1 : Myth : Hair
loss is due to Clogged Pores/ Clogged Follicles
Fact :
Many hair products aim at helping thinning
hair are based on the theory of clogged pores
and follicles by” sebum plugs" . It is claimed
that hairs are trapped underneath the scalp
just waiting to pop out if you use their product.
Medical fact is hairs grow with such force
that they can penetrate intact skin, never
mind oily residues in follicles. If the hair
follicles were clogged why wouldn't they lose
hair in the outer boundaries (Sides, back
of the head) of male pattern hair loss?
2 : Myth : Poor Diet
Fact : Contrary to popular opinions,
diet has almost nothing to do with androgenetic
alopecia (male or female pattern hair loss).
Case studies of World War II concentration
camp victims who were dying from starvation
had no increased hair loss. Studies have also
been done on the starving in India and no
significant difference was noted in increased
hair loss A normal consumption of protein
and vitamins are included in almost everyone's
daily diet.
3 : Myth : Lack
of vitamins causes hair loss.
Fact : Hair loss due to a vitamin deficiency
is rare in the United States. It is more common
to see vitamin toxicity as a cause of hair
loss.
4 : Myth : Shaving
the head prevents baldness or re grows hair
Fact : Some cultures
shave male children in the belief that shaving
the head will prevent hair loss. The illusion
of more hair is felt but not seen with the
shaving of the scalp. It is also believed
that shaving of adult head will grow back
hair in thinned out scalp but it has no scientific
backing.
5 : Myth : Hair
loss is predominantly a man's problem
Fact : 60% of male and 40% of females
have baldness during their lifetime. Take
the total of balding men in the world and
reduce it by one-third and you have the approximate
number of women with thinning hair. Women
with hair loss represent a very significant
number. Female pattern hair loss is generally
void of the large bald patches and instead
is diffuse. Because of this and the versatility
in women's hairstyles, women can camouflage
their hair loss easier than their male counterparts.
6 : Myth : Male pattern
baldness is inherited from your mother's side
of the family
Fact :
The gene for male pattern baldness can come
from your mother's or your father's gene pool;
therefore, baldness can be inherited from
either side of the family
7
: Myth : Losing an average of a hundred hairs
per day is nothing to worry about because
it's normal.
Fact : If
you don't have pattern baldness, that's true,
because the hairs that fall out will soon
be replaced by new hairs sprouting from the
hair follicles underneath the skin. If you
do have male pattern baldness, however, even
losing the "normal" hundred hairs a day can
be a concern because many of those hairs are
being shed by follicles that are in the process
of dying, and therefore the new hairs those
follicles make will be progressively thinner
until the follicles are only capable of making
fine, "peach fuzz" hairs. Eventually those
follicles will die and no longer produce any
hairs at all.
8 : Myth :
You can increase the number of hair follicles
by drugs, natural or chemical treatments,
massage, diet, or other means.
Fact : No. the number and diameter
of your hair follicles is completely out of
your control - it's hereditary. Nothing you
do will alter how many hair follicles you
have. But you can use preventive and treatment
measures to combat the follicle-killing effects
of DHT, the androgen created when the hormone
testosterone is acted upon by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase.
9 : Myth : Cutting your
hair can make it grow back faster and thicker.
Fact : No. Hair grows
at an average rate of half and inch per month.
Because each hair shaft is slightly thicker
at its base compared to its tip, hair can
temporarily appear thicker for about a week
after it has been significantly cut. But cutting
hair has absolutely no effect on each strand's
thickness or on the number of hairs that will
sprout follicles.
10 : Myth
: If left uncut, my hair will just keep growing.
Fact : No. Length depends
on your hair's natural cycle, which is unique
to you. The longer the hair's growth phase,
the longer the hair will grow. If you have
a naturally long growth phase, you can grow
your hair well below your wait. If you have
a naturally shorter growth phase, your hair
will be shed before it grows that long and
only grow to a certain length. The duration
of your particular growth phase is based on
hereditary and is affected by nutrition.
11 : Myth : Wearing a hat causes
hair loss or Hats encourage hair loss because
the hair can't breath
Fact
: As long as you don't regularly wear
a hat that's so tight it restricts circulation
blood flow to the hair follicles - this will
not cause hair loss. It can, however, damage
hair because of the effects of seat, dirt
and skin particles that can clog pores. Sikh's
were turban and do have hair loss at the periphery
but it is not due to turban but due to the
tightly tied hair underneath that causes traction
alopecia. Hair does not need to breathe. Only
the root of the hair is alive, and this gets
its oxygen from the blood in the scalp. Wear
a hat always when you go out in the sun. Although
both ultraviolet A and B are dangerous to
the skin and possibly to the hair, UVA penetrates
deeply in the skin (165-250 micrometers).
This could damage the DNA and cell membranes
in the follicles
12 : Myth
: Blow-drying, colouring or perming etc. can
cause hair loss
Fact :
No. But it can dry, burn and damage hair that
may brake or fracture, to be replaced by new
hair that will sprout from the follicle beneath
the skin during the growth phase.
13 : Myth : Hair coloring, perm solutions
and hairsprays worsen hair loss
Fact : Hair dyes, perms and hairsprays
do not affect thinning hair. Perms and hairsprays
can help to disguise the problem. Remember,
it is the follicle, which is located beneath
the skin that produces the hair. Chemical
treatments can damage the hair strands but
can't affect the follicle.
14
: Myth : If your father has a full head of
hair, you won't go bald
Fact
: A tendency to baldness is inherited
and probably involves a combination of genes.
So you are not automatically in the clear
even if your father has a full head of hair.
It is not true, as sometimes claimed, that
only genes from the mother's side are involved.
15 : Myth : Brushing the
hair 100 times a day will stimulate the circulation
and prevent hair loss
Fact
: Vigorous brushing is more likely to
injure the hairs and make the problem worse.
16 : Myth : Frequent shampooing
makes hair fall out
Fact
: The 50-100 hairs we lose each day often
become tangled with the rest of the hair,
but are washed out when we shampoo. So we
see what seems like a lot of hair in the shower
after shampooing, but in reality these hairs
have been shed earlier.
17
: Belief : Baldness is linked to heart attacks
Inconclusive : In 1999, doctors at Harvard
Medical School found that men who had lost
hair at the crown of the head had a 32% increased
chance of coronary heart disease. Hair loss
at the front of the head hardly increased
the risk at all. Regardless of how accurate
this study could be, if you have baldness
at the top of your head, you should stop smoking,
eat healthy, have your blood pressure checked
and do some exercise.
18
: Myth : Balding men have poor vascular supply
to the balding area.
Fact
: Numerous studies have shown that the
vascular supply to the balding scalp is just
as good as the non-balding scalp.
19 : Myth : Balding men have diseased
scalps.
Fact : There
are a few rare diseases that can cause hair
loss, but is not in the same pattern as male
patterned baldness.
20 :
Myth : Electrical stimulation to the scalp
or massage therapy will cause hair growth.
Fact : Anything that
irritates hair-bearing skin can cause minimal
temporary hair growth. However, no studies
have been shown that this causes clinically
significant hair growth.
21
: Myth : The Demodex mite (a normal human
mite) causes hair loss.
Fact
: This is completely unsubstantiated.
The Demodex mite is found in most hair follicles
in adults, not in just the hair follicles
of balding men. And if the Demodex mite truly
did cause hair loss, why doesn't it cause
hair loss of the eyebrows, of the beard region,
or of the sides of the head.
|
