BS, Dietetics and Nutrition
Male pattern baldness can start early in life. The hairline begins to recede, with the crown and top of the head eventually affected. A receding hairline is often associated with male pattern baldness, but not always. People with a receding hairline may also have a high forehead and a widow’s peak.
Male pattern baldness is caused by hormones called androgens. These hormones cause the hair follicles to shrink over time, which leads to less healthy hair growth. You can help fight this type of hair loss in several ways. Some are simple methods, while others require expensive treatments and medications. Here are some tips:
Find Ways to Reduce Your Stress
The best way to treat hair loss is to find ways to reduce your stress. The connection between stress and hair loss is well known, and this is especially true for men who are genetically predisposed to male pattern baldness. The more stressful your life, the greater your chances of experiencing significant hair loss.
To help fight male pattern baldness, you must reduce your stress levels as much as possible. There are several different ways that you can do this, including:
- Getting enough sleep: Sleep deprivation has been linked with increased levels of cortisone in the body, which can contribute to the development of hair loss.
- Exercising regularly: Regular exercise helps release endorphins that work against cortisol production and increase blood flow through your scalp, which helps keep hair follicles healthy and strong.
Quit Smoking If You Do
Smoking and male pattern baldness go hand in hand. Smoking is bad for your health, and it has been shown that smoking can help cause male pattern baldness.
The nicotine in cigarettes is a vasoconstrictor, which makes your blood vessels smaller. When you smoke, the nicotine enters your bloodstream through the lining of your lungs and then goes to other parts of your body, including the hair follicles. The nicotine causes these blood vessels to constrict, which reduces blood flow to the hair follicles.
When less blood flows to the follicle, it cannot grow as well as it should. This can lead to hair loss because not enough nutrients are supplied to the follicle to produce more hair cells than usual.
Quit smoking if you do, or cut back on how much you smoke daily. If you have already started losing your hair, quitting smoking will help prevent further loss and may even encourage some regrowth!
Eat Healthy
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is important for your overall health, but it’s also essential to a hair care routine. By eating a variety of foods rich in nutrients, you can help treat hair loss.
Healthy eating tips for fighting male pattern hair loss:
- Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is an important part of any diet. Vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can help fight free radical damage and prevent hair loss. A study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that men who ate a daily serving of leafy green vegetables had significantly lower levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which causes male pattern baldness.
- Vitamin E helps reduce hair loss by protecting the scalp from free radical damage. Vitamin E can be found in nuts, soybeans, and vegetable oils like sunflower or safflower. It’s best to take vitamin E supplements instead of eating these foods because they don’t have enough vitamin E to make a difference when taken alone.
- Zinc plays an important role in scalp health because it helps make sebum (oil) production more efficient and keeps your scalp moisturized and hydrated throughout the day without feeling greasy or oily.
