Androgenetic Alopecia:
What You Can Do
Androgenetic alopecia, otherwise known as male/female-pattern baldness is a genetic disorder. One that describes the gradual conversion of terminal hairs into indeterminate hairs, before finally becoming vellus hairs. In other words, a severe thinning of hairs to a severe extent that is no different from baldness.
A concern for some, for others however, as most recently brought to light by Jada Pinkett Smith, it is a reality.
Specifically, male-pattern baldness refers to a loss of hair on the scalp in men. In a normal scalp, nearly all of our hair follicles are growing at any time. In men with pattern baldness, androgens shorten the hair follicles’ growth phase.
As alluded to earlier, pattern baldness is attributed to genetics. Those who have a family history of balding and hair loss are likely to experience it themselves. This is important to bear in mind if you are concerned with pattern baldness and can help you refer to a trichologist sooner than later.
It happens as hormone levels change over a man’s lifetime, and especially in the later years. Nutritional deficiencies, infections, and stress are also other factors which may exacerbate male-pattern baldness.
For men, male-pattern baldness is documented in a total of seven stages:
1. Your hair will start thinning. However, at this stage, it will be hardly noticeable
2. This is the stage where you will start noticing the thinning of your hair and that your hairline will take the shape of an ‘M’
3. Then, balding will start to become visible as the hairline recedes further. By this time, it may take the shape of an ‘M’, ‘V’, or ‘U’
4. At this stage, you’ll start noticing excessive hair loss at the back of your head
5. Then, followed by a hairline that is in the shape of a horseshoe at the crown
6. You’ll start noticing larger bald patches and your scalp will become more visible
7. This is the final stage where there is a complete recession to the crown, whatever hair there is, will be thin and minimal
If you have concerns of male-pattern baldness, it is vital to understand that treatment is best done as soon as possible, preferably in the first two stages. This is because the further you are in the stages of pattern baldness, the more irreversible the disorder becomes.
As far as treatment is concerned, a trichologist may prescribe treatments such as Minoxidil, Finasteride, and Dutasteride. There are also Follicular Unit Extractions and Follicular Unit Transplantations which take healthy hair follicles from the back of the head and implant them in the areas affected by alopecia. That way, it restores the natural growth of your hair across your full hairline.
There are also supplements which can hold the effects of pattern baldness at bay.
Haestic’s Fortifying Shampoo uses ingredients formulated to provide your scalp with all of the nourishment your hair needs to reduce hair loss. Ingredients such as tocotrienol which reduces the stressors that are associated with pattern baldness.
Their Nourishing Hair Growth Booster is packed to the brim with active ingredients that promote hair anti-aging. An anti-hair loss complex derived from Biotinyl Tripeptide-1, Apigenin, Oleanolic Acid that is in the booster actively targets the main causes of alopecia.
You only appreciate the value of something when it’s gone or when it’s going. That sense of permanence that one’s hair will always be there, until for some reason, it isn’t, is terrifying to confront. However, you are not alone and you are not without options.
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Androgenetic Alopecia: What You Can Do
