Hair loss zaps confidence and thinning hair often makes people feel subconscious of their looks making individuals in turn more susceptible to treatments and remedies that strongly suggest they have the ‘magic answer’.
Before treating hair loss, you will first need to find out why you are losing hair. So what’s a legitimate reason and what’s false? Read on below to find out more about the facts and fiction regarding hair loss myths.
Like most hair loss false myths, this is not based on any evidence. Men who notice a bald spot or receding hairline think that by having their head, their hair will grow back thicker. Bald spots and hair thinning are a sign that hair follicles are shrinking. Cutting hair will hide the problem, rather than fixing it.
Find out more about the best hairstyle to cover up a receding hairline in both men and women.
Wearing hats is safe for your hair health unless they are uncomfortably tight. If your hat is tight or is pulling on your hair roots and you wear it for a substantial amount of time, it could cause damage to the hair roots resulting in traction alopecia.
Traction alopecia is a form of preventable hair loss and occurs by pulling hair into a tight hairstyle such as tight ponytails, man buns, or top knots.
There are many things that are genetically inherited and male pattern baldness is one of them. However, male pattern hair loss along with other types of hair can be inherited from either your mother or father’s side of the family.
There are other factors that contribute to hair loss too. The best way to find out the cause of your hair loss is to see a qualified medical professional for an accurate diagnosis.
Another common hair loss myth is that excessive masturbation makes your hair fall out. However, there is no evidence to back this up. Find out if masturbation causes hair loss.
Unlike other hair loss myths, this myth has some truth to it. There are some medical conditions where stress can cause you to lose hair. These include:
Telogen effluvium is a hair loss condition where the normal hair growth cycle is disrupted due to abnormal chemical activity caused by things like trauma, stress, childbirth, injury, or illness.
Telogen effluvium is not sudden and happens when hair goes into longer resting phases (a stage in the hair growth cycle where hair follicles pause) followed by the telogen (shedding) phase.
Telogen effluvium is characterized by overall thinning of the hair, bald patches that don’t follow the pattern of male or female pattern hair loss, and the shedding of large clumps of hair.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune medical condition where the body’s autoimmune system attacks the body’s own hair follicles. As a result of this attack, hair follicles shrink and have trouble producing hair.
Individuals who suffer from alopecia areata will present with patchy hair loss and small round shaped spots on the scalp.
It’s important to treat this hair loss condition early. If left untreated, alopecia areata can unfortunately spread across the entire head.
Trichotillomania is a medical condition where sufferers feel compelled to pull out their own hair leaving bald patches of hair in various parts of their body. Stress and anxiety have been known to exacerbate the compulsion to pluck out hair.
Although you may experience hair loss triggered by stress, the good news is that it’s not permanent. Medical professionals can recommend or prescribe oral or topical hair loss treatments to promote hair regrowth.
Again, this is a myth not based on fact. It’s normal to see a few hair strands in the shower drain when washing your hair or even brushing it later. Up to 100 strands of hair can be lost during washing and are nothing to worry about as new hair growth replaces this.
If you think you can see your scalp through your hair, seek professional medical advice.
Are bald men a victim of their own elevated testosterone levels? The answer is, not quite. Many believe baldness to be a result of elevated testosterone levels that only masculine men of virility are subject to.
Truthfully, male pattern baldness is believed to be a result of a genetic predisposition where the hair follicles are sensitive to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is a male sex hormone that binds to the androgen receptors in the hair follicles causing them to shrink and eventually stop producing hair.
This would explain why not all men experience male hair loss even though they all produce DHT.
This is probably a well-intentioned myth but IQ does not directly correlate with hair loss. The theory possibly emerged as a means of encouraging people struck low by baldness. The unproven theory is that the brain activity that makes someone super-smart was impacting hair follicles.
Fortunately for intelligent people everywhere, critical thinking does not affect hair growth and will not lead to hair loss.
For a long time, a receding hairline, thinning hair, and baldness were seen to be something that people had to accept. Your dad was bald by the time he was 30/40/50 etc. is not an excuse for you to suffer the same fate.
The advances in professional, medical treatments to reverse baldness and bulk out thinning or receding hair lines are phenomenal and include a variety of surgical and non-surgical hair loss treatments including:
Although more men decide to undergo hair restoration surgery, there is a significant portion of women who decided to have a hair transplant as well.
The reasons why women might want to ditch the wig and invest in a hair transplant depend on the type of hair loss condition they have experienced.
For example, some women have chosen to undergo hair transplant surgery to straighten a hairline or simply improve hair density.
If you want to get real answers and real solutions to your hair loss solutions, it’s important to seek expert medical advice from a trusted source.
Our experienced hair specialists will help determine the cause of your hair loss and a personalized treatment plan so that you can get the results you are looking for.
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