As if we couldn’t get any more bad news regarding the financial crisis, as well as being labelled a hereditary condition or an unavoidable result of ageing due to hormonal changes, hair loss is now being associated with the Recession.
Men lose their hair for a variety of reasons. Medically it is explained as resulting from an increase in the hormone Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is created naturally in the body but it has limited beneficial functions beyond prenatal male sexual development. In addition to this form of hair loss (described as male pattern baldness) recent studies have outlined how the present economic crisis is taking its toll on our hair, with an 89% increase in men who are seeking hair loss treatments in the last three years.
Stress is another cause of hair loss in men and can cause three times the hair loss of the average, stress free individual. There are two types of stress related hair loss including telogen effluvium where hair growth stops temporarily causing an interruption to the natural growth and shedding cycles, thus causing a thinning of the hair. The most severe stress related hair loss is alopecia areata. Here the hair can fall out over a period of weeks and can leave men (and women) completely bald in about 10% of cases – most who fall victim to this type of hair loss with lose hair over a small discrete area and it normally grows back but could do so without the normal pigment. Most cases of alopecia areata are caused by an autoimmune disease that can be triggered by stress but it is not well understood.
The best way of avoiding the problem of hair loss is to begin treating it as soon as it starts. Propecia is the most successful hair loss treatment on the market and those taking it have not only kept their remaining hair but in many cases they have experienced regrowth. Propecia is only appropriate for hair loss caused by DHT and it would not work for stress related hair loss.