Male Pattern Hairloss and Baldness - What Can You Do?

Over 85% of men will suffer from some form of hairloss during their lifetime - this will normally be male pattern baldness that starts slowly and becomes more visible over time. For some men male pattern baldness can start in their late teenage years or in their early 20's. There have been recorded cases of male pattern baldness (also known as MPB) in "men" as young as 16. The problem with MPB is that once it starts it can be difficult or impossible to stop.

So what causes male pattern baldness? Ask 5 different experts and you'll get 5 different answers. The most widely accepted explanation is the androgen or hormonal cause for male pattern hairloss. During puberty a teenage male will start producing more of the male hormone testosterone - this is required for the physical changes in young men to happen.

Normally testosterone causes no harm at all during puberty except if it changes and becomes dihydrotesterone (DHT). DHT creates an abnormal hormone balance in your body and to a certain extent you become allergic to it. This allergic reaction can result in the loss of hair from the scalp; but no other part of the body will suffer any hairloss.

DHT appears to just target your scalp hair and nothing else. In patients tested for male pattern baldness they appear to have much, much higher levels of DHT in their scalp than anywhere else on their body. So it appears DHT is the culprit you can all blame for your hair becoming thin or falling out!

There is a very strong link between genetics and male pattern baldness and current research points to the fact that it's a characteristic that you actually inherit from your mother and not your father at all. For years believed that if their father was bald then they would also go bald - this isn't always true though.

When a hair falls out from your scalp it doesn't mean that the follicle itself it dead it just means that it's gone into a dormant state and can sometimes be revived. If a hair follicle remains dormant for long enough then it eventually "dies" and loses the ability to produce any really useful, thick hair. Estimates on how long this takes vary from 5 - 25 years; again this will depend on who you ask that question.

Poor circulation of blood in the scalp has also been blamed for causing male pattern baldness. The theory is that the lack of blood flowing through your scalp means that DHT can build up and cause your hair to fall out. Is there any real science to back up these claims? None that we're aware of.

There are some wacky theories out there on the actual cause of male pattern baldness. There is even one crazy theory that blames male pattern baldness on..... the growth of hair elsewhere on the body. This theory claims that by plucking out the hairs on your chest, arms or legs that the hair on your head will grow back. We do not recommend trying this at home folks!

What treatments are available for male pattern baldness? There is no one magic pill but there are several very promising treatments on the market at the moment. Rogaine has been used for years to slow down the advance of male pattern baldness and still seems somewhat effective. If you combine Rogaine with Propecia(Fincar/Finasteride) or Avodart (the new stronger version of Propecia) you have a one-two combination that some guys have used to completely regrow all their lost hair.

Any guy losing his hair right now has more choice in treating his hairloss than any man had at any time previously this century and the research continues. Some day it may just be as simple as getting a shot at the doctors eh? For now your best shot is one-two punch combo of Rogaine and Propecia.