Androgenic Alopecia or Male and Female Pattern Hair Loss

Androgenic alopecia is an extensively prevalent disorder which affects both men and women. This unruly hair condition has been regarded to be occurring enormously in males than in females.

Androgenic alopecia is commonly known as male and female pattern baldness.

Androgenic alopecia definitely targets people in varying ages, genders and nationalities and this condition brings an unpleasant feeling and discomfort in a person who is enduring it and greatly affects his or her social and emotional status. Pattern baldness is evidently popular in males; having this type of hair loss condition is something a man cannot hide and certainly cannot avoid. Androgenic alopecia shows a visible patch on a man’s head that affects both the temples and the sides of the head. Gradually, the hairline starts to recede, displaying a visible “M” pattern; in other cases, hair starts to get thinner at the crown area which is inevitably progressive and successively creates patches on the human head or, even worse, leads to complete baldness.

Androgenic alopecia in both males and females results from a by-product of testosterone known as dihydrotestosterone or DHT. DHT is naturally synthesized in the human body and is obtained by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase, transforming testosterone—which is also known as the male hormone—into a much potent hormone called dihydrotestosterone. Hair miniaturization or shrinking is caused by the DHT production in which the hair follicle starts to get extremely small, resulting to hair with less volume and breaking the cycle essential for healthy hair growth. DHT takes over the healthy scalp cells, leading to the reduction of the hair follicles which can result to excessive hair fall.

85% of hair loss cases has been clinically proven to be due to the gradual miniaturization and eventual deterioration of the hair follicles caused by the dihydrotestosterone and there are more than 50% of males and 30% of females affected by androgenic alopecia.

Androgenic alopecia in men and women is considerably inherited either from the mother’s side or from the father’s side of the family and primarily, men start to suffer this in their late teenage years and age 25 to 50. However, it is also a fact that women are also experiencing this condition, although the display of the hair loss pattern in women is totally different and unusual than in men. There is a reported 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States of America alone who endure this kind of unfavorable condition and it is truly inescapable.

Androgenic alopecia is a serious matter that causes physical and emotional havoc in a person. It is indeed imperative to pro-actively acquire an effective hair loss treatment for such condition to hinder distressful moments of a person’s life and to be able to obtain a fuller and a healthier head of hair.