What are the contributing factors to male hair loss? Learn the 5 primary causes of male hairloss also known as male pattern baldness with Dr. Hootan Zandifar, double-board certified plastic surgeon and hair transplant specialist.
One of the main causes of male hair loss is genetics. This means that if other males in your family tree have experienced hair loss, there’s a good possibility you will experience male pattern baldness as well.
A second main cause of male hair loss is auto-immune diseases. In this case your immune system either directly attacks the hair follicles and cellular growth or indirectly affects hair loss through thinning or loss over time and treatments. Some of these autoimmune diseases include: Alopecia areata, Lupus, autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s Disease (underactive thyroid) or Grave’s Disease (overactive thyroid), Crohn’s Disease, and Rheumatoid arthritis just to name a few.
A third cause of male hair loss can be due to nutritional deficiencies that lead to the hair thinning out. Iron deficiency is a main culprit to male hair loss as Iron helps the red blood cells carry oxygen through the bloodstream. Without enough iron, the lack of available blood oxygen can lead to hair loss. Additionally vitamin deficiencies like Vitamine D and Zinc can lead to the hair thinning or to stop growing.
A fourth cause of male hair loss can be from trauma. Any significant shock or trauma to the nervous system either emotionally or physically can trigger hair thinning. Under stress, shock or trauma, the hair can temporarily thin out. One can lose as many as 70% of the scalp hair up to 2-3 months after the “shock”. Trauma can be both emotional or physical in nature and include death, divorce, surgery, physical injury, or loss of a job.
Medications can also play a big role in male hair loss. Including those used to treat depression, high blood pressure, arthritis, and of course cancer treatments.
Lastly, Hormones also can be a culprit to male pattern baldness. Excess testosterone can turn into another hormone called DHT that can cause hair follicles to shrink and over time potentially stop hair growth all together.
In closing, hair loss in men can have various causes, however, most of these are either treatable or reversible. If the hair loss is not reversible, in most cases, we can easily replace the missing health via hair transplantation.
If you have any questions or want to know if hair transplantation is right for you, then fill out a request for an appointment here.
