This month, August, once again marks Hair Loss Awareness Month. While millions of Americans are already far too familiar with hair loss (and its effect on day-to-day life), there are millions more who need to better understand the wide reach hair loss has.
Approximately 56 million Americans are currently suffering from some form of hair loss. That works out to about 1 in 6 Americans. Of that number, the overwhelming majority are men (35 million) with the remaining 21 million being women. There are multiple factors for that hair loss, which we will examine by breaking them up into two categories: Genetic and Environmental.
Genetic Factors
Androgenetic alopecia, the medical term for male or female pattern baldness, is the single most common form of hair loss that affects people across the world. This is a genetic predisposition to hair loss that manifests in predictable patterns.
For men, this often comes in the form of a receding hairline that starts to take on an M-shape and can progress to a bald spot at the crown of the head. For women, rather than a clearly visible bald spot they will experience hair thinning throughout their scalp.
Genetic hair loss is not limited to androgenetic alopecia, however. Many of us are susceptible to autoimmune diseases – which are genetic in nature – that can also cause hair loss. Alopecia areata is an auto immune disease where your body attacks its own hair follicles, resulting in more patchy and unpredictable hair loss. As is the case with many autoimmune diseases, while there is no cure, there are treatments that can potentially lead to hair regrowth in the affected patchy areas.
Environmental Factors
While a healthy lifestyle does not guarantee avoiding hair loss, it will certainly provide you with a defense against experiencing it prematurely.
Unhealthy habits can both lead to and accelerate hair loss. As one can imagine, our overall health impacts the entirety of our bodies. Whether it’s not sleeping properly, poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, high alcohol consumption, stress, and (most likely) a combination of a number of those factors… we can be causing our own hair loss.
Beyond our own habits and stress management, other environmental factors come into play including fungal infections – such as ringworm. These forms of hair loss can often be reversed if the infection is treated quickly and thoroughly.
RHRLI Has The Proven Record To Help You In Your Fight Against Hair Loss
Hair loss, whether caused by genetic or environmental factors, does not have to impact your quality of life. Whether you are suffering from an autoimmune disease, a genetic disposition to male or female pattern baldness, or dealing with factors in your life causing stress and unhealthy habits that are eroding your hairline, our team of experts at RHRLI are here to help.
We have transplanted more than one million hair follicles utilizing the ARTAS® Robotic System for hair restoration. We can move healthy hair follicles to where they are needed to help you regain your hair and your confidence. We also implement non-surgical solutions to hair restoration and can work on the solution that is best fit for you. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.