Male Pattern Baldness

Male Pattern Baldness & Treatment
By Wendy Simons

Sadly one of the basic facts of life is that men stand a high chance of going bald. Baldness can be caused by a number of factors but we are going to look at male pattern baldness. Healthy hair can live for around five years and adults can lose about 100 from the scalp each day. Male pattern baldness is a form of alopecia, androgenetic alopecia, which causes balding in a man that appears to follow a specific pattern, hence the name.

Overview of Male Pattern Baldness (MPB)

Alopecia is broad medical terminology for baldness and androgenetic alopecia is the correct medical name for male pattern baldness. Although it sounds like a nasty disease androgenetic alopecia is not really a medical disorder as it is considered a natural even. It is generally accepted that the problem is genetic, meaning that some men are born with a predisposition to male pattern baldness, which can begin to appear between the ages of 20 and 50.

The problem is caused by the effect of natural hormones upon the hair follicles of the scalp. Androgens, such as dihydrotestosterone, are known to play an important role in the development of MPB (male pattern baldness) meaning that men of all ages and races can be susceptible. Strangely it has been noted that black men suffer far less from balding of the crown, when compared to white men, unfortunately they appear to suffer more from frontal baldness.

What Can Be Done About Male Pattern Baldness (MPB)?

Sadly there is little that we can do to halt male pattern baldness as it is, literally, in our genes. Because of the fact that androgenetic alopecia is genetic there are no therapies available for it's treatment. However there are a few things that can be done to reduce the visible appearance of MPB and thus help minimize it's impact upon a man's self-esteem.

Fortunately, because of the fact that male pattern baldness causes no scarring, hair follicles remain undestroyed after hair loss. The hair follicle contains certain cells that work to help to grow hair and some of these remain after hair loss and this means that there are cosmetic restorative therapies available which focus on this feature. Unfortunately there are only two pharmacologic products which have been clinically proven to effectively prevent, or reduce, hair loss. These are minoxidil and finasteride.

Minoxidil

Minoxidil is better known to us as the product Rogaine and is a topical medication that is applied directly to the scalp. Rogaine helps to stimulate the hair follicles leading to a reduction in hair loss, or in some cases even new growth. Unfortunately the effects of the treatment are short lived and it is there fore necessary to continually use the product to avoid the reappearance of hair loss.

Finasteride

Finasteride is better known to us by the manufacturers product names, such as Propecia and Proscar. Finasteride is an oral medication, given in pill form, which works by inhibiting the body's ability to produce the hormone dihydrotestosterone (which is the cause of hair loss).

Sadly minoxidil and finasteride are only really effective against hair loss and have limited effects upon the regrowth of hair lost during the development of male pattern baldness. The only real option here is cosmetic surgery, which can be very expensive. The reason it is so expensive is that it is a complicated surgical procedure which can only be performed by highly qualified dermatologic or plastic surgeons experienced in this specific treatment.

Of course male pattern baldness provides a source of never ending jokes but it's effects upon a person's psychological well being are profound. Often the only solution to male pattern baldness is the use of a wig or hair piece. Unfortunately this too can be a source of hilarity if bad judgment is used in the choice or fitting of a wig.

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See also: Laser Hair Removal