Mything in action - hair loss explained

It's estimated there are 160 million people around the world who are losing their hair. With such a large market to aim at, there are a vast number of different miracle cures. Take this tablet, rub this into your scalp, stimulate your head into life with electrical current, etc. There are as many treatments as there are suckers to buy them. The reality is that there's only one product that works. It's called propecia and only helps men. So far, there's no treatment to cure hair loss in women. One of the reasons why the scams get so much traction is because of the various myths. Now's the time to tell fact from fiction. Myth: you inherit hair loss from your mother and her family. Modern research confirms a probable genetic cause for hair loss, but it applies to both sides of the family, sometimes missing out a generation (or two). Myth: women do not lose their hair. About 25% of women in the US have the genetic trigger for hair loss. Unlike men, there is no fixed pattern. It tends to be a general thinning across the head so it's slightly less obvious. Myth: hair loss is color-blind In theory, you inherit baldness regardless of race or ethnicity, but there's some evidence that African-Americans and Asians lose hair slightly less often. Myth: stress does not cause hair loss Physical stress, say from going through a surgical operation or a difficult child birth, can cause hair loss. There's also evidence that soldiers can lose their hair during combat. At a slightly lower level, some students can shed hair as they approach important examinations. In almost all cases, the hair grows back. Myth: massage and stimulation with electricity prevents hair loss Vigorous massage can damage hair and pull it out. Further, the fact that the flow of blood may improve has nothing to do with the growth of hair. Blood is not fertilizer for hair. Myth: washing your hair every day increases hair loss. Every day, a human sheds an average of one hundred hairs. If you wash, this can prompt most of them to fall out at the same time so it looks worse than it is. You can damage the hair with the wrong chemicals for dyeing or straightening your hair, and vigorous rubbing with a towel can pull hair out. Using a hair drier with the heat too high can leave the hair brittle. Pulling the hair into a tight ponytail can pull hair out. Other than that, there's no effect. Myth: too much dandruff is a sign your hair will fall out. Dandruff is actually a fungus and there's no link between the itchy irritation it causes and your hair falling out.

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