Baldness (or hair loss) can be caused from a myriad of factors, which include one's genetic make-up, skin conditions, the aging factor, infections, diseases, and of course, use of various medications. Regardless of the root cause of hairloss, here is an enumeration on its most common types:

• Alopecia Areata - This type of hairloss usually results in coin-sized bald patches on the scalp or beard. On rare occassion, total body hair can be lost. Usually, but not always, lost hair grows back in a couple of months, unless there is major widespread hairloss. The medical community is still currently unsure of apolpecia areata's root cause. The supposition is that it is caused by a number of things including genetic heritage, immune and autoimmune system responses, stress, and predisposition to allergy.

  Alopecia areata affects apprixmately 4 million Americans of either gender, of all ages, and of all ethnic backgrounds. Very often, its onset is in early childhood. It is not life threatening, does not cause any sort of pain, and people afflicted with it are generally healthy otherwise.

  A picture of a girl with Alopecia Areata is shown below:

  

  If you desire to take part in research, you can visit the National Alopecia Areata Registry, sponsored by NIAMS, at:

  www.AlopeciaAreataRegistry.org

• Telogen Effluvium - This type of hairloss occurs when hair follicles are shifted into the telogen (or resting) phase prematurely. The result is that there is a general thinning of hair. Telogen effluvium can be caused by any of the following: stress, medication usage, nutritional reasons, childbirth, febrile illness, and surgery. Usually, but not always, this type of hair loss remits within 3-6 months of the causes being removed.

  Treatment is not needed for most cases of telogen effluvium, since the hairs fall out when a new hair growing beneath it pushes it out. Thus with this hair loss type, hair falling out is an indication of hair regrowth. As new hair first comes up through the scalp and pushes out the dead hair, a fine fringe of new hair is often evident along the forehead hairline.

  A picture of Telogen Effluvium is shown below:

  

• Male Pattern Baldness (Hairloss) - Male Pattern Baldness (Hairloss) is the most common type of hairloss when it comes to men. It is caused by genetic pre-disposition and affect any man at any age after puberty. With male pattern baldness, hair initially thins at the temples and at the crown. As time marches on, the hair at the temples recedes even further, leaving a spur of hair at the front of the scalp, and an ever-larger crown bald spot. In time, the area of baldness at the crown and the front meet, and the top portion of the head becomes increasingly bald. Eventually, the only remaining hair is a border of hair around the back and side of the head.

  High levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) wind up reducing the hair growth phase. The hair roots receives nutrients from blood vessels which contain blood cells and a hormone called testosterone. Testosterone is then converted to the DHT hormone by the actions of an enzyme called "5 alpha reductase". When high levels of DHT are present in the scalps of men, who are genetically pre-disposed to male pattern baldness, the following 2 things happen:

  • The anagen growth phase is reduced so that hair becomes shorter when it stops growing;

  • Over the entire life cycle of a few hairs, the hairs get progressively shorter and shorter

  A picture depicting Male Pattern Baldness is shown below: