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The number of people looking for a hair loss solution is staggering. Estimates obviously vary, but best guesses for the US range all the way up to 80m.

There are a number of potential causes of hair loss, ranging from genetic factors, hormonal changes and general aging, through to illness, stress and even diet.

There is no way to predict the age at which hair loss will start – men as young as 20 can experience alarming hair loss.

A malfunctioning thyroid can sometimes be a problem – in fact, hair loss can often be a symptom of any one of several diseases.

With illness-induced hair loss the good news is that most of the hair usually grows back when the disease has gone or has been properly treated.

Temporary hair loss also can result from the wrong diet, or some medicines like blood thinners, cancer treatment, too much vitamin A, anti-depressants, treatment for gout, and some birth control pills.

There are a number of types of hair loss. The most common one is androgenetic alopecia (alopecia is the medical name for hair loss); its common name is pattern baldness, which affects both men and women and is generally permanent.

There is another type of hair loss, alopecia areata, which can be temporary, but can involve hair loss all over your body, not only your scalp.

Stress can also induce a rapid hair loss, so hair loss after pregnancy is quite common, and the same thing can happen after a sudden high fever or an over-rapid weights loss; this type of hair loss is called telogen effluvium, but normally does not last; the body readjusts and the hair grows back.

There is a self-induced hair loss called traction alopecia, caused by wearing tight braids or tight ponytails.

While both sexes suffer from hair loss, male hair loss is much more common.

The most common cause of male hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, which is caused by the interaction between two naturally-occurring hormones, DHT and 5-alpha-reductase, which work together well until just after puberty.

Thereafter the overall biology can get a little out of kilter, which affects the normal growth, rest and regrowth pattern of the hair follicle.

The result is a hair that is thinner and weaker each time it grows, until at last it cannot be seen at all.

In men, this typically results in hair that recedes from the front to the back and a loss of hair around the crown of the head; this particular affliction is hereditary. Even where there is no history of male pattern baldness, about half the male population will have suffered some degree of hair loss by the time they have reached 50.

Female hair loss is substantially less common than hair loss in men, but women also suffer from androgenetic alopecia. However, they are most likely to suffer from thinning hair, rather than an actual bald spot.

They also tend to start losing their hair later in life than do men, and their “female pattern baldness” differs because they rarely lose their frontal hairline.

Tens of millions of American women suffer some kind of hair loss as they age. Like men, they can start losing their hair as early as age 30, with the rate accelerating after menopause.

There is no magic, guaranteed hair loss pill or hair loss cure, there are processes and medications that can halt the hair loss or even reverse it to some extent.

There are two drugs approved by the FDA, and there are other products and treatments currently on the market and also in development.

There is, of course, a flourishing hair loss treatment industry in the form of hair transplants.

The process is expensive, but the industry has come a long way in recent years, and the final result is much more satisfactory than it used to be. It is, however, not a quick or painless undertaking, and it will pay you to consider your choice of venue and practitioner carefully.

(NOTE:   This site is being redeveloped, so it’s pretty rough at the moment.   It should become substantially larger and more interesting over the next week or so)