Beards are common among men, and they start developing during the adolescent age. The growth of beards is associated with increased testosterone hormone levels, and different men may exhibit varying levels of beard progression in their lives. The human genetic composition explains why some men only develop less or fail to develop beards in their lives. Traditionally, people completely shaved their beards as a method of maintaining cleanliness. Today, people are striving to preserve and grow their beards to look more appealing. However, they have to withstand increased incidences of breaking and falling of beards.
Why Do Some Men's Beard Hairs Fall Out Could This Be a Sign of Beard Loss?
People continue to maintain and grow their hair for different reasons. However, hair loss continues to be a challenge to most people and occurs due to these factors discussed above. By understanding what causes your hair loss, you can devise a strategy to protect your hair better to remain fashionable.
#1: Natural Growth Cycle
The development and subsequent breakage and loss of beard could occur due to the natural growth cycle. Research reveals that the typical person's hair undergoes growth consisting of three stages.
- Phase 1: Initial hair growth begins in the anagen phase and is exhibited by continuous subdivision of the root, causing the hair stand to prolong. Anagen growth phase progresses for approximately two to six years.
- Phase 2: Comprises of catagen phase, which appears as breakage of the root hair from the follicles. The hair then finds attachment to the skin and is deprived of blood supplies from the strand. This stage manifests within a short period of one to two weeks.
- Phase 3: Consists of the telogen phase, where the hair remains on the skin surface for about two to four months before it falls, and the cycle repeats itself. Thus, hair loss can represent a growth cycle where the body removes grown hair and replaces it with new.
#2: Drop in Hormone Levels
The hormones play a critical role in regulating hair growth among people. Men with high testosterone levels are likely to develop more beard hairs during their early and late-life. However, men who exhibit a low level of testosterone hormone continue to experience an extended period without having beards. When beard hairs develop, they take a long time and are sparse.
Additionally, the DHT hormone influences the distribution of the beards. A person with high DHT hormone has dense beard hairs with linear growth, whereas a person with low level experiences nonlinear beard hairs distribution.
Also, a higher level of androgenic hormones among females can cause the development of beards. A drop in the level of these hormone causes hair loss.
#3: Nutrient Deficiency
Human hair requires various nutrients for it to grow appropriately to maturity. Vitamin B is the most crucial nutrient for the production of keratin needed to hold the hair on the skin surface during its telogen phase. For proper growth and maintenance of beard hairs to maturity, a person also requires other micronutrients such as Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and calcium. If a person has a high level of these nutrients, the hair grows faster and remains strong. But, a deficiency in these nutrients results in hair starvation. Essentially, lack of nutrients makes hair weak and causes it to fall quickly.
When you experience high stress arising from various environmental and psychological factors, your body responds by producing cortisol hormone that affects the body in the following ways. First, high cortisol level promotes telogen effluvium formation that disrupts the natural growth cycle of hair. The hormones may speed the phase change of hair from anagen to telogen; thus, increasing hair loss. Cortisol also inhibits testosterone and DHT production, causing increased beard falls under slight pressure.
#5: Caring Too Much for Your Beard
Extreme beard hairs care could negatively affect their growth. Men care for their beard in different ways. Some men regularly wash the beards to stimulate their growth, while others use a blower to straighten them. Besides, a man could apply shampoo to encourage facial hair growth. Although the care can stimulate growth, excessive care could make the hair weak and cause breakage and subsequent loss.
#6: Alopecia Barbae
People may exhibit instances in which they have an uneven distribution of beards. You can also have incidences in which people have dense hair with some patches without beards. The condition happens when an individual has an autoimmune disorder that attacks the hair follicle, limiting its ability to undergo continuous subdivision to lengthen the hair. Such people may experience seasons when they have beards in the patches and incidences of hair losses causing visible patches.