What is male pattern baldness?

Male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia) is a type of hair loss that affects men. It causes you to lose hair on the skin covering your head (scalp), and your hair doesn’t grow back. Other signs of male-pattern baldness include thinning hair and a hairline that moves farther back on your head (receding hairline).

There are seven stages of male pattern baldness according to the Hamilton-Norwood scale:

• Stage 1: There’s little or no hair loss or hairline recession.
• Stage 2: There’s slight hair loss near the skin between your ears and forehead (temples).
• Stage 3: You have deep hairline recession around your temples, and your hairline may have an “M” or “U” shape.
• Stage 4: You have very deep hairline recession and a loss of hair at the top of your head (crown).
• Stage 5: Your hairline recession connects to the bald spot on your crown.
• Stage 6: The hair between your temples and crown is thinning or gone.
• Stage 7: You have no hair on the top of your head and a thin band of hair around the side of your head.

Who does male pattern baldness affect?

Male pattern baldness can affect all men.

However, male pattern baldness affects people differently based on their ethnic heritage. You’re more likely to have male pattern baldness if you’re white, followed by Afro-Caribbean. You’re less likely to experience male pattern baldness if you’re of Chinese or Japanese descent. Male pattern baldness doesn’t typically affect Native American, First Nations and Alaska Native peoples.

You’re more likely to have male pattern baldness if you have a family history of it. If your grandfather, father or brothers have male pattern baldness, your odds of having it are higher.

Does male pattern baldness run on my mother’s side of the family?

If your mother’s father (maternal grandfather) has male pattern baldness, there’s a good chance that you’ll have male pattern baldness as well. However, there may be a link between male pattern baldness and your father. If your father is bald, you’re twice as likely to have male pattern baldness.

How common is male pattern baldness?

Male pattern baldness affects two-thirds of all men, and your odds of experiencing some hair loss increase with age.

How does male pattern baldness affect my body?

Male pattern baldness causes the small depressions in your scalp at the base of your hairs (hair follicles) to gradually shrink, often in a specific pattern. As your hair follicles shrink, your individual hairs get thinner and shorter. Over time, those hairs stop growing at all.

Male pattern baldness doesn’t affect your physical health. However, it can affect you psychosocially (how society and social groups affect your thoughts and emotions) and psychologically (how you think about yourself and your behavior). You may experience emotional stress, anxiety and depression.