Male pattern baldness is a fact of life for most men. At the age of 20, 1 in 5 of us have some hair loss already and by the age of 50 half of all men are starting to bald. But if we understand the science behind hair production and loss then there is a way to delay and even reverse these effects.
DHT
Men produce testosterone but this chemical in itself is not all that useful so the body converts it into other chemicals which are more potent. One of these is DHT which is then used to help various processes in the body and it gets there in the bloodstream.
Unfortunately, DHT has a side effect which is to denutrify the hair follicles over time. Each hair that the follicle creates gradually becomes thinner over time. Eventually, the follicle becomes so malnutritioned that it gives up producing hair. However, if it can be renutrified as you’ll see below then it can start producing hairs again, so long as you don’t leave it too long.
Risk Factors
Of course the biggest risk comes from genetics so there is not much that you can do about that. There is a common myth that you get your baldness from your mother’s father. This is not true and genetics of hair loss is much more complex than that.
Treatment
There are 2 FDA approved drugs for treating hair loss, one is Minoxidil and the other is Finasteride. With both of them, the vast majority of men report a cessation of hair loss and most of them also experience hair regrowth. They both work in different ways – one of them reduces DHT and the other widens the blood vessels to get better nutrients to the hair follicle. Unfortunately, this can have side effects elsewhere in the body.
The other way to treat it is naturally. Indigenous tribes have for years used natural herbs that stimulate the scalp and give better blood flow to the follicles. The follicles take their nutrition directly from the bloodstream and so this results in cessation of hair loss, thicker hair and even regrowth from dormant follicles.