Hair Loss? Blame Your Hormones And Your Genes

Hair has always been a focus of mankind's beliefs, traditions, and practices, but for a very long time our hair did not get much attention from the scientific community. That has changed in the last few decades. Fueled in large part by demand from the hair care industry, many fascinating discoveries have been made. Today there are many scientific studies being conducted on human and animal hairs. for each riddle that is solved a new one springs up in its place. we might think of our hair as something simple yet it is actually quite complex and fascinating.

Once considered a type of plant growing from within our heads, human hair is actually an organ. Morphogenesis is the process of cell specialization that allows development of an organ, and in the case of our hair, a unique process called neomorphogenesis occurs. That means our hair is an organ in the body that continually renews itself. You can think of the process like a yo-yo. Each hair independently rises up through the dermis (skin), and then it will descend back under the dermis, rise again, and so on. However, this process can break down leading to increased hair loss and eventually baldness.

A progressive loss of hair in either males or females is called alopecia. The term alopecia comes from the Greek word for fox, alopex. The fox can lose its fur after contracting a disease. in humans it is usually not a disease that causes alopecia but rather a natural process. Typically in men and women hair loss begins at around the age of 50. However it is not uncommon for men to experience alopecia at a much earlier age. not all of the causes of hair loss and alopecia are understood fully but particular phenomena have been associated with it.

Hormones and genetics play a major role in the onset of alopecia. certain drugs and even stress can cause temporary alopecia, but this type of hair loss usually ceases when the aggravating therapy or stressor is eliminated. The male hormones called androgens, and in particular testosterone, can cause atrophy in the hair follicle. this is why alopecia affects men to a much greater degree than it does women. The female hormones called oestrogens can cause hair loss, though it is from a reduction in the quantity rather than having too much. for this reason it is not uncommon for women to experience hair loss after menopause.

Genetics and race may also play a role in the onset of alopecia. this can be observed by the fact that hair loss is common in some families but not in others. as with the shape, texture, and density of hair, the tendency towards baldness can also vary by ethnicity. Though not enough research has been done, it seems that African type hair and Caucasian type hair appear to be similar in the rates of alopecia. so far the scientific research has shown that it is most likely not a single gene that causes alopecia and much more work needs to be done to learn the exact process by which the baldness trait is passed on. The genetic programming leading to alopecia is still poorly understood.

Hair Loss? Blame Your Hormones And Your Genes