There is often a lack of understanding of the physiological and genetic mechanisms behind androgenetic alopecia and the hair loss associated with this condition. This lack of understanding means that many people turn to solutions that have no chance of working against hair loss. For them, this is a waste of time, hope, energy and money.
That's why the scientist in me is going to give you a short, simple explanation that will help you better understand what's actually happening on our sparse skulls 😉
1. How does androgenetic alopecia manifest itself?
In men, androgenetic alopecia corresponds to what is more commonly known as baldness. Generally, only the top of the head is affected by hair loss, and the hair on the crown is better preserved.
Androgenetic alopecia in women is characterized by more diffuse hair loss on the top of the head. Over the years, the hair becomes increasingly sparse. In general, women do not go completely bald, unlike men.
First important point: androgenetic alopecia in women is exactly the same as androgenetic alopecia in men: baldness.
I know how painful that term can be. But I think it's important to face reality, and above all to understand it, in order to move forward.
2. Is it genetic?
In androgenetic alopecia, there's genetics, because there are genetic predispositions that induce alopecia. It is therefore not uncommon to observe cases of androgenetic alopecia in our immediate family when we are concerned.
As for me, my father went bald (except for the famous crown) at the age of 20. So I had a good genetic background to develop the same pathology. I can officially hold him responsible for what's happening to me!!!! It can be a relief to find a culprit 😉
After some research, it would appear that several hundred genes are involved in the development of baldness (at least 287!). And that a certain number of these genes are transmitted by the X chromosome, i.e. by the mother. But let's not panic: genetics is a very complex thing, so it's impossible to predict what will happen to our children if we develop alopecia (my mother didn't lose her hair at all, for example).
3. But why do we actually lose our hair?
Genetic inheritance has a direct impact on what happens on a physiological and molecular level. So there are also physiological causes of hair loss.
In fact, in a person suffering from androgenetic alopecia, the hair follicle receptors, i.e. the molecular receptors located in our hair follicles, are a little too sensitive to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone derived from testosterone (male hormone). When this hormone attaches itself to hair follicle receptors, the follicles tend to go into overdrive and over-cycle. Cycles then multiply and shorten.
Androgens (=male hormones) are also present in women, albeit in smaller quantities. The fact that there are fewer of them means that the action of DHT will be weaker, and that women with androgenetic alopecia will retain slightly more hair than men.
Basically, we have a set number of cycles over a lifetime. If these cycles follow one another at an accelerated pace, this explains why the scalp becomes progressively thinner, as hair becomes progressively thinner and there is the hair loss associated with advancing age. It's as if our hair were aging and dying prematurely!
During periods of hormonal upheaval, women may also experience increased hair loss. In the case of androgenetic alopecia, women can become very thin over the years, through pregnancy and menopause.
4. Can we fight hair loss?
Unfortunately, as we have seen, androgenetic alopecia is a physiological and genetic process. So, as with aging, there's nothing we can do about it.
When you have androgenetic alopecia, the treatments available are lifelong and relatively ineffective, because they go against something genetic and physiological in us.
Androgenetic alopecia has NO connection with diet, chemical dyes, deficiency or poor lifestyle. Supplementing with various gellulas will therefore have no positive impact on hair loss. The various serums, castor oils, garlics, masks, skull incisions and parapharmacy cures will have no effect either, apart from making you waste money unnecessarily.
Minoxidil, certain hormone treatments and LEDs can be effective against hair loss. But these are lifelong treatments, the benefits of which are lost as soon as you stop them, and which are, in my (very personal) opinion, too restrictive on a day-to-day basis.
By the way, you can check out my Blog post on minoxidil and hair loss, as I took this medication for at least 5 years:
https://commeundiademe.com/2022/05/minoxidil-et-alopecie-androgenique/Understanding that you can't fight androgenetic alopecia and hair loss is the first step towards acceptance. Because as long as we don't lay down our arms, as long as we spend our time fighting, we suffer! The person writing these lines spent 10 years of her life gorging herself on iron/dandruff and applying masks to prevent hair loss. Looking back now, I know that those were the years when I suffered most from alopecia.
It's not easy to agree to stop fighting hair loss. As I said earlier, there are medications that can help you keep your hair. It's a decision that everyone has to make on their own. But being informed is important in making that decision. I see too many women having tried cures/serums/energy cuts/mesotherapy, sometimes for thousands of euros with no results.
Androgenetic alopecia and hair loss often cause enormous suffering for the people who have to deal with them. Many people understand this and are ready to try and sell us anything. And most of the time, we're so eager to believe, so eager to fight, that we're receptive to all these marketing pitches. But is it really good for us in the end?
I also think that sometimes you have to have gone through all that despair to be ready to consider other solutions such as topper hair . I'm not sure today that I would have been ready to consider a prosthesis hair at the age of 25 (which was an age when I was already very concerned about my alopecia).
It's up to each of us to make our own way.
Take care and see you soon for a new article! 😘
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