Hair loss woes
Mediterranean Sea on the head

By Emily Hui

B aldness usually attacks middle- aged men. Hong Kong people like to refer to it as “Mediterranean Sea”, which is a literal translation of the Cantonese colloquialism for the condition..

In medical terms, the most common type of the disease is androgenic alopecia, technically called “male pattern baldness”.

Dr. Francis Yu, a skin specialist, said people suffering male pattern baldness usually start losing hair in their late 20s. It starts from the front and gradually towards the back of the head.

This pattern is quite similar to the outline of the Mediterranean Sea. That is why it is nicknamed as such.

According to Dr. Yu, both sexes may suffer from the disease. It may be related to male hormones.

“It is more common and obvious for middle-aged men. Men usually get bald at the vertex (the top of the head), while women only have vertex thinning,” said Dr. Yu.

In fact, losing hair is normal. A normal person loses up to 80 strands of hair a day. Only severe hair loss is regarded as a disease.

Alopecia areata is a less common type of baldness.

“It is a kind of hair and skin disease in which the patient’s hair falls in bunches, leaving lumps of circular bald scars all over the head,” Dr.Yu said.

Its major cause is white blood cells that attack the hair follicle cells, resulting in clumps of hair falling off the scalp.

Heredity and stress are some other contributing factors. Said Dr. Yu: “Stress causes people to lose hair, too.

“Usually, black hair is attacked, while grey hair is left intact.

“That is why we say a person’s hair ‘turns grey in a night’ to describe someone who undergoes great stress.”

He also listed other common culprits of baldness in general.

“Trichotillomania is one of the psychological illnesses that causes hair loss. It only happens to children who pluck their hair strongly whenever they are nervous and excited,” said Dr. Yu.

Besides, ladies who tie or clip their hair too tightly over a prolonged period of time may eventually see their frontal hair lines recede.

Different causes of baldness lead to different treatments.

For alopecia areata, injection is the most effective way.

Said Dr. Yu: “Most patients are completely cured after one or two doses. Some even recover spontaneously and thus need no treatment at all.”

A kind of heart disease drug has been proved to be effective for curing male pattern baldness.

However, total restoration of the lost hair is impossible.

Therefore, some patients try hair weaving and hair transplants. But these methods are very costly, and not many people can afford them.

Mr. Herry Ho, spokesperson at a hair weaving clinic in Tsim Sha Tsui, explained, “Hair weaving is quite complicated.

“Real hair or synthetic fibres are woven together with the clients’ hair. Normal washing and cutting are possible, and the newly grown hair will not fall out easily.”

However, one has to weave his hair every three months. It costs several thousand dollars or more each time, depending on the size of the weave.

“Hair transplanting is even more complicated. It is a surgical procedure that cuts pieces of scalp from areas where hair still remains and then transplants them onto the bald areas.

“It is just a redistribution of hair. The total number of hairs does not increase,” said Dr. Yu.

Some other private companies claim that their treatments can result in better hair growth and hence can cure baldness completely.

Several requests for interviews at such firms were declined.

Dr. Yu said, “What they claim has no medical proof yet. Therefore, the effectiveness is questionable.”

May 1996