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Hair plays an important
role in our lives. One of the first things you notice about
someone is their hair. Before a social engagement, our hair
is one of the things we spend the most time on getting to
look a certain way. That is why hair loss provokes not only
feelings of cosmetic concern, but also may provoke a loss of
self-esteem and even identity problems.
Hair Loss, also referred to as
balding, is caused by many of factors, the most important
being heredity. Hair loss runs in the family and is not
curable. Gene manipulation may lead scientists to a cure.
Men with a genetic predisposition to hair loss have areas on
their scalp that are especially sensitive to male sex
hormones. As men age, these areas and the hair follicles
that reside there suffer from a biological imbalance caused
by a male hormone called DHT. Over a period of years,
follicles wither and hair becomes thinner and shorter until
it can't be seen at all.
Though not curable yet, hair loss in the form of
androgenetic alopecia (male and female pattern baldness
described above) can be treated in various surgical and
non-surgical ways. Shampoos like Rogaine work by stimulating
the growth of hair, thus counteracting the effects of
excessive hair loss. Pills like Propecia are DHT inhibitors,
which help keep DHT levels normal so follicles are not
flooded with it. There are a variety of other treatment
options like transplant surgery, which involves taking
follicles from the sides and back of the scalp that are not
sensitive to hormones that cause hair loss and
redistributing them to balding areas.
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