Why Do Men Lose Their Hair?

For a variety of reasons, many men go through a gradual process of hair loss, particularly in the middle-aged years or later. There are many factors that go into this process, and treatments are available in some cases.

Function

• Hair grows in three phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen. In the anagen stage, hair is actively growing. With catagen, hair growth stops. In telogen, it goes through a shedding process. Baldness is simply the process of an increasing number of hair follicles experiencing the telogen stage.

Types

• There are many kinds of baldness, including the most common, male pattern hair loss (MPHL), a gradual balding pattern influenced by genetics. Alopecia areata is another common type. This is classified as a disease in which large amounts of hair are lost and then grown back.

External Factors

• Factors that could contribute to baldness include a poor diet, an eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa, and skin conditions such as cicatricial alopecia, which involves an inflammation on the head damaging the hair follicles permanently.

Internal Factors

• Male pattern hair loss is influenced largely by genetics and other hereditary traits passed down through families.

Treatment

• For those looking to reverse male pattern hair loss, there is an increasing number of treatments available. Medications like Rogaine have been known to stimulate hair follicle growth, while operations such as hair transplant surgery provide another approach.