Interesting Facts About Baldness - Some May Surprise You

Here are some interesting facts about baldness that you might also find surprising. You might already know that more than half of all men are affected by inherited or androgenic alopecia by the time they reach the age of 50. That the condition is common in women, as well, may be news to you.

Here's some more news.

A large scale study conducted in Australia concerning the prevalence of mid-frontal hair loss returned these results. It affects 57% of women and 73.5% of men aged 80 and over.

Researchers in Germany and Japan have identified several genes that may be responsible for inherited baldness. Four out of seven people carry the baldness gene beard styles for older men.

According to a 2001 survey, people view men that are balding as being older, but more socially mature. Men with a full head of hair or a beard are viewed as being more aggressive and less mature.

Many evolutionists believe that this perception may be responsible for the prevalence of the baldness gene. Females may have historically been attracted to men that were bald or balding, because they were perceived to be more reliable and less of a physical threat.

Some of the interesting facts about baldness support the old "wives tales", to a certain degree. It is commonly believed that men inherit baldness from their mother's father. Research indicates that having a balding father increases your chance of having hair loss, but the gene commonly blamed for it is located on the X chromosome. So, it is always inherited from the mother.

Another old saying is that bald men are more intelligent than those with a full head of hair. That's probably not true, today, but in years past, it may well have been. One of the interesting facts about baldness is that high testosterone levels play a role. In order for the body to produce testosterone, an adequate amount of fat must be present in the diet.

In ancient times, that correlated with wealth. The poor generally existed on a very lean diet. Wealthier people were able to spend more time on intellectual pastimes and had more access to formal education.

So, while being bald may not correlate with being intelligent, today, it probably did in ancient times.
There is also the fact that men tend to lose their hair with age. With age comes wisdom and less intelligent people often die young, due to risk taking or other behaviors.

If you don't want to go bald in order to look wise or intelligent, these interesting facts about baldness may be uplifting. There are effective treatments. They are available without a prescription. They can delay hair loss and, in some cases, reverse the balding trend.

Most women are not thrilled about the idea of going bald. If you're a woman, you will be pleased to know that there are effective treatments for you, too.