Causes of Hair Loss

     For most of us who are experiencing premature baldness, the cause is genetic. Hair loss, like eye color, is an inherited trait. Hair follicles are genetically coded at birth. If genes responsible for hair loss were present, they made the hair follicles on top of your head sensitive to the hormone dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. These follicles were then predisposed to begin shrinking when you reached adulthood.

     Unfortunately, once this process starts, it will continue throughout your lifetime. As the hairs produced by your ever-shrinking follicles become finer, they'll stop growing to normal length. And what's first noticed as "thinning hair" or a "receding hairline" progresses to baldness as the shrinking follicles finally stop producing any hair at all.

Popular Misconceptions About Hair Loss

     For many years our schools have taught - wrongly - that hair loss is always inherited from the mother's father. Medical science now knows that baldness genes are passed down from both sides of the family. They can also skip generations and are utterly random in terms of which siblings will be affected. It's quite common for one woman to keep a full head of hair while her sister begins experiencing severe thinning in her twenties.

How Important Is Hair Care?

     Contrary to common belief, hair loss is not caused by a failure to take good care of your hair. Consumers waste millions of dollars on shampoos and phony, non-FDA approved treatments. (Only two medications, Rogaine and Propecia, have ever been approved by the FDA to treat hair loss.) We've counseled many men and women who have held themselves responsible for their hair loss. It's important to understand that, with very few exceptions, our hair follicles are going to live or die by their genetic coding - and for no other reason.

     Medical science still doesn't completely understand the biochemical processes within our hair follicles that are responsible for balding in men and women. You can read more about female hair loss treatments and causes.

Email us today or call us at 808-585-8855 to discuss your options for hair restoration.