Hair loss affects millions of people, both men and women. But have you ever wondered just how many people are dealing with hair loss? Perhaps you’ve wondered if the hair loss you’re dealing with is similar to what other people your age experience or if you’re in a rare crowd.
When it comes to understanding hair loss and how to treat it, it can be helpful to take a look at the statistics and data and see what other people are going through and how they are coping with it.
What’s On Your Scalp
The average human scalp has about 100,000 hair follicles. Interestingly enough, the number of follicles a person has can vary based on hair color. Redheads tend to have the fewest follicles, with an average of just 90,000. Blondes have the most, with an average of 150,000 follicles. People with brown hair tend to have between 100,000 and 110,000 follicles.
Of course, hair usually doesn’t only grow on the scalp. The typical human body can have around 5 million hair follicles. Men, who typically have more body hair than women, also tend to have a few hundred thousand more hair follicles.
Not all hair follicles are active at the same time, so a person might not actually have 5 million hairs growing on the body, even if he or she isn’t dealing with hair loss. On an average day, a person who doesn’t have hair loss can expect to shed about 100 hairs.
Hair Loss by the Numbers
What about people who are dealing with hair loss? According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, about 35 million men in the United States have some type of hair loss. Hair loss also affects about 21 million women.
The chance that a man will have hair loss dramatically increases with age. About 40% of men have some hair loss by age 35, and 65% of men will have noticeable hair loss by age 60. By age 85, the percentage of men with noticeable hair loss jumps to 85%.
The same is true in women, although the numbers might be more surprising. 40% of women have noticeable hair loss by age 40, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, and 80% of women will have some degree of noticeable hair loss by age 60, according to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery.
Who’s Seeking What Treatment
According to StatisticBrain.com, the average person who is dealing with hair loss will go to great lengths to get it back: 47% said they would spend their life savings to restore their hair; 30% said they’d give up sex; and 60% said they’d prefer to have their hair back instead of money or friends.
When it comes to treatments, topical minoxidil, or Rogaine, is by far the most popular among men, with 85% of those with hair loss using it. The other 15% were using finasteride, or Propecia. A small percentage tried other treatments, such as a low level laser therapy, vitamins or herbal treatments, or dutasteride, which is commonly prescribed to treat an enlarged prostate. According to the ISHRS, just 7% of the men using treatments had a negative reaction to the treatment.
In 2010, there were 279,381 hair restoration surgeries performed around the world. American men accounted for a considerable number of those procedures, with 101,252 performed in the United States. The age of the patient, the number of grafts they needed for a successful procedure and the number of transplants they needed varied considerably.
Just over 30% of hair transplant patients were between the ages of 30 and 39. A smaller figure, around 26%, were between the ages of 40 and 49. Hair restoration was fairly uncommon among people under age 20 and over age 60.
The majority of patients were happy with their results after a single surgery. Less than 40% were happy after a second surgery, and just 6% needed three or more surgeries to get their ideal results.
The size of the procedure also varied. About half of all patients had between 1,000 and 1,999 grafts transplanted. Slightly more than 40% had 2,000 to 2,999 grafts. Fewer than 5% had less than 1,000 and 5% had more than 3,000 grafts transplanted during a single surgery.
Hair loss is common, and so are procedures to treat it. Whether you’re a man or a woman, there are ways to treat and cope with hair loss. To learn more about the options available, contact Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, a board certified facial plastic surgeon who specializes in hair restoration surgery. Dr. Epstein has more than two decades of experience in performing hair transplants. He can recommend the best treatment for you. Call (305) 666-1774 for a consultation in Miami or (212) 759-3484 for an appointment at his practice in New York City.