Understanding Hair Growth and Loss
In order to understand how hair thinning and loss occurs, it is important to recognize that the hair cycle can vary from person to person. Hair experiences a life cycle that typically ranges from 3 to 5 years.
People are born with approximately 100,000 hair follicles in their scalp, a number that will remain constant throughout their life. As the hair grows, it goes through what is known as the anagen phase. In this time, the hair will grow in length but the actual size of the shaft remains the same.
At any given time, about 10% of the 100,000 or so hairs on a persons head going through the second stage in the life cycle, or the resting phase. The hair stops growing and, within 2 or 3 months, will fall out. The average person loses between 100 and 150 hairs each and every day as the hair cycle comes full circle. Once the hair has fallen out, a new one will grow in its place.
Who Suffers Hair Loss?
However, those affected by receding hairline and thinning hair might notice that these new hairs that are growing in are not as full as the hairs they replaced; in fact, it may seem that the hair is completely disappearing. Though receding hairline tends to happen gradually, it can be quite traumatic for some to notice that their hair has thinned dramatically in a relatively short period. Although men are more likely to experience thinning hair and receding hairline, many women battle the stigma of this condition as well.
It is a widely held myth that thinning hair is caused by too many hair follicles simply falling out. Counting the hairs in the hairbrush or collecting at the shower drain is not a good measure of the rate at which the hair is thinning. The problem is that, in people with receding hairline, the hair replacing those at the end of their life cycle are of a poorer quality; the hair shaft is thinner and the anagen or growth phase becomes shorter. The new hair will not grow as long before falling out to be replaced by yet another poor-quality hair follicle.
Hair loss is expected as people age and is called Androgenetic Alopecia. Men usually notice a receding hairline, while women are more likely to see hair thinning all over the scalp. As an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase is combined with testosterone, a hormone present in both sexes, it converts the hormone to DHT. The result is a tightening and stiffening of the hair follicles; eventually they will deteriorate to the point that a new hair is unable to grow at all.
Why Do People Experience Thinning Hair?
The severity of this Androgenetic Alopecia depends on a number of factors including testosterone levels, heredity and age. Although this is the reason for 95% of hair loss, it is not the only one. Some women notice thinning hair after having a child. Others suffering from medical conditions such as ringworm or hypothyroidism might also visibly notice their hair thinning in areas. Other causes for hair loss include stressors, chemotherapy and radiation, certain medications and even harsh hair treatments.
The method used to treat receding hairline and thinning hair depends entirely on the reason for the hair loss.
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