As opposed to the term balding, the correct term for total or partial hair loss is alopecia. Before treating hair loss, it is extremely important to do as much research as possible and gather the facts about hair loss. There are many alternatives these days for treating hair loss, but only some of them may be right for you. The more you know about the causes of your hair loss, the better equipped you are to choose a cure.

You may begin to lose hair gradually, or in clumps; all over or just in some parts of the body. It is important to know what category your hair loss falls into, so that you can treat it appropriately. There is so much information about hair loss that focusing on your particular situation can help you deal with it. On the average, the typical healthy person loses about a hundred hairs daily, from a total of about one hundred thousand scalp hairs. Hair on the head grows about an inch a year, and any given hair lasts around four and a half years before it falls out. About half a year later, a new hair grows to take its place, unless genetic hair loss has entered the picture; this is when not enough new hairs are being produced to take the place of hairs that are shed naturally. In addition, excessive loss of hair may also be a factor.

Whether you are male or female makes no different to hair loss. Normally, growing older causes the same amount of lost hair both in men and in women. The same thing goes for hair thinning. However, it is true that men have more of an issue with inherited pattern baldness. By the age of thirty, 25 percent of men will have begun balding, and by the age of sixty over 65% will have developed balding patterns or be totally bald. Male pattern baldness usually consists of a receding hair line along with hair thinning in the crown area. Testosterone is the main culprit behind this common condition. For this reason, any man who has low testosterone for any genetic or medical reason probably does not have to worry about male pattern baldness at all.

Because there are many different reasons that you may lose your hair, you must carefully consider all potential causes before concluding that your hair loss is due to heredity. Baldness comes most often from aging, testosterone, and heredity. However, there are several less frequent reasons that hair may fall out. Excessive shampooing and blow drying may be at fault, as well as serious illness, parasites, high levels of stress, burns, nervous hair-pulling, or hormone changes.