Demystifying Hair Loss

* 60 percent of hair loss sufferers would rather have more hair than money or friends.

* Almost half (47 percent) of hair loss sufferers would spend their life savings to regain a full head of hair.

* Roughly a third (30 percent) of hair loss sufferers would give up sex, if it meant they would get their hair back.

Over the last several years, hair-raising reports have been released regarding hair loss in Korea. People are beginning to seek answers as their questions flood newspapers, blogs and social networking sites. Are people really losing more hair these days? Why do more men lose hair in comparison to women?

Worldwide, the number of hair loss sufferers seeking medical treatment from 2004 to 2008 has increased exponentially. Analysis of hospital bills by the National Health Insurance Corporation has shown that an increase in patients seeking medical treatment for hair loss is at an all-time high. Surprisingly, a majority of these patients were in their 20s or 30s.

However, the information at hand does not mean that more people are losing hair, nor can it determine that people are balding at younger ages. The raw data simply tells us that more people are actually seeking treatment for hair loss than before, and now, many of these patients are between 20 to 30 years old.

It is important to understand that there are many types of hair loss. Ranging in characteristics and causes, the on-set, duration and remedy are uniquely dependent on the type of hair loss being experienced. The following are examples of common on-going hair loss problems:

• Male pattern balding is genetic and progressive if untreated.
  
•  Alopecia universalis is an auto-immune disorder, occurring at any age, where hair is lost over the entire body.
• Alopecia areata (patchy hair loss) occurs suddenly in children and young adults but is temporary, with hair returning in a few years.
• Trichotillomania, seen most frequently in children, is exceptionally difficult to treat. Considered a neuro-biological disorder, it compels a person to pull out and sometimes eat their own hair.

Other common causes for hair loss include but are not limited to: medication, anemia, child birth (temporary extra shedding of “hair build-up”), hair appliances and fungal infections.

Trying to explain why they lose their hair, people have believed some myths that are just simply not true:

Myth #1: Women Lose More Hair than Men

Contrary to popular belief, hair loss is just as common for men as it is for women. Hair loss affects roughly 50 percent of women. Similarly, 40 percent of men have noticeable hair loss by age 35, 65 percent by age 60 and 80 percent by age 80. Men and women begin to lose their hair at about the same rate. Hair loss in men is simply more noticeable because it occurs in a specific pattern, “male pattern balding,” at the top and front of the head. This patterning creates obvious bald spots, whereas women  lose hair throughout a wide area of their scalp and thus their overall hair feels and appears thinner. As a result, men in their 50s actually have more hair on the sides and back of their heads then women of the same age.

Myth #2: Short-Term Stress Causes Hair Loss

There has always been a mythological connection between stress and balding. Luckily, for over-worked parents and Type A personalities, the “fizzling out of your brain” does not equate to the fizzling out of your follicles. Short-term daily stresses, such as running late to work, tackling a heavy workload or even semi-weekly rows with your significant other, are not going to cause your hair to fall out. However, traumatic psychological stress that affects your sleep patterns, dieting or hormonal balances could affect your body in a way that causes hair loss.

Myth #3: Constant Dieting, Eating More Meat lead to Hair Loss

The “Western diet” is a favorite scapegoat, whenever talking about health problems, and though it is loosely defined and all-inclusive that it  resembles the reasonably-priced buffets that characterize it, it is not the exact culprit. Instead, any lack of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that your body needs can lead to hair loss. This obviously includes people on strict weight-loss diets trying to achieve “K-Pop Idol” thinness and people who have limited access to fresh produce in the winter season.

One myth particularly pervasive around Korea is that eating too much meat causes hair loss. This is absolutely false. Protein is actually good for your hair’s nutrients. Too little protein can damage healthy hair and inhibit new follicles from forming.

Myth #4: Sex Hormones

A newspaper has quoted a doctor who reported that eating too much meat and fast food can cause children’s bodies to release sex hormones prematurely, throwing them into early puberty and consequential premature hair loss. First, as mentioned, meat does not contribute to balding, nor does fatty foods. However, government regulation do allow several hormones in the food supply, including estradiol, estriol, testosterone, progesterone and other sex hormones that can cause imbalance and temporary hair loss. Many meat and dairy animals are treated with hormones, which get passed on to consumers. Hormonal influence is not exclusive to consuming contaminated food products, as hormone-disrupting chemicals can be found in every-day products, such as soaps, cosmetics and cleaning products.

Though the most common cause of hair loss is hereditary, hormonal changes and in genetically-predisposed people, certain sex hormones trigger a particular pattern of permanent hair loss. Many people believe testosterone causes baldness but this is also not the case. Hair loss is influenced by the transformation of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). If an individual has increased levels of a hormone known as 5-alpha reductase and this transforms testosterone into DHT, then they may suffer from hair loss.