Hair Loss Overview By Fishy @ ByeByeHairloss.com

Desmond Morris described human beings as "Naked Apes" in his best selling book. His implication was that we were much like apes in behavior yet lacked their body hair. This was not quite true, as in reality, the human body is covered with over five million individual hairs. This is pretty close to the amount found on the gorilla. The difference is that most human hair is thin, and hard to see. The exception to this, of course, is the hair on the top of our head. It is on top of our heads that hair grows thick, and this crown of hair has become an important part of how humans view each other. What color? How long? Curly or Straight? These are all questions about hair that tend to differentiate human beings.

There is another hair concern, and this one also tends to separate us into groups. It is also often a cause for a great deal of concern and stress. This is hair loss. We are usually very proud of hair, and spend a lot of time cleaning and grooming it. When we see it slowly disappearing, it is like losing a friend.


In understanding hair loss, a good place to start is understanding what hair is, and how it grows in the first place. Hair consists of cells of a body protein called keratin. The individual hair begins in a cluster of active cells known as the dermal papilla, and grows out of a small opening called a follicle. The shape of these follicles determines the shape of the hair. Straight hair grows from round follicles. Curly hair comes from an oval shaped follicle which causes it to twist as it grows. The color of hair is determined by the same chemical pigment, melanin, that causes skin color.

There are three distinct stages of growth in the human hair.

1. Anagen stage - This period last anywhere from three to six years, with the average time at 4.5 years. The average growth is about six inches per year.
2. Catagen stage -This is the transitional stage, lasting only a few days, when the hair detaches from the papilla, and moves into the follicle.
3. Telogen stage - The final stage is called the resting stage. The hair detaches from the follicle, falls out, and after a period ranging up to several months begins to grow again.

At any given time, ten percent of your hair is resting, and ninety per cent is growing. It is not unusual for some hairs to fall out daily. On a normal head, this loss might range from 80 to 100 hairs each day, but with 100,000 hair follicles on the average human head, this is not a major problem.

When hair loss begins to exceed this normal shedding, it is time to look at the causes, and what can be done. Many men have a condition known as male pattern baldness. This thinning of hair is not the result of the hair falling out as much as it is of the body's failure to replace the hair.

There are a wide range of abnormal conditions that can lead to premature hair loss. Some examples are hormonal changes from thyroid disease, childbirth, or even the use of birth control pills. It could also be caused by controllable activities like excessive shampooing and blow drying, or even nervous habits like hair pulling. Emotional stress has been linked to hair loss. Medication such as used in chemotherapy can cause total hair loss. Infestations such as Tinea capitis, or scalp ringworm can cause bald spots. A condition known as Alopecia areata also causes bald patches.

When considering normal hair loss patterns, the Norwood Scale is a good resource. It can help you decide whether your hair loss is normal or if it is something that requires further investigation by a health care professional.

This article is exclusive to ByeByeHairLoss.com and is not allowed to be printed on any other sites without permission. Content thieves will be reported.