Male pattern hair loss is an inherited condition, caused by a genetically determined sensitivity to the effects of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT in some areas of the scalp. DHT is believed to shorten the growth, or anagen, phase of the hair cycle, from a usual duration of 3-6 years to just weeks or months. This causes miniaturization of the follicles, and producing progressively fewer and finer anagen hairs. An enzyme called 5-alpha reductase regulates the production of DHT.
Apart from the major three reasons, genetics, hormones and stress, chemical hair treatments, medications and scalp infection also cause male pattern hair loss. In mostly seen cases of pattern baldness, hair is lost in a well-defined pattern, beginning around the temples. Hair also thins at the crown of the head. Quite often, a rim of hair around the sides and rear of the head is left.
Using chemicals like hair gels, hairsprays trigger the hair loss but don’t cause baldness. If you are using these kinds of products, you should wash your hair daily to prevent the pores getting clog. Otherwise, hair cannot breathe and get enough nutrition and this would cause hair loss.
