Why Do Men Lose Hair Faster Than Women
There
are few reasons why people lose hair. Nutrition,
genetics, illness and particular treatments are
known to be responsible for hair loss. Taking
these causes into consideration, it must be asserted
that there are generally two main forms of hair
loss. Hair loss is known to take place in patches
or as a general hair loss all over the scalp.
In men, loss of hair all over the
scalp is well known, and is particularly recognized
by loss of hair at the crown of the head. In view
of this kind of hair loss as compared to women,
it must be asserted that there are two possible
causes. These include DHT and the arrangement
of hair follicles in men and women.
It is said that women are less impacted
with hair loss, even though some argue that hair
loss is not sex-related. However, as per observation
it can be determined that men do tend to lose
more hair than women. It is even known that young
men tend to lose more hair than women of the same
age groups. Again the reasons provided for this
include the fact that DHT impacts men along with
hair follicle arrangement.
To begin with, hair follicle arrangement
in men is such that it allows an accumulation
of sebaceous substances secreted by the sebaceous
gland near each follicle.
Since the follicle is perpendicular
in its arrangement, its position suits accumulation
and not draining off that occurs with female follicles.
The reason why female follicles do not support
accumulation of sebaceous substances is because
the angle that each female hair follicle makes
with the scalp is much less than male follicles.
Since the follicles in the male scalp
allow accumulation of sebaceous substances it
gets clogged. Clogging disrupts proper growth
of the hair, and since this may take place in
a number of hair follicles at one time hair growth
is considerable stunted. In men, this appears
to be a problem, as males anywhere in their late
teens to their forties may suffer from stunted
hair growth. In contrast to this, women do not
suffer from this condition.
In addition to hair follicles getting
clogged up in men, it must be asserted that now
it has also been established that enzyme action
is also responsible for hair loss. Along with
stunted hair growth, hair loss makes things worse.
An enzyme in the body is responsible
for converting testosterone to DHT. It is DHT
that is the chief cause of hair loss in men. In
women this is not much of a problem because of
the hormonal difference between the two sexes.
DHT is believed to be responsible
for what is known as male pattern baldness. It
is said that anywhere between the ages of 19 and
40 DHT may begin acting on a male’s scalp
causing hair thinning as well as hair loss. Means
of fighting DHT have been devised in the form
of particular prescription drugs.
One in particular is Propecia that
is only recommended for men. Since women do not
get affected by DHT, Propecia cannot be recommended
for them. In addition to this, it is further warned
that a pregnant woman should not even touch the
drug because it is highly active. However, males
are usually told to consume this drug on prescription
for a definite period.
Finally, it must be asserted that
research into hair loss continues and tends to
focus more on male pattern baldness rather than
female hair loss. This is because women tend to
suffer with hair loss less than men. Child birth
and medical treatment may however cause baldness
in women as well. |
