized by a loss of the hair in patches. The hair comes out in quarter-size circles, but grows back afterward. It is caused by an autoimmune condition that causes the body to attack hair follicles. Traction alopecia is also a patchy loss of hair, this type caused by the pulling of hair by certain hairstyles, like ponytails or braids.

Other Causes

• Other medical causes include thyroid disease and anemia, since a shortage of iron is bad for the hair. In trichotillomania, a person has the habit of pulling out the hair himself, and with tinea capitis, a condition usually found in children, a fungal infection causes hair loss.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy, the treatment of a cancerous tumor through drugs, also causes hair loss. The treatment works by attacking cells that are constantly growing and splitting, a tactic that works well against cancer cells that split and grow constantly. But the treatment also attacks hair follicle cells, since they follow a similar rapid pattern of growth. Once the chemotherapy treatment has left the body, however, the hair follicles will grow back normally.

External Causes

• Several drugs cause hair loss, and they usually say so in a list of their side effects. A serious shock can cause telogen effluvian, which means the cycle of hair growth and death is disrupted and many hairs fall out. The shock can be childbirth, sickness, surgery or a sudden weight loss. Some chemicals used in the hair to add color or shape can result in hair loss, sometimes permanently. Stress from work or school also disrupts the hair cycle, meaning hair loss can sometimes mean a stress reliever is needed. Finally, smoking promotes the development of the chemical DHT, or dihydrotestosterone, which can cause hair loss.