WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Do People Go Bald?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Boga Bob here with another classic episode for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Former host Christian Sager is explaining what's too many folks

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<v Speaker 1>a pressing consideration as they get older. Why do some

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<v Speaker 1>people go bald? Hi? I'm Christian Sager and this is

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<v Speaker 1>brain stuff. Have you ever heard that if your maternal

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<v Speaker 1>grandfather went bald, that you will to? Or what about

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<v Speaker 1>the one we're getting? A scalp massage will send more

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<v Speaker 1>blood to your head and cause your hair to grow back.

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<v Speaker 1>Some people also claim that if you shave your hair,

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<v Speaker 1>it will grow back even fullier than before. Sorry to

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<v Speaker 1>break it to you, but all of these are bogus myths.

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<v Speaker 1>As long as men have been losing their hair, they've

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<v Speaker 1>been trying to figure out what causes baldness and how

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<v Speaker 1>they can cure this sign of aging. In fact, it's

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<v Speaker 1>estimated that forty million Americans are losing their hair, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's men and women, and all of those people are

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<v Speaker 1>spending more than one billion dollars a year on everything

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<v Speaker 1>from hair transplants to two pays and spray on hair.

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<v Speaker 1>Now hair, real hair grows just under the skin on

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<v Speaker 1>our heads from the close to one hundred thousand follicles there.

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<v Speaker 1>This growth happens in three phases, the antigen phase where

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<v Speaker 1>it's growing, the catagen phase in between, and the telligen

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<v Speaker 1>phase where it falls out. And hair falling out is

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<v Speaker 1>totally normal. We should lose fifty to one hundred hairs

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<v Speaker 1>every day as part of the intelligence cycle. But if

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<v Speaker 1>more hair falls out then is replaced, you are probably balding.

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<v Speaker 1>If the hair that grows back is thinner than what

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

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<v Speaker 1>out in clumps, oh yeah, you are balding. But hey,

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<v Speaker 1>take comfort that you are not alone. My friends, by

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<v Speaker 1>age thirty, a quarter of all men have already started

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<v Speaker 1>to lose their hair. What's weird is why do humans

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<v Speaker 1>go bald in the first place. Baldness is actually pretty

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<v Speaker 1>rare in other animals, and hair serves a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>important purposes. It protects our heads from the sun, maintains

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<v Speaker 1>our body heat when we're cold, and may even attract mate.

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<v Speaker 1>Some researchers think it suggests a dominant status or a

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<v Speaker 1>sign of maturity in different societies. In fact, a paper

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<v Speaker 1>from the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found evidence

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<v Speaker 1>that women find completely bald men more attractive than partially

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<v Speaker 1>bald ones. The study also found that baldness was highly

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

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<v Speaker 1>starting to lose your hair, maybe you should take action,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>let's look at the different types that occur. First. The

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<v Speaker 1>most common type is called and dro genetic alopecia, otherwise

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<v Speaker 1>known as male pattern baldness. It's related to our inherited

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<v Speaker 1>genetic predisposition from both of our parents. This affects how

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<v Speaker 1>sensitive we are to a hormone called die hydro testosserone,

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<v Speaker 1>hereafter referred to as d HT. For most guys, five

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<v Speaker 1>percent of their testosterone is converted into d h T.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're sensitive to d h T, it acts like

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Researchers have also found that male pattern baldness also causes

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<v Speaker 1>men to have an abnormal amount of a protein lipid

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<v Speaker 1>called prostaglandin D two Some dermatologists even think that men

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<v Speaker 1>could regrow their hair if this inhibiting protein were removed.

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<v Speaker 1>Other types of baldness include the female pattern baldness that

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<v Speaker 1>occurs in some women post menopause, an autoimmune disorder called

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<v Speaker 1>alopecia ariata, and a condition called telligent effluvium that makes

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<v Speaker 1>your hair fall out faster than normal. People can also

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<v Speaker 1>have brittle hair from hair shaft defects, or in rare cases,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>that 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 scout. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Christian and produced by Tyler Clang. If

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<v Speaker 1>you miss Christian, check out his new podcast dissecting pop culture.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called super Context and it's available wherever you get

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<v Speaker 1>your podcasts. And of course For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other Harry topics, visit our home planet, how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works dot com.