Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp and can be the result of heredity, certain medications or an underlying medical condition. Anyone — men, women and children — can experience hair loss.
Some people prefer to let their baldness run its course untreated and unhidden. Others may cover it up with hairstyles, makeup, hats or scarves. And still others choose one of the medications and surgical procedures that are available to treat hair loss. Before pursuing any of these treatment options, talk with your doctor about the cause of and best possible treatments for your hair loss.
Baldness or hair loss is usually something only adults need to worry about. But in a few cases, teens lose their hair, too — and it may be a sign that something’s going on.
Hair loss during adolescence can mean a person may be sick or just not eating right. Some medications or medical treatments, like chemotherapy treatment for cancer, also cause hair loss. People can even lose their hair if they wear a hairstyle that pulls on the hair for a long time, such as braids.
Losing hair can be stressful during a time when you’re already concerned about appearance. Most of the time, hair loss during the teen years is temporary. With temporary hair loss, the hair usually grows back after the problem that causes it is corrected.
Hair Basics
Our hair is made of a type of protein called keratin. A single hair consists of a hair shaft (the part that shows), a root below the skin, and a follicle, from which the hair root grows. At the lower end of the follicle is the hair bulb, where the hair’s color pigment, or melanin, is produced.
Most people lose about 50 to 100 head hairs a day. These hairs are replaced — they grow back in the same follicle on your head. This amount of hair loss is totally normal and no cause for worry. If you’re losing more than that, though, something might be wrong.
What ways is hair lost?
There are two ways in which hair is lost. The first way is patchy hair loss, in which hair is lost in well defined and evident areas. The rest of the scalp will have a good amount of hair which it does not lose. If you notice certain areas in which your head appears to be balding, or your hair seems to be thinning, chances are that you are experiencing patchy hair loss - the cause of which is generally not pattern baldness or genetics related. The second way which in which you hair may be lost is generalized hair loss. This is when there is a complete thinning of the entire scalp. There will be absolutely no areas that appear to be experiencing normal hair growth. If your entire head seems to be losing hair, with no patches of normal growth, then the causes of hair loss for you is likely due to generalized hair loss, caused by a temporary situation.
How common is hair loss?