Going, going, gone

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Going, going, gone

Male pattern baldness common concern for men By JoAnne Viviano More Content Now

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t all started when Derrick Hawthorne was 18 years old. Just a bit in front at first, then more and more until he was left with a ring of hair around the equator, creating a look he calls “the Caesar.” “I went from a full head of hair to none,” Hawthorne said. Over the next few years, he came to terms with what nature had in mind for his hair. Now, at 28, the Columbus, Ohio, resident shaves his head clean and wears a full red beard. Male pattern baldness can be traumatic for men. And it strikes a lot of them. By the age of 30, about 30 percent of men have male pattern baldness; by age 50, about 50 percent join the club. And by age 70, 80 percent of men have some sort of baldness, said Dr. Matthew Kunar of OhioHealth Primary Care Physicians. Male pattern baldness is so common that men often discuss it with their physicians, said Dr. James Barnes of Mount Carmel Medical Group in Pickerington, Ohio. “Men don’t typically come to the office very often, but when they do that’s one of the things they complain about,” he said. It can cause psychological stress as they come to terms with a change in appearance that some men consider unattractive, Barnes said. Dr. Aaron Clark said he hears complaints about hair loss about every other week in his part-time practice. He tries to set realistic expectations. “I usually help them understand that to some extent it’s a ... natural part of the aging process,” said Clark, chief clinical officer for PrimaryOne

What causes pattern baldness? According to the Mayo Clinic, most people shed anywhere from 50 to 100 hairs every day. Baldness occurs when this cycle is interrupted. While the exact cause of hair loss may not be understood, it’s related to one or more of following factors: • Hereditary/family history —pattern baldness usually occurs in predictable patterns such as a receding hairline in men and thinning hair in women. • Hormones: The amount of dihydrotestosterone circulating in one’s body, the hormone binds to receptors in hair follicles and leads to baldness.

Treatment options While not exactly a medical condition, pattern baldness can hurt self-esteem and cause anxiety as the hair loss is permanent. • Minoxidil (sold over the counter as Rogaine) is a topical solution that stimulates hair growth. However, hair loss returns when you stop using it. • Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar), a prescription pill that slows hair loss by interfering with the production of a form of testosterone that is linked to baldness. Much like with minoxidil, hair loss returns once you stop taking it. • Hair transplants — a surgery in which tiny plugs of hair are removed from areas where the hair is continuing to grow (back and sides of the scalp) and placed in areas that are balding. Unfortunately, this procedure requires multiple , expensive sessions and side effects include scarring and

Health centers and a clinical associate professor of family medicine at Ohio State University. But doctors say the only thing to worry about with baldness is your ego. While some reports have said that men with baldness are more likely to develop colon cancer or hypertension, Kunar said the association is loose. Men who are concerned about their health should talk to their doctors, he said. Primary Care. Dental. The extent Counseling. Family Planning. of one’s male pattern baldness likely is Everyone welcome. influenced by Most insurances accepted. genetics and Call 315-536-2752 for hormones. an appointment today.

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Men who have a father who is bald or balding are five times more likely to go bald than men whose fathers have a full head of hair, Kunar said. He said another factor is the amount of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, circulating in one’s body. The DHT binds to receptors in hair follicles and leads to baldness. Besides urging acceptance, there are a couple things doctors can suggest. Minoxidil, known commonly by the brand name Rogaine, is available over the counter. It’s a liquid that is massaged into the the scalp. “It’s effective for not only regrowing hair, but also it’s more effective for keeping you from losing the hair you’ve got,” Barnes said. He said doctors also can prescribe finasteride (brand name Propecia), an anti-testosterone pill that supplants hormonal hair loss. However, there is some concern that the drug can mask a marker for prostate cancer, and some men are reluctant to use it. Either way, the key is seeing your doctor as soon as possible. “You may want to talk about the hair loss before it’s gone, because keeping what you have is easier than regrowing it once it’s gone,” Barnes said. Clark said that men complaining of baldness generally express an understanding that it’s a natural thing, but still want to try something before they move onto full acceptance. He said many men who try minoxidil or finasteride only do so temporarily because it slows the progression of hair loss but doesn’t lead to the outcomes they want. There are surgical options, too, doctors say, but they are costly. Some cost $10,000. Kunar said, in his practice, complaints have declined over the past 10 years or so as more men embrace baldness or shave their heads for a clean look. At the College of Barber Styling, the same is true. Men there, Gail said, don’t complain about hair loss. Instead, they come in for a shave. “It’s a resolution or resigning to the fact that ‘Hey, I’m going bald, so I’m gonna just shave this stuff and forget about it,’ “ he said. Email JoAnne Viviano at [email protected].

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