Did you know that a healthy man or woman typically loses between 100 and 125 hairs on any given day? Every hair on your head is positioned somewhere in a growth cycle, at the end of which it sheds and falls out. At any point about ten percent of your hair is in a "resting phase", and after two to three months of "resting" that hair falls out and new hair grows - on a healthy head of hair. For some people though, it doesn't grow back.

As we get older both women and men experience an increase in hair loss; it is a normal port of the aging process. The clinical name for this phenomenon is 'Androgenic Alopecia', and it accounts for more than 95% of all hair loss in individuals. Androgenic Alopecia affects some people more than others, and is more pronounced in some families. It is so common that in men it is often referred to as Male Pattern Baldness (MPB).

Characteristic signs of Androgenic Alopecia are a receding hairline or baldness on the top of the head. In women it more often manifests as an overall thinning of hair over the entire scalp. it is generally more severe in men than in women.

Hormones play the dominant role when talking about Androgenic Alopecia. Simply put, both men and women produce testosterone. Testosterone can be converted to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with the aid of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. DHT shrinks hair follicles causing the membranes in the scalp to thicken, become inelastic and restrict blood flow. This causes the hair follicles to atrophy. As a result, when a hair does fall out, it is not replaced. Needless to say, men produce more testosterone than women and experience more hair loss.

Androgenic Alopecia is the number one cause of hair loss in individuals, but there are other causes as well. Certain medications such as blood thinners, birth control pills and gout medication can cause hair loss. Medical conditions including fungal infections and hyperthyroidism can also lead to hair loss, as can sudden changes in diet, hormonal changes, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Stress can also lead to hair loss. Surgery, pregnancy, job loss or emotional stress can cause hair to fall out; usually thinner hair presents itself three to four months following the onset of a stressor because during periods of stress a larger number of hair follicles enter the resting phase of their life cycle and no new hair growth is experienced at the same time.

Another way in which individuals experience hair loss is due to mechanical stressors on the hair and scalp. Wearing pigtails, cornrows or tight rollers that end up pulling on the hair can scar the scalp and cause permanent hair loss. Hair products such as hot oil treatments and chemicals used for permanents can cause inflammation to the hair follicles which can also result in scarring and hair loss.

While there are a number of reasons behind thinning hair or hair loss, Androgenic Alopecia is far and away the most common cause, and also the most treatable. Quality hair loss treatment products such as Provillus simultaneously suppress the production of DHT and provide nutrients essential for hair growth. The result is hair regeneration and a return to a healthy head of hair in most cases. If you're one of the millions of Americans concerned about your loss of hair, you owe it to yourself to try to preserve your hair, and Provillus offers one proven method used by millions to do so.