Causes of Male Pattern Baldness

There are a number of causes for male pattern baldness and they include:

• Gender – You have to either be a man or have a hormonal imbalance (with respect to sex hormones with elevated male hormones similar to a man). Dihydrotestosterone is a byproduct of testosterone that plays a key role in male pattered baldness in men and women.
• Time – Baldness does not occur overnight. The right combination of factors such as gender and a genetic predisposition have to be present in order for hair loss to occur over time.
• Genetics/Heredity – Male patterned baldness is always genetic.

Family History of Baldness

Early signs of patterned hair loss can be visible as early as the teenage years. It generally becomes more noticeable in the age range of the early 20s and spans all the way to the late 30s. Occasionally, some people don’t present hair loss until their 50s or 60s. It is important to see who else in your family is balding.

If you identify someone in a prior generation who was exactly like you at your age, you can predict where you are heading in the future if you do nothing to change your course.

Although hair loss is a progressive and gradual process, the speed at which it progresses is different in each individual. Most people continue their active hair loss phase during a span of approximately 20 years. This implies if they start to lose hair in their 20’s, they may exhibit their final stage of hair loss in their early 40s.

Male Pattern Classifications

The Norwood Scale is a series of images that visually represent the various stages of hair loss. The scale ranges from Type I (minimal hair loss) to Type VII (the most advanced form of hair loss).

Hair loss progression and Norwood type is not based on age since the progression of hair loss is a very individual process. Your hair transplant physician will exam your scalp microscopically in order to inform you exactly where on the Norwood Scale you fall at the current time.

Progression along the scale may be slowed down by the use of FDA approved hair loss medications on the market (such as minoxidil or finasteride).

Treatment Options

There are a number of options for the treatment of male pattern baldness. While a medical treatment can slow down, and even delay, the progression of hair loss, a hair transplant is the only permanent solution for male pattern baldness.

Medications for Hair Loss – Hair loss medications are an option which can be given alone or in combination with a hair restoration procedure. There are prescription medications that are approved by the FDA for hair loss. Conversely, Rogaine is a topical medication that is applied directly to the balding areas of the scalp twice a day.

Both medications offer the best results when they are used during the early stages of hair loss but either medication may be used at any stage of hair loss to help maintain the hair you have.

Hair loss medications should be taken regularly in order to maintain a continued positive outcome. If these medications are not taken on a consistent basis, the results will fade over time resulting in catch-up hair loss. Typically, the choice to start these medications is a lifetime commitment.