IT DOESN'T JUST TARGET THE OLDER CROWD
While male pattern baldness most often affects older men, its onset can actually begin much earlier. The American Hair Loss Association estimates that about 25 percent of men who are affected by the condition begin to see the first signs of hair loss before age 21.
WOMEN AREN'T IMMUNE
Even though hair loss is typically thought of as something that only men are burdened with, plenty of women experience their fair share of follicular challenges. In fact, an estimated
40 percent of hair loss sufferers are female. By the time they reach age 50,
roughly half of all women will be dealing with some degree of pattern hair loss.
AND NEITHER ARE CHILDREN
Approximately
3 percent of all pediatric doctor visits made each year are connected to hair loss-related issues in children, including thinning and bald spots. The causes can range from things as simple as wearing hair in a ponytail too tightly to fungal infections of the scalp to alopecia, which in some cases can result in a total loss of all body hair.
5. YOU CAN BLAME YOUR MOM IF YOU GO BALD
Heredity plays a big part in determining if and when you'll lose your hair. Both your mother's and father's genes have a say in whether hair loss is a possibility, but surprisingly, it's the DNA you inherit from your mom that has the strongest influence. It's estimated that approximately
30 million women and as many as 50 million men experience hair loss as a direct result of their genetic make-up.
SCIENTISTS HAVE EVEN DISCOVERED A BALDNESS GENE
In an effort to try and pinpoint a more definitive link between genetics and male pattern baldness, researchers from GlaxoSmithKline conducted an in-depth
study of 1,125 men to test for hair loss susceptibility. The results showed that 1 in 7 men are more likely to lose their hair based on the presence of a specific gene.
