subject: Why Is My Hair Thinning? [print this page] Male pattern hair loss, or alopecia, is a part of life for nearly a quarter of the male population by the age of 25 and almost half the male population by the age of 40.
Understanding what normal hair growth and its life cycle may make it easier to spot irregularities in your own hair patterns. Nearly 100,000 strands of hair (on average) cover the scalp at one time. It's a common misconception that activities like washing your hair too often can make a noticeable difference in hair thickness. Typically, 10 percent of the hair on your head is "resting" and slowly falling out over weeks or months while the other 90 percent is continuing to grow.
Through the aging process, individual strands of hair begin to get thinner and the pigment becomes removed from the hair, making it take on a gray tone. While this is a normal part of aging, excessive thinning takes place in those with male pattern hair loss since the roots become too thin, causing too much hair to fall out easily.
Family history is the largest contributing factor for who will develop hair loss, but here are some other frequent catalysts for hair loss.
Sudden illness: The unset of any major illness is a shock to the body and may lead to rapid hair loss. Diabetes and Lupus have been associated with this.
Stress: Hair loss resulting from stress is called telogen effluvium and is one of the most common types. Stress causes more than the average 10% of hair to rest and then fall out at a time resulting in obvious patches of hair missing.
Hormonal Imbalance: When levels are not regulated normally in the body, hormones or lack of hormones can lead to hair loss. Women are commonly affected in the months after giving birth.
Medication: One possible side effect of many medications is hair loss and this has been most closely associated with heart medications and blood thinners.
Fungal Infections: Different skin conditions like ringworm or certain fungal infections can cause hair loss as well.
