If one of the things that has been making you lose sleep at night is premature baldness, you’re not alone. You should know that while it’s common to lose up to 100 hair strands a day, losing more than that indicates that there is an underlying health condition. Going bald is part of the natural process of aging, but premature balding is not normal and requires attention from a medical professional. Understanding the symptoms that causes and the treatments for premature balding out there is going to help you to feel much more reassured.
You may not be able to regrow a head’s worth of hair overnight, but you can look at scalp micropigmentation photos to determine whether there are other avenues to bring you back your confidence. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about premature baldness and how to deal with it.
Premature baldness: Signs & symptoms
There are many signs out there of premature baldness, especially if you have started to lose your hair at a young age. You should expect to lose some hair as you age, but if you are in your 20s or early 30s and you notice your hair thinning to an alarming degree, then premature baldness may be the problem. Some of the signs and symptoms include:
- The hair across your temple starts to thin gradually.
- The frontal scalp is thinning faster than the rest of your head.
- You notice bald patches on your scalp appearing.
- During hair brushing or washing, you notice handfuls of hair happening at the same time.
- You are dealing with scaly patches all over your scalp.
Signs are not always easy to deal with, especially if you are young and you don’t want your hair to be falling out at such a young age. Understanding the causes can help with prevention, however, so let’s take a look at those causes below:
- Dihydrotestosterone. This is also known as DHT and it is an androgen, which is a male sex hormone that helps men to develop male body characteristics. It’s also the biggest reason behind pattern baldness among men. Women can also be affected by this, but it’s much fewer than that of men.It plays a key role in hair growth, but when the production increases to a higher level, it affects the follicles of the hair. When this happens, the follicles start to shrink and this is known as miniaturization. In the end, the follicles die and the hair no longer grows in that particular area. Pattern baldness is not something that is curable, but with early treatment you could slow down that building process as long as possible.
- Alopecia. This is actually an autoimmune disorder. Eventually, it leads to their unpredictable amount of hair loss, and it’s not just at the top of the head. Alopecia areata patients experience hair in small patches falling out. It can be lost from the eyebrows, the eyelashes and other areas on the body, but in severe cases, it can lead to extreme hair loss and fast baldness. It can happen no matter whether you are male or female, but it usually starts to happen in those who are under 30.
- Lupus. Another autoimmune disease that triggers hair loss in large amounts? Lupus is difficult to deal with. Hair fall is actually the primary symptom of lupus, and it makes the immune system hyperactive, attacking those healthy cells in your body. You’ll start to experience skin inflammation, scalp lesions, and pain, which can lead to heavy hair fall. If you don’t treat it in time, premature baldness can be the end result.
- Thyroid issues. If you have an underlying thyroid disorder that is going on for a long time, you could be dealing with a heavy amount of hair loss as a result. Both types of thyroidism, hypo and hyper, are considered as the reason behind baldness at an early age. This is a condition that can be reversed if the thyroid is appropriately treated, however, so make sure that you’re seeking treatment from your doctor.
- It’s a family trait. Some families have a history of premature baldness. You just need to look at the royal family to see how quickly Prince William lost his hair. When this happens, baldness happens as it reaches a certain age. There’s nothing much that can be done when baldness is in the family.
Treating premature baldness
Before you panic that there’s nothing that can be done, there are ways to treat premature baldness. Let’s take a look:
- Speak to your doctor. The very first step for treating premature baldness is to talk to your reputable Dr. They’ll conduct tests on their scalp and diagnose the causes behind the baldness in the 1st place. They’ll also conduct any tests that check your hormone levels and your thyroid levels. They will then base their treatment on the reason behind the hair falling out. Some doctors will suggest using supplements such as iron, zinc and biotin to control it. Others will talk about using azelaic acid and finasteride.In the case of alopecia, there may be steroid injections.
- Hair transplant surgery. Some people face premature baldness. Find that medical treatment doesn’t give them the results that they want. Hair transplant surgery is a last option, but it’s performed on your scalp to transplant new hair. It has quite a great success rate compared to any other hair restoration product, but it is a time consuming and expensive procedure.
- Home remedies. They won’t stop premature baldness, but they can slow things down. Rosemary oil, coconut oil, even ginseng, eggs, onion juice, henna. You can try all of them. You may be able to slow down or control the hair fall.
It’s not easy to deal with premature baldness and it does create a lot of issues with self-confidence and self esteem. However, if you’re diagnosed at an early stage, your hair loss can be reversed and you might find it easier to cope with as a result.