Making Sense of Hair Loss

What are my chances of suffering from hair loss?

Research has shown that the risk of developing MPHL is linked to both family history and age.¹⁷

Ageing is a risk factor for hair loss in all men, regardless of their family history background. Hair loss can begin as early as the teens and by the age of 35, almost 40% of men show some degree of hair loss.² A survey in four European countries of men with varying degrees of MPHL showed that the average age at which hair loss was first noticed was 24.¹⁸

Family history also plays a key role. If your father does not have MPHL, the chances are that you will keep a good head of hair. Men whose fathers have experienced some degree of hair loss were more likely to develop the condition.¹⁷

For many years it was believed that male pattern hair loss was always inherited from the mother's father.¹⁷ Recent research shows that while the hair loss status of the mother's father plays an important role in determining the risk of hair loss, hair loss in a man's father is also an important factor.¹⁷ So it appears that a tendency to hair loss can be inherited from either side of the family.