Baldness involves the state of lacking hair where it often grows, especially on the head. The most common form of baldness is a progressive hair thinning condition called androgenic alopecia or 'male pattern baldness' that occurs in adult male humans and other species. More than half of men and women in the United States experience hair loss. About 30% of people have hair loss by age 30 years, and about 50% have hair loss by age 50 years. Hair loss is so common that most of the time it is considered a normal variation and not a disease



The official term for hair loss is Alopecia and it can mean either the total or partial loss of hair. If your are suffering from hair loss you need proper hair loss information before you can accurately start treating your hair loss. There are several considerations that hair loss information will give you which you should use to determine the severity of your hair loss and also help you to understand what treatment options are available to you.

What To Consider

When it comes to hair loss information there is a lot out there and first you need to determine what type of hair loss you have. Hair loss can develop gradually and it may also be patchy or it may occur all over the body. Every day nearly one hundred hair are shed from the healthy human head. An average human scalp will contain about a hundred thousand hairs. Hair will survive for about four and a half years while growing at about half an inch each month. Then in the fifth year the hair will fall out to be replaced by a new one within six months. The genetic form of hair loss results when the body fails to produce sufficient new hairs whilst being accompanied by excessive hair loss.

As people age they tend to lose the same amount of hair thickness and amount whether they are men or women. Men are more likely to have inherited pattern baldness then women. By the time they turn thirty about 25% of men will start to go bald and about two-thirds of men will be either completely bald or have balding patterns by the time they turn sixty. The typical pattern baldness will have a receding hairline along with thinning around the crown. If men do not have testosterone as a result of a genetic abnormality or castration then they will not develop pattern baldness since the pattern baldness needs testosterone.

Other Causes

Before assuming you have the common kinds of hair loss if is important to consider other causes of hair loss. While baldness is not typically a result of any single factor it can be related to aging, heredity and testosterone levels. Other possible causes of hair loss include hormonal changes, a serious illness, medications, excessive shampooing or blow-drying, emotional or physical stress, nervous habits, burn or parasites such as ringworm.

Main points

* Many causes of female hair loss are temporary - check your general health and be patient

* Take a look at your family for an idea of your risk of female pattern baldness

* Don't be taken in by claims for wonder products - there's no cure for female pattern hair loss

Chances are that the greatest challenge of losing your hair is coping with the change in your appearance. You may be frustrated or upset by other people's reactions or after trying various treatments with little success.