What is baldness? In medical terms baldness is known as Alopecia. Baldness is the loss of hair and the scalp becomes visible. This condition is more prevalent in men than women. Hair loss is mainly due to age, illness, heredity, changes in hormones etc.

Hair loss is becoming something of an epidemic in the minds of middle aged men. With social pressures forcing men to live up to that 'perfect' wealthy middle aged man image, obvious imperfections like baldness are unacceptable.

Hair loss can be a traumatic event, for women and men. You can hide almost any skin problem, but it's practically impossible to hide hair loss. It's not just how others see you, but how you see yourself. No hair loss is good, but if it happens at a young age, then it can be more depressing.

Human hair grows in cycles. As we age and the effects of our inherited gene make-up begins to change the normal hair growth cycle so that more hair is being lost than is being grown. This results in thinning hair giving the overall impression of dull, brittle and aged hair.

Hair Loss, also referred to as balding, is caused by a variety of factors, the most important being heredity. Hair loss runs in the family and is not curable though someday, gene manipulation may lead scientists to a cure. Men with a genetic predisposition to hair loss have areas on their scalp that are especially sensitive to male sex hormones.

Hair loss in most cases is caused by genetics and it is the hardest to combat. But if your hair loss is not genetically related, it may be a result of poor diet, stress, alopecia or lacking certain vitamins and minerals. If that’s the case, immediate actions can be taken to stop your hair loss. As men age, these areas and the hair follicles that reside there suffer from a biological imbalance caused by a male hormone called DHT. Slowly, over a period of years, follicles wither and hair becomes thinner and shorter until it can't be seen at all.

DHT causes male pattern baldness by shortening the growth cycle of the hair and gradually making the follicles smaller and smaller. This, in turn, causes the hair produced to be much finer than normal. So DHT blockers can cure hair loss that is caused by DHT by doing exactly what the name implies - preventing the chemical reaction between 5-alpha-reductase enzymes and testosterone from taking place.

Symptoms of Hair Loss

The pattern of hair loss and baldness are different for men and women. On men special areas on the head begin get totally bald. These areas are usually at both sides of the front, and the top back side of the head. The hair loss then progresses with these areas extending, and at last most of the head can be totally without hair. However, a great area in the neck uses to remain unaffected and keeps a thick hair cover.

Cause

Most of us either know someone who is affected by this condition or perhaps are ourselves affected. The fact is that hair loss is not peculiar to men, it does occur in women too. The earliest indications of this affecting people are found in ancient finds and narratives.