Where's my Hair?
How many of us have looked at a grandparent and thought, "Will I look like that?" Some are grateful for their predecessors great head of hair, or color retention, and some wonder about the shape of a familiar bald head, but most of us hope that our hair will remain as long as possible. It isn't only genes that we should sorry about though. There are many reasons to loose those luscious locks, and we can't always blame Grandpa!
Every head of hair is constantly growing and dying. Our hair is made up of a protein called keratin. This protein is constantly producing new cells and pushing the old ones out, thus our hair grows, but each one also has a life cycle that is inevitable. Eventually the folicle needs a rest and the old hair falls out to be replaced by new growth. There are also a variety of reasons that this process can speed up or slow down.
Most types of hair loss come under the name of alopecia. The first we can do nothing about, involutional alopecia. This is the act of aging in which our hair automatically thins and becomes shorter. The second, androgenic alopecia, is the male or female pattern baldness that we all look for genetically in our grandparents. This form causes a receding hairline, loss of hair on the crown or frontal scalp for men starting anywhere from the teen years on and general thinning especially in the crown for women after 40. The third type, alopecia areata, is when we may suddenly loose a patch of hair. This may result in baldness, but most people grow their hair back in a few years. The last form is alopecia universalis. With this form, the hair all over your body falls out, eyebrows, arms and legs, etc. Wow!
There are other conditions that can contribute to hair loss like trichotillomania, pulling ones own hair out, or things like chemicals, burns, drugs, pregnancy, and a few others that are of our own making. Most of these are treatable or can be avoided. You can always consult a doctor if you have concerns about hair loss, sometimes it can be a sign that there is something else going on that needs to be treated. Eventually, everyone will feel the effects of hair loss. Just don't blame Grandpa for it all!
