Avoid   Baldness

Cures for baldness date back to ancient times and strange and unusual concoctions are said to have worked. Likewise, there have been an equal number of myths surrounding hair loss. Some popular hair loss myths include:

Hats – hats have always been said to be a cause for balding. Interestingly however, men who are bald or balding wear hats to cover their hair loss. There is no truth in the fact that wearing hats leads to hair loss. They are merely worn to hide balding heads and do not contribute to hair loss unless they are extremely tight or ill-fitting.

Massages – some say massages and cleansing the scalp’s pores promotes hair growth. Unfortunately though, it does nothing to reverse the process. Hair loss is caused by the conversion of testosterone to DHT. This causes hair follicles to shrink and slowly stop producing hair.

Long hair – another popular myth is that long hair strains roots causing hair loss. It does not.
Maternal genes – another belief is that baldness is inherited from the mother’s side of the family. The truth however is that baldness can be inherited from either parent. The chances of inheriting baldness are greater if your father is bald.

Shampooing – shampooing hair is said to increase hair loss. Again, not true. The hairs you find after shampooing are hairs you have lost already. It has nothing to do with shampooing.

Mental illness – an active intellect or mental illness is also said to cause baldness. This might be due to the close proximity between the brain and hair. Psychological problems are also said to contribute to hair loss. However, this theory too is invalid.

Hair implants have so far been the most effective method to solve hair loss issues amongst men. This cure for male pattern baldness works well as men usually have effective ‘donor’ areas that can be used for the hair transplant procedure. Such donor sites are absolutely necessary for the procedure to be successful. Hair loss in men generally means that they suffer from a genetic condition called Male Pattern Baldness. This condition entails hair loss at the front and crown areas of the head, which sometimes spreads to ear level and even affects the entire top area of the scalp. This condition is caused by an increased in DHT, which is a by product of testosterone. This medical condition is also known as androgenic alopecia, which can be passed down from either side of the family.
Hair loss can be combated by the use of drugs, but they are not 100 per cent effective, and some cause serious side effects. Hair transplants or hair plugs have almost successful results, and results in hair growth in bald spots that can last for years.

If the patient has a ‘donor’ area of good hair growth, then the procedure is more prone to be successful. Male pattern baldness takes place on the upper half of the head; the posterior of the head still has its usual growth. Surgeons can remove the hair follicular units from this area, and place them in the bald area. After a few weeks, theses follicles get attached to the blood supply and start to manufacture hair shaft material. Women however, experience hair thinning along with bald patches. This does not help a hair transplant procedure, due to the absence of a good ‘donor’ area.

A new study from Carotech indicates that daily supplements of vitamin E could increase hair growth by 42 percent in those suffering from male pattern baldness.
A placebo-controlled trial conducted over eight months involving 28 volunteers with male pattern baldness also referred to in medical terms as androgenetic alopecia at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Science Malaysia. This makes it the first study to report such benefits for vitamind E. The findings of the study were presented at the Vitafoods International Conference in Geneva in May this year.

Male pattern baldness

American Medical Association data indicates that around 95 percent of all cases of hair loss are due to male pattern baldness which affects close to 40 million American men. Balding is reported to start by the age of 30 in 25 percent of men, and in 75 percent by the age of 60. AMA says chance of inheriting the baldness gene is 4:7.

Vitamin E

There are eight types of vitamin E. they are: four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta).
The main source found in supplements and mainly in European diets is Alpha-tocopherol. Gamma-tocopherol is found most commonly in American diets.
Tocotrienols (TCT) are only minor components in plants. Relatively high levels are found in palm oil, cereal grains and rice bran.
A majority of research of vitamin E is focused on Alpha-tocopherol while studies in tocotrienols are less than one percent of all research on the vitamin.

A report in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology states that smoking could be linked with age-related hair loss amongst men in Asia. The journal is one of the JAMA/Archives journals which states, “Androgenetic alopecia, a hereditary androgen-dependent disorder, is characterized by progressive thinning of the scalp hair defined by various patterns. It is the most common type of hair loss in men.” Experts say that although risk for hair loss is largely due to genetic reasons, some environmental factors could also be a reason.
The findings are based on a survey conducted by Lin-Hui Su, M.D., M.Sc., of the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, and Tony Hsiu-Hsi Chen, D.D.S., Ph.D., of National Taiwan University, Taipei. The survey was conducted amongst 740 Taiwanese men between the ages of 40 and 91 in 2005. During interviews the men reported smoking amongst other risk factors for balding if they had alopecia, the age at which they began losing their hair.

Degree of hair loss was assessed by clinical classifications, while their height and weight were measured and blood samples analyzed.
The article further stated, “After controlling for age and family history, statistically significant positive associations were noted between moderate or severe androgenetic alopecia and smoking status, current cigarette smoking of 20 cigarettes or more per day and smoking intensity.” The survey also indicates that Asian men’s risk for hair loss increased with advancing age, however, remaining lower than the average risk among white men. Smoking could destroy hair follicles, damaging the papilla which circulates blood and hormones that stimulate growth of hair.

Recently I ran into this post on George Michael Forum, which features a recent picture of Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley, who is bald now.