Why Me?

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 494
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It's always best to start off with the truth even though it never makes you feel any better. Why you? Well, there's nothing special about you. Everyone loses their hair as they age. That's right. Men and women are the same. The hairs physically thin every time they fall and regrow. What starts off a fine mane of thick hair slowly loses its bounce and becomes this flat stuff lying like a dead thing on top of your head. No matter what you do, nothing will stop this biological process. You can use special shampoos, rub the most expensive lotions and potions into your scalp. It's all a waste of money. Except. . . except this all happens to the others. For you, the loss comes far earlier. Some even start as teens. That's why you ask, Why me? That's why life is not always fair.

The odds are, if you start losing your hair anytime between 20 and 45 years, this is male pattern baldness. What causes it? Well the biological reason seems to be the way the roots of your hair, the follicles, react to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). All men have this hormone system based on testosterone and, for different reasons, the ordinary stuff gets ...
... turned in DHT. Most of the time, this is a good thing. Except in some men, the DHT changes the way your follicles work, slowing them down and changing the quality of the hair that grows. You usually shed about 100 hairs a day. With DHT around, there's only shorter, thinner hair to replace it. This also falls out more quickly and produces a net hair loss, i.e. you slowly go bald.

So how come you are one of the lucky ones whose follicles react to DHT? Well, most research suggests this is genetic. For the majority, the DHT floats around the body in the bloodstream and all hair growth continues uninterrupted. In a few who have baldness in their family, the result is clear to see. What are the other possible causes for hair loss? The most common are serious illnesses where you run a fever, thyroid disease, fungal infections and high levels of stress. Hair loss can also be the side effect of drugs you are taking. So, if you are fit and healthy and have no mold growing on your head, this is probably male pattern baldness. This confirms the use of Propecia which prevents your body from producing too much DHT. With more testosterone floating around your bloodstream, this is how it was when you were just coming into puberty and your hair was really looking great. One word of warning. It takes about six months before you can see sign of improvement. Propecia is a real slow-moving drug. Sometimes, it can take as long as a year before you know for sure whether you have the cure or not. So, before you start taking Propecia, get a doctor to confirm the diagnosis. Otherwise, you could spend a year taking a drug that's not going to help. That would just be one more unfairness in your life. Fortunately, it's a quick and easy consult to get the nod to use the drug. Sure it costs a few dollars but it's money well spent if it saves you paying for 12 months of a drug having no effect.