Understanding Your Hair

The best start to preventing hair loss is understanding the basics of hair: what it is, how it grows, what system malfunctions can cause it to stop growing. And this article will cover the bases for you.                                            

This content presents overviews of hair loss prevention research for educational purposes and compliments yet should not replace medical advice from a professional doctor or dermatoligist.

Hair is the fastest growing tissue of the body, made up of proteins known as keratins. Every strand of hair is made up of three layers: the inner layer or medulla (only existing in thick hairs); the central layer or cortex, which determines the strength, texture, and color of hair; and the cuticle, which protects the cortex.

Hair grows from roots, which are enclosed in follicles. Below this is a layer of skin known as the dermal papilla, which is fed by the bloodstream transferring nourishments essential to the growth of hair.

Only the roots of hair are in fact living, while the perceivable piece of hair is dead tissue, and thus unable to heal itself. It is essential then to take care of the scalp and body in order to maintain hair growth and preservation.

Expensive shampoos or potions that claim to treat the visible hair and nourish it and change it dramatically therefore are generally no more than bogus claims made to sell products.

Hormones called androgens, commonly testosterone, can cause hair follicles to shrink, causing thinning of hair or eventual hair loss. Reportedly just bone marrow grows faster in our body than hair does.

The normal scalp contains 100,000-150,000 hair follicles and hairs, with 90% growing and 10% inactive at any given time. Hair in fact grows in three stages: anagen, catagen, and telogen.

Anagen, Catogen and Telogen:

The anagen stage is the stage where hair is actively growing, and of course this stage is longer for follicles in the scalp than anywhere else on your body, and lasts longer for women than men.

It is ordinary for follicles to atrophy and hair to drop or come out, and this is called the catagen stage. This phase is just temporary, and finally the follicle enters the telogen phase where it is resting.

These are the 10% at rest mentioned above. Standard anagen phases last approximately five years, with catagen phases lasting about three weeks, and telogen phases lasting approximately 12 weeks.

As you see it is natural to lose some hair. Standard hair loss is considered to be in the range of 100 hairs per day. It is not obvious to most people that hair is actually being lost until more than 50% of a person?s hair is actually lost.

Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) or androgenetic alopecia is the condition that over 95% of persons that suffer hair loss have, and it is caused by a rise in DHT, a direct component of testosterone.

The scientific developments of the past two decades have brought expectation and promise to many who suffer with this kind of hair loss.

Treatments like Rogaine, Rogaine for Women, Propecia, and superior surgical treatments have brought alleviation to many who would have previously had to settle for regular hair loss, wigs, or hairpieces.

The finding of the role of DHT in preventing hair loss has even opened the doors to possible herbal solutions to hair loss prevention, such as saw palmetto, nettles, rosemary and horsetail.

Even more promising is the truth that the hair loss usually known as androgenetic alopecia is found to occur mainly in Western culture or those who have adopted the ways of Western civilization, meaning that there may be dietary practices that contribute to hair loss and consequently giving hope to the possibility that diet could control not only temporary hair loss, but androgenetic alopecia as well.

Doctors and scientists are studying DHT production in the body to understand it more thoroughly. There is an apparent link to hair loss and prostatic health and this only increases the stride of hair loss discoveries.

Most treatments for prostatic diseases such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) also have the pleasant side affect of growing hair on the heads of those engaging it. With the pace of investigating and discoveries today, there is a great deal of optimism in the field of hair loss prevention. Hair is an vital piece of our attire and appearance, therefore a big part of our pride. It is likely that there are answers for your situation presently or coming in the near future.

Hair thinning is one of the hormonal problems that affects both men and women. Hair thinning in males is specific and follows a pattern from the front through to the crown. See Male Pattern Baldness. Hair thinning in females does not follow any specific pattern and can be total, or patchy. See more in Female Hairloss.

Hair thinning is caused by androgen DHT or Dihydrotesterone. Everyone has DHT but only some suffer with hair problems, are you wondering, why? This owes to the hair follicles, some of which can have a greater number of androgen receptors for the DHT to attach with.

To date the most effective treatment for the problems of hair thinning is anti androgens. Anti androgens are preventive drugs that prevent the creation of DHT. In future scientists may use gene therapy for hair thinning problems, an exciting new area of research.

See our homepage for our top cure, www.hairlossreviewworld.com

All the best,

Janse Willems.