I would like to preface this article by saying that quite often the right information can completely change a person’s attitude towards a problem. Please read this carefully and I hope it will help you.

It is generally well known that both men and women can suffer significant hair loss.

Having said that it may not , however, be well known that more than 50% of men, at some time in their lives , will suffer with Male Pattern Baldness (MPB.) also known as androgenetic alopecia . There is no evidence at the present time to suggest that this will happen at any particular time in a person’s life.

The major reason which accounts for hair loss is a genetically inherited sensitivity to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5 - alpha- reductase. The enzyme 5 -alpha-reductase actually converts testosterone, a male hormone , to DHT . This is the substance which has been identified as the end cause for hair loss.

There is a general acceptance in the community that most male hair loss follows a pattern which has been codified in a table called the Norwood Scale. This scale has seven patterns of hair, which are identified as follows:

Norwood Scale 1 - This is considered as being a normal head of hair, and consequently has no visible hair loss.

Norwood Scale 2 - This is considered a primary stage of of hair loss, with the hair receding in a wedge shaped pattern from front to back of the head.

Norwood Scale 3 - The hair is still receding in a wedge shaped pattern, but the hairline has now receded farther back into the frontal and the temporal regions.

Norwood Scale 4 - The hair is still receding but is now a lot more severe in the frontal and temporal regions. In addition to the more severe recession of the hairline in the frontal and temporal regions there is hair loss at the very top centre of the head. Generally, however, there will be a bridge of hair which remains between that region and the front.

Norwood Scale 5 - The bridge of hair, between the frontal region and the top centre is also known as the vertex and at this stage the hair in this region will have started to become thin.

Norwood Scale 6 - The hair loss at this stage has become quite severe, and the bridge of hair between the frontal area and the vertex will have disappeared completely.

Norwood Scale 7 - This is the final stage of hair loss. The hair has now receded back to the base of the head, and also to just above the ears on the sides.

It is generally accepted that the Norwood patterns are genetically determined.

This article was written to answer some of the most frequently asked questions on this topic of hair loss. I hope you find all of this information helpful.

The body is without doubt very complex and a little known fact is that of all the tissues in the body hair grows faster than any other. The make up of each individual hair is in the form of three layers - the inner layer (medulla) , which is only found in thick hair , the middle layer (cortex) determining texture , color and strength of the hair and finally the protection for the cortex which is known as the cuticle. Hair growth starts at the roots and they are surrounded by follicles.

Underneath this is another layer known as the dermal papilla. This is vital to the hair growth and the supporting nourishment is supplied from the bloodstream. The only living element of the hair is the root. All of the visible element of the hair is actually dead tissue and consequently is unable to mend or heal itself.

The natural conclusion to be drawn is that it is vitally important to continually maintain the highest standards when it comes to taking care of the scalp and body in order to preserve hair growth. It must be said that there are a lot of false and bogus claims made regarding the treatment and nourishment of the visible hair for no other reason than to simply sell products , some of which can be very expensive.

Hormones called androgens, generally testosterone, can cause hair follicles to contract, and this in turn causes thinning of the hair or ultimate hair loss. It is reported that only bone marrow grows faster in our body than hair does.

If you take the average scalp it contains approximately 100,000 to 150,000 hair follicles and hairs. At any point in time 90% of the hair is growing and 10% of the hair is dormant. There are three distinct stages in hair growth and these are anagen, catagen and telogen. Let’s take a look at these stages .

The anagen stage is the stage where hair is actively growing and naturally this stage is longer for follicles in the scalp than anywhere else on the body. It should also be noted that this lasts longer for women than for men .

The catagen stage is the stage where there is a natural deterioration of the hair follicles and for the hair to fall out. This stage is generally considered to be only transitory and the follicles will ultimately enter the telogen stage which is in fact dormant. These are the 10% which are referred to above.

The three stages last different lengths of time:

The normal anagen stage lasts approximately five years The normal catagen stage lasts about three weeks The normal telogen stage lasts approximately twelve weeks.

One of the most important points to note is that it is natural to lose some hair. It is generally accepted that the loss of 100 hairs per day should be considered as being natural. Taking this into consideration it will not generally be apparent to most people that they are actually losing their hair before there is an actual loss of about 50%.