Is thinning hair permanent or temporary?

Temporary hair loss in both men and women can be down to many factors, from stress, poor diet, hormonal imbalances and skin ailments. Temporary hair loss can often be corrected and positively influenced by addressing these causes. Our hair loss specialists, surgeons and trichologists have each been in this field for many years and are highly adept at assessing the root causes of thinning hair and the best course of action to deal with it swiftly and effectively.
Permanent hair loss or thinning hair would be mainly be due to male or female pattern baldness and alopecia. Again, our hair loss specialists, surgeons and trichologists would be able to advise you at your consultation as to if FUE hair restoration surgery is advisable to deal with your current hair loss and if it is not, then we would advise you on alternative approaches to dealing with your problem.

What is the cause of male hair loss?

The precise condition that results in hair loss cannot be defined. There are many causes for this problem. According to research, there are four factors which cause severe hair loss:

• Genetic factors

Why am I losing my hair?

In today’s world, hair is increasingly identified with youth, vitality, even virility.
For a man or woman to lose their hair prematurely can be emotionally devastating, affecting work, confidence and personal relationships. But you’re not alone! Did you know that by the time a man reaches 50yrs, as many as 50% of men have suffered some degree of hair loss. As with any medical condition, early detection is the best way to cure and will also help alleviate the problem.

I travel quite a lot in my job, mainly travelling by air. I find my hair comes out a lot when I comb or wash it. The hair tends to shed more than it should. Is there a solution?

Constant air travel, staying in hotels, being constantly on the move, poor quality food, the quality of re-cycled air in aircrafts – these all affect your health and could cause an increase in hair shedding. Furthermore, re-location is very stressful which can lead to poor eating habits that could cause temporary hair loss. It can take six months for this type of loss to correct itself but this would depend on getting into the habit of resting, sleeping and eating properly.

I can’t get out of the habit of blow-drying my hair every day, but I’m sure it’s Affecting the overall condition of my hair. I can’t possibly bear the thought of ditching my hair dryer, so is there a way of making it less damaging?

Blow-drying your hair on a daily basis will undoubtedly cause a degree of progressive damage. You can protect your hair by using a protective styling mousse prior to blow-drying. Try using your dryer on a lower heat setting and holding it a little further from your hair shaft. The nozzle must never come into direct contact with the hair.

What is the best way to look after my hair?

If you look after your body, it, in turn, will look after your hair. Look at your lifestyle: is there anything you could change as an improvement? Do you eat too much fast food because you are too busy to prepare healthy food? You can turn things around with a little effort. Also, think of your hair as a silk garment. Both silk and hair are protein fibres. You wouldn’t wash a silk garment with a cheap detergent in a washing machine on a high agitation cycle and then dry it in a dryer at a very high temperature. Think of what a silk garment would look after that treatment. Eat wisely, use the correct hair products and gentle treatment and you will enjoy optimum hair conditions. Why have straw when you can have silk?

Do products that claim to repair hair really work?

The majority of hair care products help with the combability and general appearance of the hair. They will coat the hair temporarily mending split ends. Some amino acids can penetrate the hair repairing minor damage. The effect is not permanent and only lasts from shampoo to shampoo. Products containing Panthenol penetrate into the hair as well as coating the hair shaft. It’s effect is said to be cumulative. That is, it’s beneficial effects withstand shampooing. All these products are for minor hair damage and will have no effect on badly damaged hair.

I have read that Male Pattern Hair Loss is inherited from the mother’s side of the family. Is this true?

Many people have heard that, “hair loss comes from the mother’s side of the family,” but this is largely a myth. While there is a slightly higher frequency of inheritance from the mother’s side, male pattern baldness is a genetic trait that can be inherited from either parent. Also, there is more than one gene involved. The term used by scientists is ‘polygenic’, meaning involving more than one gene, and it is more complicated than was originally thought.

I am male aged 62 and am losing my hair. It is not in the male pattern way of temples and crow but my hair, although it covers my head, is much thinner than it used to be. What causes this?

Even when there is no predisposition to genetic balding, as a man ages, some hairs in each follicular unit randomly begin to minituarize. As a result, each group will contain both full terminal hairs and minituarized hairs, making the area appear less full. Eventually, the minituarized hairs are lost and the follicular units are reduced in number. In all adult males, the entire scalp undergoes this ageing process to some degree over time. Fortunately, in most men the permanent zone retains enough permanent hair so that hair transplantation remains a viable option for men well in to their 70s.

I am thinking of having a hair transplant but am worried that I might lose the transplants for the same reason my own hair disappeared.

Dehydrotestosterone (DHT) , the hormone that is the instigator of male pattern hair loss, resides in the follicles in the front, top and crown of the head. Normally the follicles at the back of the head from which the transplant donor area is chosen are not sensitive to DHT and are unaffected by the trans-position to the top area of the head. The results of a hair transplant procedure performed by a qualified, experienced surgeon are usually permanent.

I have been using the drug Finasteride as a treatment for hair loss and have been told that the herb Saw Palmetto is useful as a DHT Inhibitor. I would prefer to use this because it is herbal. What is your opinion?

Tests appear to indicate that Saw Palmetto is likely to be very useful as a hair loss intervention, however its ascertainable effects on hair, like and mild anti-androgen, will take up to six months to manifest. Not unlike Finasteride, when it first came to market in 1992,many tried Saw Palmetto for a few months, didn’t see visible results, and concluded it ”didn’t work”. When Finasteride was being experimented in the early years, prior to its FDA approval for hair loss, the consensus was that it was useless and a big disappointment. The reason for this was that the results for most were subtle and undetectable for the first 9-12 months. Indications are that Saw Palmetto as a DHT Inhibitor is likely very useful as a hair loss intervention, however its ascertainable effects on hair , like any mild anti-androgens, will take up to six months to manifest.