During the holidays, we tend to get together with extended family members who we may not have seen for long stretches of time. You can learn a lot about your family history during these gatherings from all of those uncles and aunts, grandparents, and cousins. And when it comes to whether you may experience hair loss, you may also be able to see into your future when you see your family.
While your genes aren’t the only things that will play a role in determining whether you will lose your hair, if your family history includes baldness, the odds are pretty good that at least some hair loss may await you. Also called androgenetic alopecia, pattern baldness is a hereditary hair loss condition responsible for 95 percent of all hair loss cases.
But when you look around that family gathering and see a balding parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle, does that necessarily mean you need to be resigned to the same fate?
The reality is that in terms of your genetic predisposition to pattern baldness, not all relatives are created equal. For men, their maternal grandfather and their dad will be the ones who can give them an idea of what to expect from their hair as the years go by.
Many of the genes responsible for baldness and hair loss tend to come from your maternal grandfather, even though genes from both of your parents and all of your grandparents can also play a role. If your maternal grandfather is bald or is losing their hair, you are a likely candidate for hair loss problems yourself.
A maternal grandfather’s genes play an oversized role in predicting hair loss because men only have one set of X chromosome genes instead of two sets of autosomal genes. For the latter, men can have one set that causes hair loss and one that doesn’t, giving them a moderate chance of going bald. However, since males only have that single set of X chromosome genes, shared with their maternal grandfather, a baldness-related gene will be the only game in town. This means a much higher risk of developing androgenetic alopecia.
Call the Miami Hair Institute Today For a Hair Loss Evaluation
While looking at your family’s genetic heritage will provide some clues as to what to expect on your scalp in the years ahead, genes are not definitive, and hair loss is not a foregone conclusion. But if you do start experiencing hair loss, advancements in medicine, technology, and techniques have made hair restoration more available, more effective, and more convenient than ever before.
At the Miami Hair Institute, we offer the most innovative approaches to hair restoration available. Schedule an appointment with the Miami Hair Institute today by calling 305.925.0222.