Causes of hair loss in man

Male pattern baldness refers to a loss of hair on the scalp in men. It happens as hormone levels change over a man’s lifetime, and especially in the later years.

But it can start early in life. Two thirds of men and one in every four women after the age of 35 years suffer from hair thinning problems, according to the research of the American Hair Loss Association.

Male pattern baldness, also called androgenic alopecia, is the most common type of hair loss in men. 

One cause of male pattern baldness:
Genetics – or having a family history of baldness. Research has found that male pattern baldness is associated with male sex hormones called androgens. The androgens have many functions, including regulating hair growth.

Each hair on your head has a growth cycle. With male pattern baldness, this growth cycle begins to weaken and the hair follicle shrinks, producing shorter and finer strands of hair. Eventually, the growth cycle for each hair ends and no new hair grows in its place.

Sometimes baldness has more serious causes, such as certain cancers, medications, thyroid conditions, and anabolic steroids. 

Doctors use the pattern of hair loss to diagnose that problem. They may perform a medical history and exam to rule out certain health conditions as the cause, such as fungal conditions of the scalp or poor nutrition.

Health conditions may be a cause of baldness when a rash, redness, pain, peeling of the scalp, hair breakage, patchy hair loss, or an unusual pattern of hair loss accompanies the hair loss. 

Classic male-pattern hair loss begins above the temples and vertex of the scalp. As it progresses, a rim of hair at the sides and rear of the head remains, and rarely progresses to complete baldness.