Hair loss is something that everyone loses. But the point is that after someone loses hair, the hair does not grow out. If the hair only falls out but does not grow, then over time will certainly be hair loss, and in serious cases will form a general baldness. So “falling” is not a big problem, but “not growing” is the key to the problem.
Then why is baldness common? Why does the hair not grow?
The key to hair growth is the hair follicle. In the human skin there is a very tiny organ called hair follicle, the main function of the hair follicle is to synthesize the human hair. The hair follicle can synthesize keratin into the backbone of the hair. At the bottom of the follicle, the epidermal cells keep dividing and differentiating to form different parts of the hair (such as cortex, epidermis and medulla, etc.).
In layman’s terms, you can understand the human hair follicle as a workshop, this workshop only do one thing, is to synthesize hair, so the hair is constantly growing, even if the hair falls out, new hair will continue to grow out, in this case, the loss of more hair is not afraid. But if one day, this “workshop” quit, then the hair will stop growing, and after it falls out, no new hair will grow out. People with thinning hair are actually experiencing significant degeneration of hair follicle function.
What causes degeneration of hair follicle function?
There are also two types of degeneration of hair follicle function, permanent degeneration and temporary degeneration. As the name implies, in permanent degeneration, the “workshop” is completely closed and hair regrowth is almost impossible; in temporary degeneration, the hair follicle is stimulated under certain circumstances and will soon recover.
Permanent hair follicle degeneration
Permanent degeneration is the most frightening for us, so what causes permanent follicular degeneration? There are four main conditions.
1. DHT is an important cause of androgenic hair loss. The androgen (testosterone) in the human body will produce DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in its own metabolism, DHT will inhibit the activity of the hair follicle, making the hair thin and soft. DHT will not directly kill the hair follicle, but it will attack the hair follicle every moment, gradually let the hair follicle shrink, until finally completely lose the ability to grow hair. Male androgenic alopecia is also this way from thinning, becoming less and finally extensive hair loss, forming baldness.
2, injury, burns, in general the hair follicle in the skin inside, ordinary external force can not hurt it, but like a knife wound, burns such as serious injury if it happens on the scalp, will directly lead to necrosis of the hair follicle. People can synthesize hair, but can not synthesize hair follicles, hair follicles once necrosis, that is forever no more.
3, folliculitis, folliculitis is caused by bacterial infection. In more serious folliculitis, bacteria have killed a large number of hair follicles, possibly leading to the permanent death of hair follicles, fungus caused by yellow ringworm, black ringworm, pustular ringworm if it occurs on the scalp that is quite serious, must be treated as soon as possible.
4.Baldness and total baldness
In severe cases, baldness may develop into alopecia areata, where a person’s hair may even fall out completely, and even eyebrows, armpit hair, and pubic hair may be lost. The cause of alopecia areata is medically indeterminable and may be related to disorders of the autoimmune system. Total baldness does not necessarily mean that all hair follicles are dead, but there is little hope of growth.
Temporary hair follicle degeneration
The second condition is temporary hair follicle degeneration, which is usually caused by temporary stimulation of the hair follicles, resulting in severe hair loss for a period of time, or in severe cases, baldness.
The causes of temporary hair follicle degeneration are varied, I’ll list a few of the most common –
1, postpartum hair loss, problems with hair follicle function due to changes in estrogen levels.
2, shampooing, hair care process, too alkaline environment can lead to stimulation of hair follicles.
3, Staying up late and fatigue can lead to endocrine disorders and stimulate the hair follicles.
4, mental stress can lead to the growth period of the hair suddenly into the resting phase.
5, Fear, sadness, depression and other negative emotions can also lead to stress reactions in the hair follicles.