You’ve probably heard that you inherit your hairline from your dad. Or is it your mother’s dad? Do your genes determine whether or not you’ll go bald?
While genetics do affect how much hair you’ll lose, there are also other factors that contribute to it such as stress, diet, and some medications. The good news is that many of these factors are controllable, however genetics is not one of them. Being able to understand our genetics can give us some reassurance that there are ways we can slow or even trick our genes.
Male pattern baldness, or the more technical term androgenetic alopecia, is what professionals like to call genetic balding. You can tell when this is the case, and not hair loss from environmental factors, because of the “M-shaped” hair line, where you lose your hair on your temples faster than in the center of your scalp. You might be surprised to know that most men have genetic balding, some just more prominent than others.
One myth of “going bald” that many subscribe to is that if your dad is bald, you will be too. While this seems logical and simple, it’s not 100% accurate. Recent studies show that the genes that determine if you will be bald comes from a combination of genetics from both your mom and dad. That means you can no longer hold that grudge against your dad for your hairline. Currently, scientists are still learning about the way your genetic makeup determines balding, but so far have found at least 63 different genes that play a role in how much hair we lose.
While we highlight genetics as being the biggest non-controllable factor in the balding process, we want to take a moment to mention hormones, as they also play a role. Both men and women have hormones like androgens which can cause hair loss. Changes in hormones due to either medical or environmental changes also can lead to hair loss.
It can be a bit obvious if by your twenties or thirties you are losing more hair than usual, your hair line is receding, and that your family has a few bald heads in the family photo that you inherited those genes. Knowing this can help you rule out other factors like stress, diet, or medications as causes of your hair loss, which makes creating a treatment plan easier. You can start prevention early with the easier controllable factors like avoiding stress and eating a healthy and balanced diet. And while you can’t control your genetics, there are several medical treatments that can combat what your family gave you.
Contact Imami Hair Restoration for options that meet your needs.