~ Myths about hair loss

Myth: If I want to know whether I'm going to lose my hair, I should look at my mother's family.
Fact: The genes for hereditary hair loss are carried on both sides of the family. And the tendency to hereditary hair loss can skip generations. So the best advice is to look at all the men and women in your family. If they all have full heads of hair, it's likely you'll keep yours.

Myth: Frequent shampooing causes hair loss.
Fact: Frequent shampooing has no effect, positive or negative, on hair loss.

Myth: Colouring my hair will cause hair loss.
Fact: Many salon treatments, such as bleaching and colouring, can be hard on
your hair. Occasionally, if the chemicals are too strong they may cause the
hair to break off near the scalp. But no hair treatments cause hereditary hair
loss.

Myth: Brushing your hair 100 times a day will make it stronger.
Fact: This popular myth results in many women vigourously brushing their hair from root to tip. But this can potentially damage the hair and has been known to cause the hair to be pulled out or broken off.

Myth: Bald men are sexier.
Fact: There is rarely any evidence of excess levels of testosterone or related hormones in bald men; the belief that baldness makes you more virile than a man with a full head of hair is, unfortunately, without scientific foundation.
Ref. Susan Aldridge; "Hair Loss: The Answers";Self-Help Direct; 1997

Myth: Hair thinning comes from the mother's side of the family.
Fact: Scientific research has proven that the gene for hair loss comes from either or both sides of the family. The best indicator you have is your immediate family. Look around. Are your family members losing their hair? If so, you may also be at risk.

Myth: Hereditary hair loss only affects men.
Fact: Women also suffer from hereditary hair loss -- nearly 30 million women in the U.S. alone. Often termed fine or thin, women's hair goes though the same thinning process that men experience. However, women generally experience diffuse thinning over the entire head, while men usually experience "pattern baldness" – crown (or vertex) balding and/or a receding frontal hairline.

Myth: Women only lose their hair post pregnancy or during menopause.
Fact: Women can start experiencing the signs of heredity hair thinning as early as their 20's. The signs are similar to men's hair thinning – more hair loss on the pillow, in the drain or on the hairbrush. However, instead of losing hair in one specific area as men do, women experience diffuse thinning that starts on the top of the head and spreads over the entire scalp.

Myth: Any hair falling out of the head is an indicator of hereditary hair loss.
Fact: Normally, between 80 and 150 individual hairs fall out of the scalp every day. This is not a sign of hair loss, rather, it is a sign that the hair follicle is entering its resting phase – a natural part of the follicle's life cycle. When enough follicles do not recover from the "resting phase," you are suffering from hair loss.

Myth: If you've got hair past age 40, you'll keep it.
Fact: Shrinking follicles and hair loss is a normal part of the body's aging process. Just like the skin wrinkles as you age, your follicles will shrink, making your hair seem thinner. How much you lose depends on your genes.

Myth: Rubbing brandy into the scalp helps to stimulate hair growth
Fact: The use of alcohol has not been clinically proven to induce hair growth.

Myth: Eating too much monosodium glutamate (MSG) can cause hair loss
Fact: MSG is known to cause headaches, dizziness, burning sensations and chest pain but not hair loss.

Myth: Special dietary supplements can prevent hair loss
Fact: In most cases, hair loss is due to your genes. Severe malnutrition can bring on hair loss but this is unrelated to hereditary hair loss. However, a poor diet can bring on predetermined hereditary hair loss earlier than expected.

Myth: Standing on your head cures hair loss
Fact: The idea is that by standing on your head, blood flow will be increased and your scalp will be regenerated. Specialists agree on the fact that it has no influence on hair loss at all; follicles need more than blood flow to grow hair.

Myth: Cutting or shaving hair can make it grow back faster and thicker
Fact: No. Hair grows at an average rate of half an inch per month. Because each hair shaft is slightly thicker at its base compared to its tip, hair can temporarily appear thicker for about a week after it has been significantly cut. But cutting hair has absolutely no effect on each strand's thickness or on the number of hairs that will sprout from follicles..

Myth: Hair loss and hair thinning happens only to older men and women
Fact: Hereditary hair thinning can start in your teens, 20s, 30s or 40s. The sooner you start seeking treatment, the better your results may be.

Myth: Prevalence of hereditary hair loss varies by ethnic or racial background
Fact: Hereditary hair loss affects all ethnicities. Race neither increases nor decreases a person's likelihood of experiencing hereditary hair loss.