We've all heard of 'Male Pattern Baldness', but what exactly is it and why does the hair only thin in those specific areas and not all over? TheChicGeek, as part of Thinning Hair Awareness Week, has asked Keith Hobbs of The Institute of Trichologists to explain further;

"Male pattern baldness occurs in specific areas because there is an enzyme in those areas that changes testosterone to a more potent hormone, di-hydrotestosterone. This causes each new growing hair to get shorter and finer with each succeeding hair growth cycle," says Keith.

Male Pattern Baldness or Androgenetic hair loss in men, usually starts either with a bilateral recession to the temples or a diffuse thinning to the crown and can be followed in some cases by a gradual thinning, then a complete denuding of the top. Very rarely is the hair lost on the sides and back although men over 70 can lose hair in the neck area. Androgenetic hair loss in men is classified by both the Hamilton and the Norwood scales. It is possible for men to pattern in the Ludwig classification which is normally associated with Female pattern hair loss.

Cause:

Androgenic hair loss has three causative factors: genetic predisposition, the presence of the androgen testosterone and the age of the patient.

Male pattern baldness is more commonly inherited from the maternal grandfather.

At puberty, more of the male hormone testosterone circulates around the body having opposite effects on hair in different places.

Under the arms and on the pubic area on men and women, and the beard, chest, back and legs on men, the fine vellus hair is slowly replaced in each succeeding growth cycle by coarser terminal hairs. These hairs do not grow as long as scalp hair with the exception of some beard hair on certain races of men.

Scalp:

On the scalp, in areas that are genetically programmed to thin (the pattern areas) each new cycle of anagen growth produces finer and shorter hairs.

Testosterone reaches the target organ, in this case the hair follicle, where the enzyme 5α-reductase changes testosterone into the highly potent hormone di-hydro testosterone which causes the above affects.

The effects are progressive but not always total. Familial history can help prognosis.

www.trichologists.org.uk 

The last day. The maintenance phase. You can return to eating food; always plenty of vegetables and fruit with a new menu of supplements to take.  

TheChicGeek says "Who was it that said a change was as good as a rest? They were right. This cleanse was an almost extreme break from my normal routine. It made me think about everything that I put into my body. Feeling guilty about eating plain, brown bread was a first!

The large amount of supplements made me feel that I wasn't going without my nutritional needs, while the overdose of fresh fruit and vegetables gave me a feeling psychologically of immunity to getting ill. There were points where I was worried I may never want to eat anything healthy again, but this quickly passed. The only down side was that I lost too much weight, but for others this would be a boon.

You couldn't do this cleanse without a decent juicer. I used the Philips HR1871 juicer, pictured, and would throughly recommend it. It is an expensive one, but you need something that extracts the maximum of juice. It is also quick and easy to clean. The cleanse also recommends a colonic irrigation during the 'Power Phase' and also a massage, which once added to the cost of the cleanse, £120, does make this an expensive 12 days. 

I would say to anybody wanting to do this, yes, they should give it a go, but it isn't easy and would probably be best on a sunshine holiday somewhere. What I will take from this is regular, fresh juicing and also I will try to go meat free a couple of times a week. We all know about getting our five-a-day and eating healthy, but how often to we really do it. This cleanse gave me plenty to think about and a new focus for the coming summer months".

Chris James - Mind & Body Cleanse - £120

www.chrisjamescleanse.com