In Italy, 39 percent of men and 13 percent of women suffer from baldness. The life cycle of a hair and the transplant hypothesis
REMEDIES FOR BALDNESS
Baldness is a phenomenon that arouses much debate both among those affected by it and among specialists in the sector. This is a topic on which unfortunately many clichés and many unfounded legends are widespread, therefore it is useful to consult the infographic “Baldness in Italy and the rest of the world”, created by the Helvetica Sanders Institute, the leader in hair transplantation. hair for over 30 years, which explains in simple words what the causes of baldness are and what the false myths need to be dispelled.
DATA ON BALDNESS IN ITALY
Italy is a country where 39% of men have a baldness problem and 13% of women suffer from hair loss; These are numbers that make you think, considering that according to a survey, 65% of Italians think that baldness is the worst blemish.
From the comparison with other countries, however, Italy comes out quite well, as it is in seventh place among the nations in which there are the most bald people: the first place is occupied by the Czech Republic (42.79%) and the tenth by Canada (37.42%). The biggest gap is with Asian countries and in particular China, where bald people make up only 20% of the population. This depends on an enzyme that transforms testosterone into DHT which is less active in Asians. Hair loss is, therefore, a problem for many Italians, who seek information and support mainly on the web, since, as we see in the infographic, 59% of men and 64% of women search on the Internet for how to combat baldness.
HOW TO STOP BALDNESS
To better understand what happens with baldness, you need to know what the life cycle of a hair is: each scalp follicle produces a new hair when the previous one has finished its cycle (which can vary from 2 to 7 years). Each hair grows independently of the others and each follows three phases. The anagen phase is that of active growth and lasts from 1 to 4 years, the catagen phase lasts 2 to 3 weeks and is the moment in which the follicle retreats from the surface of the scalp. At this point, the hair stops growing and enters the telogen phase, when it remains attached to the follicle for about 3 months until it falls out.
This is the normal life cycle of hair, the problem is when it is not replaced by new hair and therefore the follicle is no longer capable of producing it.
From the infographic, we also know how many hairs we have, on average, on our heads: 150,000 if you are blond, 110,000 if you have dark hair, and 90,000 if you have red hair.
CAUSES OF BALDNESS IN MEN
Androgenetic alopecia is the main cause of hair loss in men, it depends on genetic and hormonal factors, but there are also other causes, such as stress, incorrect slimming diets, smoking, anemia, surgery, diseases, and drugs.
Regarding the genetic predisposition, it generally manifests itself around 35 years of age and it is necessary to know that it is not an excess of male hormones that causes hair loss, but rather a greater sensitivity of the follicle to these hormones.
DHT damages the follicle and leads to miniaturization which prevents new hair from growing.
CAUSES OF BALDNESS IN WOMEN
Even in women, baldness can be hereditary and therefore androgenetic alopecia can occur (usually between the ages of 30 and 40), but it can also occur during other moments of life, for example during puberty or menopause.
Thinning that affects the female scalp is more widespread than male pattern baldness, i.e. it does not affect a specific area of the head but the entire upper part of the hair.
Even in the case of women, stress, bad eating habits, and medications can cause baldness.
EARLY BALDNESS
We talk about premature baldness when you start to lose your hair around the age of 20 and in this case, it can depend on psychological factors (anxiety, stress, emotional trauma) which lead to thinning of the hair and excessive production of sebum. Premature baldness can cause problems in relationships and for this reason, we choose to intervene with treatments or transplants that can restore the pleasure of caressing flowing hair.
HAIR TRANSPLANT: HOW MANY ARE CARRIED OUT IN THE WORLD?
The overall data on hair transplants is interesting because it highlights the real need of people to find a remedy for baldness. 735,312 transplants have been carried out worldwide, according to research by the ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery), while in Italy 100,00 people have decided to have a hair transplant in the past.
Innovative techniques, such as Smart FU, allow you to obtain remarkable results. The autotransplant, carried out by reimplanting the follicles on the scalp, allows the follicles to take root in high percentages and therefore achieve an optimal result, with hair that grows back naturally.
Whatever the choice of those suffering from baldness, the important thing is not to believe in hoaxes (like those illustrated in the infographic) and to rely only on experts specialized in hair health.
