Call (866) 471-8869 for FREE Consultation
Does Hair Loss Really Skip a Generation?
by Kate Blair
There is an abundance of misinformation floating around about hair loss, and it is time to set the record straight. As much as you might want to, you cannot entirely blame your mother’s genetics for your own baldness genes. Likewise, baldness does not, in fact, skip a generation, so you cannot expect to have a full head of hair, even if your father did not. Genetics is one complicated bag of tricks, and rarely predictable enough to correlate with myths such as these. While baldness can follow these patterns, it is just as likely not to. Researchers have discovered that there is no one gene that can be linked to baldness. Like many other traits, it is a combination of genes that leads to this unfortunate, but still incredibly common predicament.
Hair loss myths, explored
There is a grain of truth to the old tale that baldness comes from the mother’s side. Recently, an androgen receptor, or AR gene linked to the X chromosome has been associated with genetic baldness. Since men inherent an X chromosome from their mothers, they have a 50% chance of inheriting the gene if their grandfather happens to have it. However, the gene does not necessarily predict baldness. Some men with the AR gene go bald; some do not. This is where it gets tricky.
Your mother’s genetics are no more to blame than your father’s for causing baldness. Men whose fathers have pattern baldness are more than twice as likely to develop pattern baldness themselves. More recently, researchers from Bonn, Dusseldorf and McGill Universities have discovered that variations on chromosome 20 are also linked to baldness. Children gain a chromosome 20 from each parent. Men with one affected chromosome are more than 3 times as likely to develop hair loss early in life, while men with two affected chromosomes are roughly 6 times more likely.
Then, of course, you might be unlucky enough to have a combination of the AR gene and the affected chromosome 20, which increases your likelihood yet again.
Is hair loss preventable?
The answer is still no. Any discovery can point the way towards a future cure, but for now, there is little you can do to prevent baldness, although you might be able to slow down the process slightly. Rogaine and Propecia, for example, may slow the onset of balding. Awareness of the real truths behind hair loss can brings you one step closer to controlling your hair loss more effectively. And if you do have thinning hair, a consultation with a hair restoration specialist can also be a viable option. In the mean time, try to forgive your parents for your retreating hairline; they couldn’t help it!
Call 866-471-8869 for FREE Consultation
