5 Misconceptions about Baldness

by Alexandra Kilpatrick

Pinpointing one cause of hair loss is difficult, since genetic, hormonal and environmental factors all contribute to the condition. Male pattern baldness affects over 95 percent of male hair loss sufferers. However, around 40 percent of all hair loss sufferers in the United States are women.

Medical Daily analyzed five common misconceptions surrounding hair loss and its causes and clarified what’s fact and what’s fiction.

Wearing a hat causes hair loss

Wearing a hat so tight that it cuts off circulation to hair follicles can cause the hair loss condition, traction alopecia. However, as long as you’re not cutting off your follicles’ circulation, you can wear hats as often as you want without experiencing hair loss. Wearing a hat typically doesn’t cause traction alopecia. However, braids, tight buns and similar hairstyles can cause the hairline to recede and result in gradual baldness.

“This is a common misconception and worry for many men who have worn hats over a long period of time,” Anderson Hair Sciences Center founder, director and chief of surgery Dr. Ken Anderson explained to Medical Daily. “The truth is that typical hair loss, for example, male pattern baldness, is caused by a sensitivity to naturally occurring hormones in a patient’s body, not from wearing hats.

“Typical hair loss is genetic in origin, meaning a person inherits the hair loss from both mother and father and it is usually something that is not caused by external factors. Hats that hold a fair amount of sweat and dirt, however, could possibly result in a scalp infection, which in turn can cause hair loss, but this is unusual.”

Hair loss is passed down from your mother’s side

While genetics do, in fact, play a huge role in hair loss, you’re just as likely to share the baldness trait with someone on the paternal side of your family as the maternal side.

“Hair loss is not limited to the maternal side of the family,” Anderson told Medical Daily. “The hair loss gene can come from either parent. The gene that primarily causes baldness is on the X chromosome, which men get only from their mothers, but there are other contributing factors. While the hereditary factor is slightly more dominant on the woman’s side, research suggests that men who have a bald father are more likely to develop male pattern baldness than those who don’t.”

Hair loss is irreversible

Hair restoration experts consider hormonal changes the main culprit behind gradual hair loss. The majority of recent studies exploring direct hair loss causes have pointed to an extension of the male hormone testosterone called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. Considered the male hormone, testosterone does occasionally appear in small amounts in women. Studies show that women with larger amounts of testosterone are more likely to suffer from hair loss. However, hair loss treatments like Propecia and Rogaine reduce levels of hair follicle shrinking hormones and can prevent or even reverse the progression of hair loss.

Hair loss only occurs as you age

While hair loss does tend to occur as you age, hair thinning from male or female pattern baldness can begin as early as puberty. About 3 percent of pediatric office visits in the United States occur because of child hair loss. Male pattern baldness can affect men in their teens or early 20s at the youngest.

“Hair loss can begin as early [as] the teenage years for men and the 20s for women,” Anderson explained to Medical Daily. “In such cases, it is important to be seen by a hair restoration specialist to rule out other atypical causes of hair loss, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, one of the most common hormonal disorders among females.”

Stress causes hair loss

“Stress can cause hair loss, but it’s not the typical stresses of everyday life that many experience: a difficult boss, a stressful job, or financial insecurity,” Anderson told Medical Daily. “Stress-related hair loss tends to be associated with very emotionally powerful events, such as the loss of a loved one. It is the type of event that causes a person to lose sleep, or changes a person’s appetite and significantly raise[s] the level of stress hormones.”

If you or someone you know wants more information about hair loss, please feel free to schedule a consultation or contact one of our representatives today!