Common Hair Loss Myths

Hair loss. It’s an unfortunate thing to happen to the human body, and we can almost guarantee that no one is happy when they see their hair starting to thin or fall out completely. Here are some common hair loss facts that you may not have thought about up until recently. Some of them may surprise you!

Myth #1: Wearing Hats and Shampooing Too Much

This statement is number one on our list because it’s something we hear all the time.

• “If you habitually and constantly wear hats, you could end up going bald.”
• “If you shampoo your hair too frequently and experience product buildup, it could choke off your hair roots and you could lose your hair.”
• “If the pores of your scalp are clogged, your hair can’t grow and will die and will fall out.”

These are ALL hair loss myths. Let’s take a look at the facts. Have you ever experienced an in-grown hair or had a blocked pore? Your hair did grow back, didn’t it? Dermatologists will tell you that blocked pores simply don’t cause hair loss. If that were the case, there would be an enormous market for scalp cleansers and people would no longer be going bald.

Many people similarly think that by constantly wearing hats, that over time they are preventing air circulation through their hair and scalp which is preventing their hair from growing. While this may be true in your garden, it isn’t true when it comes to your hair. That’s because hair follicles get the oxygen they need from your bloodstream. That’s not to negate the fact that it’s always good to have a healthy scalp, but hair loss is due to reasons quite apart from air circulation around the hair follicles and scalp.

But what if you see hair falling out when you shampoo your hair? This is actually completely normal. The average person looses up to 150 hairs per day, every day. And of course we most typically see this in the shower or around the bathroom sink.

Myth #2: With Old Age Comes Hair Loss

This is another myth. Several people experience hair loss at several different times in their lives due to many different reasons (what’s considered old age, anyway?). Some as early as 20 and 30-year-olds can experience baldness. According to the American Hair Loss Association, men who are affected by the condition can start seeing early signs of hair loss in their 20s.

There are a lot of health-related reasons and different types of hair loss a person could experience, as well. For example, Alopecia Universalis, a disease in which all body hair falls out including eyebrows, eyelashes, and pubic hair. There’s also Alopecia Areata that causes baldness in children and young teens. There are countless reasons a person could be losing hair but there always seems to be a stigma around old age. It’s something society is always running from and it doesn’t necessarily cause your hair to disappear!

Myth #3: Hair Loss Coming From Mother Or Father?

Can you guess what the number one cause is? It’s hereditary! It’s the most common cause of hair loss, in men and women, and is medically known as androgenetic alopecia.

Technically speaking, baldness isn’t quite caused by your genes. The hair that has fallen out has in fact been replaced by another hair, just a much thinner and finer piece of hair. This is caused by the effects of the hormone dihydrotestosterone, which is present in both men and women to varying degrees. The result is that as your hair gets thinner and thinner, suddenly you notice that you are losing your hair and starting to go bald.

But as Dr. Alan Bauman, a prominent Florida hair loss doctor said in the Huffington Post, you have to lose about 50 percent of your hair in order for thinning hair and balding to be apparent to the human eye. That is an enormous amount of hair to loose. So if you see only a few hair falling here and there, it’s probably nothing to worry about. Men and women typically loose about 100 hair per day, every day of their lives.

There’s also been quite a bit of lot of speculation as to whether you inherit baldness and thinning from one or the other of your parents side of the family. The answer is that both sides of your family heredity contribute to a person’s being susceptible to Androgenic Alopecia (hereditary pattern balding). Dermatologists specialising in hair loss have said:

“Heredity is the most common cause of hair loss,” she says. “The gene can be inherited from either the mother’s or father’s side of the family, though you’re more likely to be affected if both of your parents had hair loss.” – Dr. Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, WebMD.

Hair Los Treatment Solutions

If you suspect you’re dealing with hair loss or thinning hair, we hope these facts opened your eyes and changed your perspective a bit. There are a lot of myths put out there and we want to set the record straight with these facts. We saved the best for last: Hair loss can be easily treated!

To learn more about our custom men’s hair restoration procedures in Tupelo and to explore the many advanced hair loss treatment and hair replacement options for women in the Tupelo area, we invite you to speak with one of our experienced hair restoration specialist today. Our hair replacement specialists will work closely with you to find the perfect solution for your unique needs, lifestyle, and budget. Our goal is to help you find the perfect hair replacement solution to meet your own individual needs and make a well-informed decision about your hair restoration options.