Before Hair Restoration there was Hair loss

I have experienced hair loss. Almost certainly from the age of 18 my front hair line began to change shape but at the time, in the 70's, I had long hair which flopped over my brow onto my face and the receding hairline was hidden. I had lots of hair, as did many young men and I didn't really notice my hairline and it didn't bother me anyway. In my early thirties I started having my hair cut at home by a mobile hairdresser and I remember her telling me that my hair was beginning to thin.

At that time I looked at my dad and thought, "He's lost it on top, I suppose I'll go the same way". Interestingly my younger brother (The middle of three) started losing his hair at a younger age than me and yet our youngest brother still has a good head of hair even now that he's into his forties, so what's going on here? Many people believe that they have inherited their head of hair from their father but in fact men should look to their mother's father for a true picture for it is believed that the genes for hair loss are carried down the maternal line.

Our DNA determines the number of hair follicles that we are born with and it is impossible to increase the number of follicles on the scalp as we grow older.

Hair growth is regulated by the dermal papilla, a structure located at the base of the hair follicle. The dermal papilla regulates which phase of the growth cycle a follicle is in at any one time. During the growth phase, rapid cell division takes place above the dermal papilla at the matrix. The dividing cells are pushed upwards from the follicle's base where they harden and undergo pigmentation, a process known as keratinisation. Keratinised cells form the hair shaft and exit the epidermis, appearing to the naked eye as hair.

What happens at puberty?

Hair will grow thick and strong up to puberty, when levels of testosterone in the body increase. At this time, hair is the thickest and strongest that it will ever be. Testosterone is converted into Dihydratestosterone (DHT) by an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase. DHT that is not required by the sex organs for normal function may bind to DHT receptors located on the dermal papillae on the crown of the head. This process disrupts the hair growth cycle, resulting inthe reduction of cell division in the matrix and a decrease in the production of keratinised cells, which in turn produces a shorter, thinner hair shaft. Consequently the hair follicle miniaturises and shifts back into the resting phase, giving rise to the term 'male and female pattern hair loss' - a condition referred to by medics as Androgenetic Alopecia.

75% of men and 35% of women are affected by hair-loss.