Even Famous Men Face the Problems of Baldness

Actor James Nesbitt spent tens of thousands of pounds on what appeared to be a remarkably successful hair transplant. “They’ve changed my life. It’s horrible going bald. Anyone who says it isn’t, is lying,” said Nesbitt. Instead of the pitted sprouting potato look seen on many unfortunate recipients of hair transplants, Nesbitt’s hair looks convincing enough to help land him—he believed—major new roles that he would otherwise have been denied.

The success of the transplant doubtless had something to do with the amount of money he could afford to spend on the job, but in the past, hard cash didn’t always solve the problem. “All that money and he’s still got hair like a dinner lady,” spat Boy George of Elton John, who has appeared to unsuccessfully confront his receding hairline with various ineffectual treatments over the years.

But this time, the transplants were actually pretty convincing. What was going on? There were rumors that a new hair transplant technique—FUE, or Follicular Unit Extraction, which transplants follicles from the back of the head one by one instead of in a long strip—used robot technology to enable thousands of follicles to be replanted at once, thus producing a more sophisticated and convincing result. Perhaps a new crop of hair could be bought, right now, without having to wait for genetic science to take the necessary leap forward.

Murray Healy, journalist and author of the book Gay Skins: Class, Masculinity and Queer Appropriation, points out that losing hair naturally is “seeming to fail, which is a bad thing. Thinning hair is, in a sense, the equivalent of a ‘failed crop’.” By which he means a failed agricultural rather than tonsorial crop.

He suggests unhappiness at not having hair is to do with a sense of shame, rather than any objective reality; and that if one is bold and does nothing to conceal the loss, and in fact emphasizes it by shaving, it can signify the opposite of failure—confidence in one’s own masculinity. This is a fairly recent phenomenon, which can be traced back to the hyper-masculinity advertised by the original skinheads in the 60s and 70s, a hairstyle which was then appropriated and lionized by the gay community in the 80s and 90s and turned into the opposite signal.

Solutions for Baldness Problems

Bruce Willis may embrace his baldness, but that’s scant consolation to those of us who worry about looking more like a billiard ball every day.

Approximately two-thirds of all men have noticeable hair loss by the age of 35, according to the American Hair Loss Association. About half of all women also suffer hair loss, although it tends not to be as severe as men’s.

While medical conditions can result in hair loss, genetics are the main culprit. Androgenic alopecia—commonly called male or female pattern baldness—starts as a thinning of individual hair shafts, but eventually results in the death of the hair follicle.

Is there a solution to baldness? Here’s what we found.

Drugs and Lotions

Only the prescription drug finasteride and over-the-counter treatments, like scalp lotions containing minoxidil, have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Propecia will halt hair loss, especially on the top of the head, in about 40 percent of men, according to Dr. Jeff Donovan, a dermatologist at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, who specializes in hair loss. It will produce some new growth in about the same percentage of users.

The Canadian Hair Research Foundation says the numbers are higher, with hair loss halted in more than 80 percent of cases and “visible regrowth” in two-thirds of users.

As to minoxidil, Donovan says, “it helps a little bit. If there are dormant follicles, it can help them to grow again.” The main effect is to increase the thickness of individual hairs.

Propecia should not be used by women who are or become pregnant (the manufacturer says it’s for men only).

“It would be good to ask your medical practitioner or dermatologist before starting (any treatment),” cautions Donovan.

Both treatments take several months to work and require continued use. Any regrowth tends to be fine hair, not the lush carpet of your youth.

Transplants

Transplants have come a long way since the days of those “hair plugs” that looked like divots from a golf course.

Surgeons like Dr. H. Rahal, founder and medical director of the Ottawa-based RAHAL Hair Transplant Institute (rahalhair transplant.com), now use the follicular unit method. They cut a small strip from areas where hair is still thick, painstakingly divide the strips into tiny grafts of one to three hairs, and implant those in bald spots.

Rahal charges about $15,000 to implant 5,000 grafts, which is a lot. The procedure takes 10 hours or more, healing requires about 10 days, and the hair starts to grow after three months. “It takes eight to 12 months to really show results,” he says.

