Hair loss in men that increases with age is called male-pattern hair loss (MPHL). Hair loss in women that increases with age is called female-pattern hair loss (FPHL). Male-pattern hair loss, also known as androgenic or androgenetic alopecia, is due to a combination of your genetic predisposition and the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a derivative of testosterone. For whatever reason, at some point in time, the man’s hair follicles become sensitive to DHT. The follicles start to shrink and no longer want to produce hair. The causes of female-pattern hair loss remain unclear.
Male-pattern hair loss is responsible for 90% of hair loss problems in men, and this type of hair loss usually proceeds in a well-documented and predictable pattern. This pattern is represented by the Norwood Hamilton Scale.
This type of hair loss starts subtly with a thinning and receding of the hair around your temples and toward to the top and front of your head. It then proceeds with the crown of you head. Left untreated, the hair will continue to fall out generally leaving a horseshoe-shaped band of hair around the bottom rear of your hairline from ear to ear for most men.
Recognizing this pattern would be one of the ways a doctor would diagnose you, but your doctor may want to order some other tests to rule out other reasons for your hair loss.
Keep in mind that it’s always easier to treat hair loss when there is some hair left, and this type of hair loss does not happen overnight. If you are considering one of the many hair loss treatment options, talk to us or your doctor before you are totally bald.