Is My Hair Loss Genetic?

About two months ago, I started experiencing what appears to be hair loss or possible increased hair shedding beyond what’s normal. This seems to occur mostly in the shower. As this continued, I went to a dermatologist who put me on Propecia. But if i were actually losing my hair due to male pattern hair loss (MPHL), would I really be losing hair this rapidly? It’s been almost two months and I continue to shed about 200 hairs daily.

Genetic male pattern baldness can be aggressive causing somewhat rapid hair loss. However, while it may or may not start out quickly, genetic hair loss is a process and typically occurs over a long period of time.

Losing up to 50-100 hairs daily is actually considered normal although women may experience even more loss. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that someone with male pattern baldness would be losing 10-20 hairs each time they run their hand through their hair. Losing 200 plus hairs daily doesn’t appear to be that rapid and is quite common in hereditary baldness.

In many cases, a dermatologist can diagnose genetic baldness by examining the hair loss pattern. It never hurts however, to ask your dermatologist to perform a thorough scalp examination and medical tests to rule out non-genetic causes of hair loss.

Medical non-genetic balding typically follows a different pattern. However, if you are losing hair in a pattern similar to the norwood scale or ludwig scale of hair loss, your balding may likely be hereditary. If that’s true, then hair loss treatments such as Propecia and Rogaine may be your best best in helping to slow down, stop or reverse the affects of your hair loss. Be sure to speak with a physician before using these medications as both, while typically moderate, come with the potential for side effects.

Written and Published By,

Bill, Managing Publisher