Baldness involves the state of lacking hair where it often grows, especially on the head. The most common form of baldness is a progressive hair thinning condition called androgenic alopecia or "male pattern baldness" that occurs in adult male humans and other species. The amount and patterns of baldness can vary greatly.

It was previously believed that baldness was inherited from the maternal grandfather. While there is some basis for this belief, both parents contribute to their offspring's likelihood of hair loss.

There are several other kinds of baldness:

  • Traction alopecia is most commonly found in people with ponytails or cornrows who pull on their hair with excessive force.
  • Trichotillomania is the loss of hair caused by compulsive pulling and bending of the hairs. It tends to occur more in children than in adults.
  • Traumas such as chemotherapy, childbirth, major surgery, poisoning, and severe stress may cause a hair loss condition known as telogen effluvium.
  • Worrisome hair loss often follows childbirth without causing actual baldness. In this situation, the hair is actually thicker during pregnancy due to increased circulating oestrogens. After the baby is born, the oestrogen levels fall back to normal pre-pregnancy levels and the additional hair foliage drops out. A similar situation occurs in women taking the fertility-stimulating drug clomiphene.
  • Iron deficiency is a common cause of thinning of the hair.
  • Radiation to the scalp, as happens when radiotherapy is applied to the head for the treatment of certain cancers there, can cause baldness of the irradiated areas. Some mycotic infections can cause massive hair loss.
  • Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder also known as "spot baldness" that can result in hair loss ranging from just one location to every hair on the entire body.
  • Localized or diffuse hair loss may also occur in cicatricial alopecia. Tumours and skin outgrowths also induce localized baldness.
  • Hypothyroidism can cause hair loss, typically frontal, and is particularly associated with thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows
  • Hyperthyroidism can also cause hair loss, which is parietal rather than frontal.
  • Temporary loss of hair can occur in areas where sebaceous cysts are present for considerable duration; normally one to several weeks in length.


    • Reference: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia