What is seborrheic alopecia and what is the cause

Currently, many people in the urban population are troubled by hair loss, but most of them are not aware that they have been infected with seborrheic alopecia. Seborrheic alopecia is a relatively common hair loss disease, but it is not well known among the public. We believe that if you want to fundamentally improve the problem of hair loss, understanding the cause of seborrheic alopecia is the first step.

1. Male hormone

Modern medicine has confirmed that people with seborrheic alopecia generally have more male hormones. This is mainly because the male hormones secreted by the testicles enter the blood circulation, reach the scalp, and are converted into toxic substances that stimulate the hair follicles. The energy metabolism and protein metabolism of the hair follicles are disturbed, causing hair loss.

2. Genetic Factors

The genetic gene for seborrheic alopecia is dominant in men, and the pathogenic factors can be directly inherited from one generation to the next, so seborrheic alopecia is more common in men.

As long as men have one hair loss gene, they will suffer from hair loss. However, since the hair loss gene in women is recessive, they will not show the appearance of hair loss unless they have two hair loss genes at the same time. Even if there are two hair loss genes, for women, generally speaking, the hair will only become sparse, and it will not cause severe hair loss or only leave hair on the edges and be bald in the middle.

3. Age

As men age, the incidence of seborrheic dermatitis gradually increases. Seborrheic dermatitis often occurs in young men aged 17-20, with the peak incidence at around 30 years old. After that, although the incidence decreases with age, the symptoms worsen and eventually turn into baldness.

4. Engage in intense and complex mental work

People who engage in intense and complex mental work are under great mental stress and their brains consume a lot of energy, which stimulates the body's autonomic nervous system and hormones to make adaptive adjustments in order to maintain normal body temperature, metabolism and immune function. They secrete more male hormones, which enhances people's analytical and judgment abilities, making them alert and wise. At the same time, it makes people's temperament become more irritable and their sebaceous glands secrete more vigorously. The sebaceous glands on the scalp are the most developed compared to other parts of the body. In this case, they secrete more, thus providing conditions for the massive reproduction of lipophilic fungi and head mites on the scalp. The lipophilic fungi on the scalp multiply in large numbers under the premise of large secretion of sebaceous glands. The infested lipophilic fungi obtain nutrients from the hair follicles and discharge their metabolites there, stimulating the hair follicles and scalp to cause chronic inflammation - seborrheic dermatitis. If seborrheic dermatitis is not treated in time, the bacteria in the hair roots will grow and multiply to produce a lytic enzyme that dissolves the hair roots into incomplete pieces. The hair roots become loose, the hair follicles gradually atrophy, the hair growth function gradually declines, and the hair gradually decreases until the hair becomes bald.

5. Head mites

Head mites are tiny parasites that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Hair experts have discovered that head mites, these tiny fat-loving animals, are also the culprit of hair loss, just like genetic or hormonal imbalances. It parasitizes in human hair follicles and feeds on sebum. After eating, it secretes a lipolytic enzyme (lipase) to aid digestion. This enzyme will further decompose and erode the sebaceous glands in the scalp, blocking the hair follicles, causing them to lack nutrients and atrophy, resulting in hair loss or baldness.