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The Most Common Hair-Loss Myths Debunked And yet, for a fear that is so common, the actual science of hair loss remains shrouded in mystery, myth and patent misinformation. Many of us have been raised on the belief that washing your hair daily will speed up the shedding process or — equally insane — that standing on your head or having a cow lick on your scalp will jumpstart lazy follicles. The internet doesn’t help either: The supposed cures for hair loss are often as questionable as the causes they cite. Part of this confusion is due to the sheer variety of things that can provoke hair loss and thinning. There are, of course, genetic factors to consider, but other culprits include reduced blood circulation and chronic inflammation around the hair bulb. There are also a host of scenarios that can trigger reactive hair loss. These include fatigue, stress, anemia, thyroid problems, medication and drastic changes in diet that exclude essential vitamins and minerals (sulfur amino acids, fatty acids, metals, metalloids and vitamins B5, B6, H, PP, A, E and C in particular). Environmental factors that can provoke shedding include silicone-based shampoos and heavy waxes, which literally asphyxiate the scalp. Needless to say, heavy smoking and drinking have enormous impacts too. For most guys, the fear usually sets in when they’re greeted with a shower floor covered in their own hair. The good news is that our hair "capital" consists of 100, 000-150, 000 hair shafts and it’s perfectly normal to shed as many as 100 of these per day. Hair grows in cycles — anagen (the growth phase), catagen (the degradation phase) and telogen (the resting phase), and in a healthy scalp this cycle repeats around 25 times. So chill out — the hair will usually grow back. As you get older, the number of hair follicles will reduce but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to end up as bald as a coot (especially if you’re smart enough to take preventative action — see this month’s roundup for suggestions). The bad news is that the state of your shower floor might be a sign of male pattern baldness, a hereditary hormone imbalance that causes hair follicles to start shutting completely down. In cases of MPB, testosterone (your BFF since adolescence) is converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. DHT is your follicles’ enemy, as it slows down hair production and sometimes stops it completely. It’s important to distinguish between normal/chronic thinning and MPB (also known as androgenic alopecia). In MPB, your hair usually starts to recede at the hairline before thinning at the crown, and the process can start surprisingly early for some guys. The actual pattern of loss is usually a good indicator of MPB. For some guys this can be a deceptively subtle shift that takes place over several decades. For others, it can happen in a couple of years and can be very distressing for a guy still in his 20s or 30s.
