As the name implies, androgenetic alopecia, the medical name for male (or female) pattern baldness, has a genetic component. So do Asian people have a greater or lesser risk of hair loss as a result?
How Prevalent is Hair Loss in Asian People?
In people of European descent, studies indicate that 12% tend to have frontal baldness and another 16% of men, aged 18-29, have thinning hair. That number increases to 53% for people ages 40-49 years old.
By contrast, the natural occurrence of androgenetic alopecia in people of Asian ancestry is lower. Before the age of 40, androgenetic alopecia is minimal for those of Asian descent. While the risk and occurrence increase with age, it’s still lower than for those of European descent.
For Korean men, the tendency for hair loss is 14.1% and increases with age, but is lower than with Europeans. In Korean women, the risk of female pattern hair loss is 5.6% for all ages and increases with age – but is also lower than that for women of European descent.
Even though Korean men experience hair loss less often than Europeans, they experience more discrimination. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea, a South Korean human rights watchdog group, documented a building management company was discriminating against bald applicants in 2015. In one case, it was suggested that if an applicant wore a toupee, he’d get the job.
Do Chinese and Japanese Men Have the Lowest Rates of Hair Loss?
Interestingly, Chinese men initially have similar rates of male pattern baldness as Korean men until they pass the age of 60. Then, Chinese men have a similar rate of hair loss as those of European descent and a higher rate than Korean men. Even more intriguingly, Chinese women have a lower rate of hair loss than both Korean and European women, regardless of age. The tendency for Taiwanese men to have male pattern hair loss us roughly the same as that of Korean men, and similarly lower than those of men of European descent.
Like other people from East Asia, Japanese people suffer less from androgenetic alopecia than Europeans. If Japanese men develop male pattern hair loss, they do so a decade later than Europeans. In addition to having some of the lowest hair loss rates in the world, if it does occur, it happens later in life. Japanese who experience hair loss begin in their 40s and 50s, not their 20s and 30s.
Also, a study by The University of Michigan found that women of Asian descent have the fastest growing hair. Generally, human hair grows about six inches a year but some people greatly exceed that.
Are Millennial Chinese Men Suffering from Hair Loss?
A survey by Tsinghua University in Beijing found that 60% of students were experiencing hair loss of some degree. That’s much earlier in life and more often than it previously occurred in China. It’s believed that stress, work pressure, lack of sleep, and other unhealthy habits are contributing to this hair loss trend.
Due to this increased hair loss, Asians are turning to hair restoration in large quantities. In fact, Asia has more people per capita seeking surgical and non-surgical hair restoration than the U.S. does.
No matter your ethnic background, at RHRLI we have the experience to restore your head of hair. Our state-of-the-art facility uses the ARTAS® robot for precise results and faster healing. To learn more as to why RHRLI is Long Island’s hair restoration leader, contact us today.