For anyone who suffers from hair loss, it can be psychologically damaging, causing intense emotional suffering, and often leading to personal, social, and work related issues. People with severe hair loss are more likely to experience psychological distress than those with mild hair loss. Each year, I’m losing more and more hair! Will this ever improve? Does hair loss stop when you get older? This is often queries we hear from people with differing degrees of hair loss
Normally, hair loss starts between the ages 18-25 in most men. As you get older, unfortunately, hair loss doesn’t stop – it accelerates. When a man passes his 35-40 age, hair loss usually slows down but it picks up again as you get older as the peak age for hair loss, in fact, is generally between the ages of 50 and 60. Our body creates more of the enzymes that turn testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. Half of women experience hair loss by the time they hit 50. As you get older, your hair spends more time in the last cycle, which means you’re shedding hair faster than it’s growing back in. Unlike male hair loss, which usually starts as a receding hairline and thinning crown, female hair loss occurs as a gradual thinning all over your scalp. “You may not even notice it coming out in the shower or in your brush – it’s just that over time, more of your scalp becomes visible.” This information shows us that the process of hair loss is progressive and throughout life. There are always exceptions to the rule and that’s why it’s always more efficient to have a medical examination to have this checked.
There has been research as to why this occurs. Two studies point a finger at the scalp’s constantly renewing stem cells. Mutations in these cells appear to make hair follicles shrink, causing regular hair to be replaced by thinner hair. Understanding the genes at work in this process may allow scientists a way to prevent such hair loss. Researchers reached that conclusion after studying hair loss in mice and in humans. They found that over time, the stem cells accumulated genetic errors that led them to not be able to rejuvenate any longer. This in turn caused hair follicles to shrink. One key gene could reverse hair loss. When mice were genetically modified to make extra of the Col17A1 protein, their hair follicles did not shrink.They didn’t lose nearly as much hair. Researchers then analyzed skin samples from the scalps of women aged 22 to 70 years old. They found that older women’s hair follicles were, on average, shrunk more, and that this was correlated with genetic mutations in the follicle stem cells. Once the stem cells go, there’s no getting them back, said Elaine Fuchs, a professor of cell biology and development. “Once the hair growth cycle goes, it goes,” she said. “Once hair loss is triggered, it’s a self-propelling event.”
OK, that all is very interesting but where does that leave people who continue to lose hair as they get older? The study suggests it may present a treatment opportunity. “If we can interfere with that factor, or take that factor away from the stem cell, we can shorten the dormant stage and instead induce the cells to continue dividing and stimulate hair growth” Let’s just say we’ll believe it when we see it.
As this is the last blog of 2023, we wish ALL of our clients and potential clients HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Looking forward to keep helping people with their hair loss issues in 2024!
