Learn About How Stress Can Contribute To Baldness

Baldness is a degrading condition for millions of men and women, and can lead to psychological problems and feelings of self worthlessness. While millions of people look at the negative side of baldness, there are also millions of hair loss sufferers who see it as just another fact of life.

The scientific discoveries in recent years have made the treatments for baldness far more effective. And like so many other medical and personal health symptoms, if you act on the problem immediately, you've got a better chance of minimizing the affects, or at times, even reversing the condition.

Now it should be pointed out that there is not a magic pill for ailing balding (yet) and there is no one single treatment that works for all people. As a demonstrable fact, in most cases a combination of a few anti- balding products will derive better results than any single product or method. Everyone is different, and because there are so many causes of baldness, the treatment will always need to be tailored to the individual.

That carries us to the impending question, whether or not stress can cause hair loss? You see, stress is so routinely referred to as the major cause of balding, that many people believe this to be real. The fact is that stress is a cause of balding, so you can blame your job or your sporting team if it makes you feel better, but it is not the major cause. Stress is seen as a contributing factor of hair loss, but there is one major factor that is far more prevalent than all other causes.

Balding can be caused by many factors, with more than 50% of males experiencing some form of hair loss or thinning by middle age. Women also suffer from hair loss, and around 35-40% of women will suffer some type of hair loss or thinning by age 60. Studies suggest that Pattern Baldness is the most prevalent cause of baldness. Pattern balding alone affects more than 40% of the male population. Pattern balding is easy to explain - it is a genetic disposition - it happens naturally.

Most men and women are genetically predisposed to Pattern Baldness. The cause of Pattern hair loss is very complex, but in laymans terms, it occurs when testosterone combines with a specific enzyme and is converted into what is know as dihydrotestosterone (aka DHT). DHT has a negative affect on the hair follicles - it is the causer for slowing down hair production and produces weaker, shorter hair - and ultimately stops hair from growth altogether.

Men and women suffer from Pattern baldness in very different ways. Men tend to endure thinning hair in certain sections or patches of the scalp and that's why many cases in men result in the 'monk' effect, i.e. balding on top, with hair still growing at the sides and back. Women tend to lose hair evenly across the scalp, so instead of having a visibly bald patch, a woman can actually lose more hair than a man, but still appear to have a full head of hair.

There are a lot of other causes of hair loss, but none more obvious as Pattern Baldness. The other causes of baldness are assignable for such small percentages of cases, and in most instances are the easiest to prevent, detect or even reverse. Other known causes of baldness are hormonal imbalances (especially in women) illnesses, poor diet, below par hygiene, drug abuse and last but not least, stress. Again, stress is an absolute known cause of balding. Not a major cause, but it ranks in the top few causes.

Stress related baldness has a scientific name - Telogen Effluvium. This type of balding can also be caused by experiences such as trauma, childbirth, puberty, major surgery and even severe chronic illness. Telogen Effluvium is characterized by immediate hair loss caused by an interruption in the normal hair growth cycle. Stress and trauma cause large numbers of hair follicles to synchronously enter a stage of rest. After some time, the hair follicles will enter a stage of growth, and the old hair will be pushed out of the follicle by a new hair that is formed beneath it. The result is a period of hair shedding, and is usually self correcting, but if the stress is ongoing, then this type of balding can become chronic and eventually lead to more prevalent baldness.

In theory you could blame your favorite sports team for stressing you so much that you went bald. But in actuality, although stress can lead to hair loss, it is one of the secondary causes of baldness. And it is only really related to more dramatic experiences that have bought on stress. The most likely cause of hair loss is Pattern Baldness, and you can take steps to minimized its effects - but be quick.

Hair Loss can occur in both men and women. The most common causes of baldness are genetics, hormonal changes, medicines and thyroid conditions. Hair Loss at any age can be devistating, however there are preventative treatments. For further Hair loss information please visit http://www.hairloss-baldness.info/