WEBVTT - Why Do People Go Bald?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hi, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Saga and this is brain stuff. Have you ever

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<v Speaker 1>heard that if your maternal grandfather went bald that you

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<v Speaker 1>will to? Or what about the one we're getting? A

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<v Speaker 1>scalp massage will send more blood to your head and

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<v Speaker 1>cause your hair to grow back. Some people also claim

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<v Speaker 1>that if you shave your hair, it will grow back

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<v Speaker 1>even fullier than before. Sorry to break it to you,

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<v Speaker 1>but all of these are bogus myths. As long as

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<v Speaker 1>men have been losing their hair, they've been trying to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out what causes baldness and how they can cure

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<v Speaker 1>this sign of aging. In fact, it's estimated that forty

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<v Speaker 1>million Americans are losing their hair, and that's men and women,

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<v Speaker 1>and all of those people are spending more than one

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars a year on everything from hair transplants to

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<v Speaker 1>two pays and spray on hair. Now, hair, real hair

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<v Speaker 1>is just under the skin on our heads from the

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<v Speaker 1>close to one hundred thousand follicles there. This growth happens

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<v Speaker 1>in three phases, the antigen phase where it's growing, the

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<v Speaker 1>catagen phase in between, and the telligen phase where it

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<v Speaker 1>falls out and hair falling out is totally normal. We

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<v Speaker 1>should lose fifty to one hundred hairs every day as

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<v Speaker 1>part of the intelligence cycle. But if more hair falls

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<v Speaker 1>out then is replaced, you are probably balding. If the

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<v Speaker 1>hair that grows back is thinner than what fell out,

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<v Speaker 1>you're probably balding. And if it starts falling out in clumps,

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<v Speaker 1>oh yeah, you are balding. But hey, take comfort that

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<v Speaker 1>you are not alone. My friends. By age thirty, a

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<v Speaker 1>quarter of all men have already started to lose their hair.

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<v Speaker 1>What's weird is why do humans go bald in the

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<v Speaker 1>first place. Baldness is actually pretty rare in other animals,

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<v Speaker 1>and hair serves a lot of important purposes. It protects

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<v Speaker 1>our heads from the sun, maintain as our body heat

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<v Speaker 1>when we're cold, and may even attract mate. Some researchers

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<v Speaker 1>think it suggests a dominant status or a sign of

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<v Speaker 1>maturity in different societies. In fact, a paper from the

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<v Speaker 1>journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found evidence that women

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<v Speaker 1>find completely bald men more attractive than partially bald ones.

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<v Speaker 1>The study also found that baldness was highly associated with

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<v Speaker 1>two traits, dominance and strength. So if you're starting to

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<v Speaker 1>lose your hair, maybe you should take action, shave it

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<v Speaker 1>all off and show the world what a tough, assertive

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<v Speaker 1>man you are. To understand baldness a little better, let's

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<v Speaker 1>look at the different types that occur. First. The most

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<v Speaker 1>common type is called androgenetic alopecia, otherwise known as male

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<v Speaker 1>pattern baldness. It's related to our inherited genetic predisposition from

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<v Speaker 1>both of our parents. This affects how sensitive we are

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<v Speaker 1>to a hormone called die high drow testosserone hereafter referred

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<v Speaker 1>to as d HT. For most guys, five percent of

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<v Speaker 1>their testosterone is converted into d h T. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>sensitive to d h T, it acts like a toxin

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<v Speaker 1>on your hair follicles, producing thinner, weaker, almost colorless hair

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<v Speaker 1>until hair production in the follicle simply stops. Researchers have

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<v Speaker 1>also found that male pattern baldness also causes men to

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<v Speaker 1>have an abnormal amount of a protein lipid called prostaglandin

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<v Speaker 1>D two. Some dermatologists even think that men could regrow

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<v Speaker 1>their hair if this inhibiting protein were removed. Other types

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<v Speaker 1>of baldness include the female pattern baldness that occurs in

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<v Speaker 1>some women post menopause, an autoimmune disorder called alopecia ariata

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<v Speaker 1>and a condition called telligent effluvium that makes your hair

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<v Speaker 1>fall out faster than normal. People can also have brittle

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<v Speaker 1>hair from air shaft defects, or in rare cases, they

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<v Speaker 1>may even pull out their own hair compulsively if they

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<v Speaker 1>have a disorder called trick atilla mania. You think that

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<v Speaker 1>sounds scary. You can also lose your hair from illnesses,

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<v Speaker 1>fungal infections, burns, chemical applications, medications, and of course, cancer

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<v Speaker 1>treatments like chemotherapy. Smoking is also reported to increase the

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<v Speaker 1>risk of baldness. You should definitely see your doctor if

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<v Speaker 1>your hair starts falling out in clumps or if you

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<v Speaker 1>get a burning, itching irritation on your scouting. Check out

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<v Speaker 1>the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for more on

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<v Speaker 1>this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com.