Julius Caesar’s secret agony lay under his laurel: His glittering scalp motivated him to have an illusion styling at hair-loss, which in turn gained him a variety of laurels each of which aimed to seduce Cleopatra. Probably, Caesar first built a rapport with her queen out of the beauties in petals… The affliction numerous men feel about getting bald does not decrease over the eras. Socrates, Napoleon, Gandhi, Churchill, Shakespeare, and even Hippocrates became bald eventually. Many nations tried different cures to treat baldness but none could succeed yet. Since losing hair is not a matter of survival, it is still a concern that men care inevitably. Even the financial investment spent to cure baldness is above Macedonia’s entire national income.
But, why do we ever get bald eventually? To provide clarification to this wonder, let us first shed light on how hair grows, weakens, and falls. The hair itself is not alive, however the hair follicles -cells that produce keratin protein which is the basic building block of hair in our scalp- are alive. These cells form hair within 3 phases. During the active growth phase, the hair grows up for a long period (~3.5) years. Following the regression phase, hair growth stops. Immediately after there is a resting period. During this process, hair is shed while the follicle that produces hair is rested and then hair production starts again. In androgenic alopecia -male pattern baldness-, the active growth phase diminishes. Meanwhile, the follicles reach the resting period even before hair sprouts out of the scalp.
The two major factors to balding can be explored in terms of inheritance and hormones. To begin with, the genetic mechanism of baldness has not been resolved yet. The strongest theory is that an autosomal dominant gene is the cause. However, baldness may also be caused by the interaction of multiple genes. On the other hand; testosterone, the notorious male hormone, has the leading role in baldness. This has become an awe-inspiring paradox due to the fact that the same hormone stimulates hair growth in the other parts of the body, such as chest and chin, which is known as secondary sex characteristics.
Furthermore, another response-seeking inquiry is why Darwin’s natural selection has not eliminated baldness yet. Apparently, we do not know exactly what role baldness plays in our evolution background. However, numerous studies have been conducted on baldness. According to researchers, the bald were consistently rated as more intelligent, influential, knowledgeable, well educated, honest, and helpful.
All in all, we do not exactly know when modern people began to go bald since, unlike bones, no hair fossil has been excavated. Petter Bøckman, who works as a zoologist at the NHMO, suggests that baldness has been a consequence of evolution. Since bald men do not attract young females, it can be said that older females tend to marry a bold man due to the belief that this man would prioritize taking care of their children.
Resources:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160921-the-benefits-of-going-bald
M. MacGill. Male Pattern Baldness: What You Need To Know. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/68077
L. Yip, et al. (2011). Role Of Genetics And Sex Steroid Hormones In Male Androgenetic Alopecia And Female Pattern Hair Loss: An Update Of What We Now Know. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21605090/
Author: Ramazan Ege Solak
Editor: Utku Erşahin
