Is Hair Loss Genetic?

As you look around your family at your family reunion, you cannot help but wince. Are you next? There seems to be a lot of bald men in the family. While you have always enjoyed a full head of hair, you have been told by family members that you should not get used to it-that it was bound to happen to you also. You have noticed that even your brother's hair was beginning to get thin this year. The thought of hair plugs or a toupee was discouraging. With all of the family members who were bald or balding, did you stand no chance of keeping your hair?

Different Types of Hair Loss

There are several types of hair loss. Androgenetic alopecia affects about one third of men and women, and it is usually a permanent type of hair loss. Alopecia areata is actually considered an autoimmune disease, and it is a form of temporary hair loss. There are other forms of temporary hair loss caused by disease, treatment for a disease, certain medications, traumatic events, childbirth, scalp infections, poor nutrition and certain hair treatments and styling.

Alopecia Areata

This autoimmune disease strikes otherwise healthy people. People with alopecia areata lose their hair in small round patches on their heads and sometimes their bodies. This can be genetic-if it runs in the family, you are more likely to get it. The cause for this condition is unknown, but many scientists believe that there is something that triggers it, whether it is environmental or viral. Again, this is a temporary condition.

Androgenetic Alopecia

This form of hair loss is a genetic condition, and it is usually referred to as male-pattern baldness. This type of baldness in men typically shows around the crown of the head and the temples. It results in either full or partial baldness. Women rarely bald completely, but with this condition, they will usually thin at the top, front and sides of their head. Family history on either side of the family is a good indicator of a person's chances for hair loss. The genes also determine when a person begins to lose his hair, how much a person loses, and the speed at which a person loses his hair.

Hope for Hair Loss

There is no cure for hair loss, but there are some treatments that help grow hair, slow or prevent hair loss. Not everyone will respond favorably to these treatments, and it usually takes about a month for people to see results with them. Those with extensive hair loss usually find these products to be less effective.

Hair Loss Help

It is always a good idea for a person to check with his doctor to see if there may be a temporary cause for his hair loss. For men doctors can also prescribe a finasteride product that keeps testosterone from effecting hair growth. It can have serious sexual side effects, and it is danger around women of childbearing age. Minoxidil treatments are over the counter, and they can help grow hair. Minoxidil treatments can irritate the scalp, and once a person stops using it, it stops working.

[sniplet Hair Max MD for Men]