What causes receding hairlines?

Answer 1

A receding hairline is a classic example of male pattern baldness. In men, baldness is usually classified into different grades. It goes from class 1 to class 7. Hair is initially lost in the front part of the head from the sides to the center, resulting in a receding hairline. After this you start to lose hair from the back and top of the head till it meets in the center and results in total baldness. In women, hair loss is only classified as mild, moderate, or severe hair loss. They do not generally have receding hairlines which is more typical of men. The single most relevant cause of male pattern baldness such as a receding hairline is genetics. Your genes play a very important part in your hair growth or lack of it. You can inherit your hair loss from either side of your family and it is not more from either the male or the female side. A receding hairline is caused by something known as dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. This is a substance which is a derivative of androgen, a male hormone. While flowing through the body, androgen is acted upon by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase, which converts the androgen into DHT. People with increased enzyme action (this is where genetics comes in) have more of the DHT binding with their hair follicles. When hair follicles come in contact with high levels of DHT, they sprout thinner and thinner hair strands till such time when nothing grows out of the follicle and it dies, causing hair loss. Specialists believe that the enzyme action and DHT levels may be higher and faster in the frontal portion of the head and that is why most men who experience hair loss, start losing their hair from the front resulting in a receding hairline, before starting to lose it at the back of the head.