What is Baldness: Baldness is the lack of hair where it would normaly grow, especially on the head. The most common form of baldness is called: Male Pattern and Female Pattern Baldness.
Hair Information: A Hair is composed of a substance called keratin, and is essentially a collection of dead cells which are the product of the hair follicle. The hair follicle has two layers, the dermal layer and the epidermal layer. The life cycle of the hair begins with the anagen phase which is a period of growth when the follicular cells are multiplying and keratinizing, this lasts 2-6 years. The involutional phase begins when the follicle involutes and migrates closer to surface (club hair). The telogen phase describes a resting period that lasts approximately 100 days allowing the dermal papilla to be released from the epidermal investment. Normal hair growth occurs at the rate of 0.33 mm a day. New hairs are produced by the forming of a new follicle and hair shaft pushing out the club hair.
What causes Baldness: The most common type of baldness or hair loss (98%) in men and women is ‘androgenetic alopecia’. ‘androgenetic alopecia’ shows more prevalence in white males, with 96% of white males having some degree of male pattern androgenetic alopecia by age 62. It was originally thought that ‘androgenetic alopecia’ was passed down as a trait in the male, and as a trait in the female. It is now felt that ‘androgenetic alopecia’ follows a polygenic inheritance and that possession of more ‘androgenetic alopecia’ genes makes someone more likely to become bald.
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