Rahal encourages his patients to use treatments, like finasteride and minoxidil, to slow future hair loss.
Although “women are devastated by hair loss,” he says that only 50 percent are candidates for transplants. That’s because their hair loss is so diffused, there’s often no area thick enough to serve as a donor region.

He does, however, sometimes lower female patients’ hairlines or thicken eyebrows.

In selecting a transplant surgeon, Rahal says to look for one who’s a member of the American Hair Loss Association and the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons.

Extensions and Wigs

Extensions, whether synthetic or made of the real thing, are useful for lengthening or increasing fine hair. However, a “top-of-head system” is what women with hair loss turn to, according to Caralyn Tierney, owner of Caralyn’s Hair Solution Centre in Ottawa (caralynswigs.com).

Made of real hair and costing anywhere from $1,300 to $3,000, the system is either clipped to the client’s existing hair or, if that’s too thin, bonded to hair or the scalp. The procedure takes two to two and a half hours.

Tierney also supplies wigs. Made of real hair or synthetic material, “they are hand-tied and beautiful.” They cost $600 to $2,500.

Teenagers with Hair Loss Problems

There are many causes of hair loss for both teens and adults—male or female. It can be because of nutritional deficiency, hormone imbalance, stress, and diseases. Generally though, the most common cause of it is the genetic makeup of a person. Hair loss due to one’s genes is called androgenetic alopecia (AGA), which is also the medical term for hair loss or baldness. Persons with AGA have hair follicles that are genetically susceptible to hair loss. AGA may be due to genetics, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that if someone in your family is bald, then you it’s imminent for you to go bald as well. There a lot of other factors that can cause hair loss.

Men and women naturally produce testosterones. In men, it is produced in the testicles and adrenals; in women, in the ovaries. The combination of 5-alpha reductase and testosterones creates the by-product DHT (dihydrotestosterone), the androgen responsible for hair loss.

Although aging men and women are more prone to hair loss, the problematic hair condition also afflicts teenagers and young adults. The onset of alopecia in younger people may be due to stress, improper hair care practices, unhealthy diets and lifestyles, and medications.

Hormonal imbalance is also a major cause of hair loss in female teenagers and young adults. Girls and young ladies who are taking contraceptive and diet pills and acne medications may make them prone to experiencing alopecia or female pattern baldness. Some teenagers tend to go on crash diets, resulting to inadequate intake of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for the hair and scalp.

Lifestyle choices that include smoking, drinking alcohol, and late-night parties can cause an early onset of hair loss, that is, alopecia in males and females in their teens or twenties. Excessive styling of the hair or constantly exposing the scalp to hair chemicals (e.g., dyes, perms, and other hair treatments) can strain the hair shafts and weaken the hair follicles’ ability to grow new strands.

Hair loss problems afflict not only aging men and women, but also teenagers and young adults. Perhaps this is due to the pressure that the youth feel in trying to keep up with an image-driven society and the demands of popular practices in society.

What Is Female Androgenic Alopecia?

Do you think you are affected by androgenic alopecia (or androgenetic alopecia) and looking for answers? If that’s so, this post will present some information and facts that can help you understand this condition further and the treatments that are available. We will go over the main symptoms of Androgenic Alopecia (AGA) and the underlying causes. You will also learn how it compares to other causes of hair loss and if you could be affected in other ways. With that established, we will review several of the primary treatments available. At the end of this guide, you will have a good idea about what androgenic alopecia, or androgenetic alopecia, is and what types of treatments are available to reverse the condition.

Androgenic alopecia is a type of hair loss that is frequently called female-pattern baldness. Though it generally impacts women approaching menopause, research demonstrate that signs of it can appear as early as around the early teens. The main symptom is diffuse thinning around the crown of the scalp. The thinning can widen along the center hair parting. Genetics play a role, as does hormonal imbalances. Fortunately, this condition can be improved upon with early and proper treatment.

AGA hair loss is a type of genetic hair loss. Besides the genetic aspects, it could also result from changes in the hormonal levels of a woman. Changes in the menstrual cycles, pregnancy, childbirth and use of birth-control pills are all occurrences that could influence or are linked with variations in the bodily hormone levels, which is why awareness of the occurrences of these events can supply clues about the onset of androgenic alopecia. An understanding of what the body might be experiencing in terms of hormonal variations can help in the diagnosis and treatment of the hair loss affliction.