What Causes Male Pattern Baldness?
It has been proven (as with with all illnesses or defects which develop in the human body and aren’t directly attributable to an external factors) that genetics (and faulty genetics) are to blame for male pattern baldness.
Short of altering genetics – which is undoubtedly years off – all we can do is deal with the physical aspects and mechanisms of male pattern baldness to counter the progressive effects.
This may sound a bit doom and gloom, but it’s all we have – and in many cases, it’s more than enough to take us to a far better place than we currently are, so chin up!
So, what are the physical aspects and mechanisms of male pattern baldness?
Again… the truth is, nobody knows – in full, at least – how shrinkage of the hair follicles occurs. DHT is the prime candidate for blame in male pattern baldness, and castration (or for the less extreme – DHT inhibitors) can reduce, stop or reverse the balding process to some degree.
But, yet again, it seems nobody is entirely sure how DHT damages the hair follicles, beyond the fact it seems to shrink them. Some research studies speculate that DHT contributes to male pattern baldness by inducing the onset of fibrosis in and around the hair follicle, gradually choking the life out of it until the hairs being produced are tiny.
If this is the case, then by stemming the production of DHT, while simultaneously trying to counter the development of fibrosis (and at best, breaking it down) we would be putting ourselves in the best position possible to stop further hair loss, and re-grow an amount of hair we have lost.
Here’s the exciting part…
Several studies indicate that the use of ketoconazole 2% (Nizoral) may be an effective way to counter the build up of fibrosis owing to it’s powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Inflammation is thought to be a key contributor to male pattern baldness.
More studies also show that Nizoral has anti-androgenic and stimulant properties, and most underground hair loss guru’s recommend it be part of any hair loss regime.