Types of hair Growth and Baldness

What are vellus hairs?

pale, fine body hair associated with newborn children, women, and bald men

What is terminal hair

Darker, Course, longer hair of the eyebrows, eyelashes, and scalp.

Which of the hair types appears in puberty

Terminal hair

Describe hair's growth cycles

They vary depending on where in the body they are; an active growth phase is followed by a resting phase where hair tends to shrink as the matrix is inactive.

Why are some hairs longer than others

The longer hairs have a longer active growth phase

Why do we not lose all of our hair at once

The cycles of hair growth are not synchronized

When does hair grow the quickest? Slowest?

Teen years to 40s; balding occurs in 60s

What does balding look like generally

Coarse terminal hairs are replaced with finer vellus hairs

What is male pattern baldness

genetically determined and sex-influenced condition that changes the response of hair follicles to androgens

What are androgens

male sex hormones that stimulate growth of terminal hairs

Why does no hair appear in baldness

The growth cycles shorten. Most hair is shed before it breaks the surface