Male Pattern Hair Loss – Types, Causes and Treatment

When you notice bald patches or hair thinning on your scalp, it is termed as hair loss. Your follicles become dormant and stop producing new hair. You may also notice excessive shedding of hair for more than 3 months, which can also be a sign of underlying hair loss. 

Around 70% of men may experience hair loss in their lifetime, compared to only 40% of women. In men, hair loss can be noticed as thinning of hair with more scalp visible, receding hairline, and sometimes as a horseshoe-shaped pattern with the exposed crown. 

Understanding Male Pattern Baldness

Popularly called male pattern baldness, androgenic alopecia is the most common cause of hair loss in males. Male pattern baldness is most often hereditary, and it generally progresses in one of three ways: a receding hairline, thinning of the hair on the crown, or a general thinning of the hair all over the head top. Eventually, your hairline might develop an ‘M’ shape. 

As male pattern baldness progresses further, you may find yourself losing more hair, and you may wind up with a bald spot on the top of your head. Some men with severe male pattern baldness may eventually lose all their hair.

Some other common causes of hair fall in men include:

• Hormonal changes can sometimes cause temporary hair loss. For males, the thyroid gland is touted to be the likely cause of hair loss due to hormonal changes.

• Patchy hair loss or alopecia areata occurs when the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles. This causes sudden and rapid hair loss that leaves smooth, often round, bald patches on the scalp.

• Skin diseases such as eczema, severe seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, and lupus may result in permanent hair loss in the scarred areas.

• Certain medications may also cause a side effect of alopecia. 

Types of Hair Loss 

Hair loss may also be linked to a person’s genetics. And many medical and behavioral conditions may interrupt the growth cycle and cause hair loss. Hair fall in men can begin any time after puberty and progress over the course of years or decades. It starts above the temples and continues around the perimeter and the top of the head, often leaving a ring of hair along the bottom of the scalp. Many men with male pattern hair loss eventually become bald.

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common type of hair loss, affecting most men today. Commonly known as male pattern hair loss, androgenetic alopecia is hereditary but can be managed with medication or surgery.

While inherited male pattern baldness usually has an obvious genetic cause, sometimes, hair loss can have more serious underlying causes, such as certain illnesses, nutritional deficiencies, thyroid conditions, some medicines or supplements and even chronic stress. Talk to your doctor if hair loss is persistent especially on starting any new medicine or diet or hair routine etc .

The development of androgenetic alopecia depends on the interaction of your hormones and genetic predisposition. Under the influence of your androgens (Sex hormones), the hair roots begin to gradually shrink or miniaturize to form thinner and thinner hair. This continues to a point where the root becomes dormant and the hair is lost, causing baldness. The onset of male pattern baldness can begin in your teenage years, but is more commonly seen in adult men, with the likelihood increasing with age. Genetics plays a crucial role too. So if your father or grandfather are bald, chances are high you can’t escape a similar fate. 

Doctors use the pattern of hair loss to discern meaningful trends in male pattern baldness. They may take a detailed medical history and perform an exam to rule out certain health conditions as an underlying cause, such as fungal conditions of the scalp or nutritional disorders.

Treatments for Male Pattern Baldness

Unfortunately, you can’t change your genetic predisposition to rule out hair loss. However, the good news is that there are a number of treatment options depending on the types of hair loss that can help stop and even reverse male pattern baldness. Based on the severity of your condition, your dermatologist may recommend medication to slow future hair loss, a hair transplant procedure, or both.

• Minoxidil, is one of the commonly used treatment options for male pattern hair loss. It’s a topical medication that counters future hair loss by keeping the hair root in the growing stage, and it may be applied as a liquid or a foam.

• Finasteride is another prescription medication used to treat male pattern hair loss. It’s an oral drug that slows future hair loss by coming in the way of hormones that damages hair follicles and cause androgenic alopecia.

• Hair transplantation is a more advanced treatment option for male pattern baldness. Depending on the severity of your androgenic alopecia, your hair doctor may recommend one of several hair transplant methods. In general, hair transplant procedures involve transplanting hair from non-hormone-dependent areas of your head, such as the back, to areas where hair no longer grows, to give you a fuller-looking head of hair.

• Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), is injected into the scalp to stimulate hair growth. This therapy involves collecting your blood, drawing a portion that is rich in platelets and injecting the areas of hair loss over a series of sessions.

Can hair loss be prevented?

While there are no known ways to prevent male pattern baldness at the moment, there are ways to halt the progression of hair loss and baldness. The key is to catch it as early as possible, ideally. As soon as you notice any thinning, the sooner you pay heed to it, the greater your chances of achieving a good recovery.

Factors like underlying medications, age, pollution, stress, etc., can accelerate your hair loss. Apart from medications, a healthy lifestyle and diet are the primary factors that can be your weapons to keep your hair loss in control. 

Looking for male hair loss treatment? Look no further than HairMD. Our expert dermatologists use the latest technology for hair loss treatments. So why wait? Book your appointment today with HairMD.