How to cope with male pattern baldness?

Male pattern baldness is a form of hair loss and thinning that affects a lot of adult men. It is also known as Androgenetic Alopecia. In cases of male pattern baldness, the hairline above the temples experiences hair loss that progresses to a receding hairline. The top of the head, or the “crown,” then experiences hair loss, leaving behind a horseshoe-shaped pattern of hair. Male pattern baldness, though typically seen in older men, can also affect young adult men.

What Causes Male Pattern Baldness?

Male pattern baldness is caused by a combination of genetics and the androgens, or male sex hormones, that are present in the body, especially dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT, which is derived from testosterone, is extremely important during puberty because it deepens your voice, changing where you store fat and muscle and regulating body hair growth.

In men who have an inherited intolerance or sensitivity to DHT, the hair-producing cells, or follicles, shrink and become less efficient and productive. This causes the hair produced to thin and, if left untreated, eventually cease entirely, resulting in baldness.

Symptoms of Male Pattern Baldness

The typical male baldness pattern begins at the hairline. The hairline recedes (moves backwards) and forms an “M” shape. Over time, a circular area on the back of the head (vertex) often thins and continues to expand in size. The hair eventually becomes finer, shorter, and thinner, forming a U-shaped (or horseshoe) pattern around the sides of the head and a bald spot on the back of the head.

Psychological Effects of Male Pattern Baldness

One’s Hair has a significant impact on their self-image, how others perceive them, and how their psychosocial functioning is. According to psychotherapist Gershen Kaufman, PhD, the horror that men experience at the thought of going bald transcends the simple fear of losing their sexual appeal. Deep shame is another component of it, which he describes as the feeling of inferiority’s emotional reaction.?

A?study?examined that individuals with various forms of alopecia (hair loss) or baldness are more likely to experience severe mental health problems like depression and anxiety.

Male pattern baldness and other alopecias can cause self-esteem problems and even disorders like body dysmorphic disorder. People who have this condition feel excessively self-conscious about their appearance and experience severe anxiety about it.

How to Deal with it?

If you’re facing significant self-esteem issues, anxiety or depression as a result of hair loss then you should seek help from a certified therapist. Improving self-esteem is difficult, and one can benefit from professional assistance in doing so.

Treatment?

Male pattern baldness is not a medical condition, and it is typically treated for aesthetic purposes. If you prefer, you can embrace your baldness or you can also look for hair restoration methods to reverse hair loss. It is entirely up to you.

Embracing Baldness

If you choose to embrace your baldness, simply acknowledge your negative feelings and choose to move on from them. Check out the long list of people you know who are proud to be bald. Begin with celebrities, including the long list of leading men you see succeeding on TV and in sports.

Here are some steps on how to embrace your baldness:

1. Acknowledge your hair loss

2. Accept the changes and your feelings

3. Work to reduce your self-consciousness

4. Learn to enjoy being bald

5. Stop trying to hide your thinning hair

6. Closely crop your hair

7. Shave your head

8. Grow facial hair

Fighting Hair Loss

If you want to fight your hair loss rather than embrace it, you have several options. Some of the most recent methods are as follows:

Follicular unit extraction (FUE)

Hair restoration

Hair transplant

Multiple follicular units (MFU)

Strip hair transplantation (FUT)

Hair restoration techniques have greatly improved over the last few decades. Hair transplantation, FUT, FUE, and MFU, allow you to restore your more youthful hairline at almost any age. Consumption of Ashwagandha can help you to enhance your hair growth. You can check out Sukham’s?Herbal Performance Booster?for a natural ayurvedic treatment.

Conclusion

When a man exhibits signs of hair loss, it creates the impression that he is also losing a part of his masculinity due to which his self-esteem and self-confidence also suffer. This results from the fact that in our culture, a lush, full head of hair on men is considered attractive and a lot of shame is attached to losing it.?Hair loss may not be a life-threatening condition, but it can impact an individual’s mental health very negatively. If you are suffering because of male pattern baldness or other hair loss conditions, we hope you know you are more than what people think!?