Head Hair's

  An average human loses about 200 head hair per day.

     The most valuable hair clippings sold at auction are a mass of dark black cuttings from the head of Elvis Presley. The King's curls were sold by his personal barber, Homer "Gill" Gilleland, for $115,120 (£72,791), buyer's premium included, to an anonymous buyer during an online auction held by MastroNet Inc., Oak Brook, Illinois, USA, on November 15, 2002. 

     The lock of hair is approximately 8 cm (3 in) in diameter and is accompanied by letters of authenticity from Tom Morgan Jr. (detailing their history), John W Heath (the world's foremost Elvis memorabilia expert) and John Reznikoff of University Archives (the world's most respected authority in the field of hair collecting). 

    The average beard grows 14 cm in a year, and in an average lifespan, a clean-shaven man will trim off nearly 3.5 kg of whisker hair.

     The most common permanent hair loss is called pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). Males with pattern baldness start to lose hair in the front, sides, and crown of their heads. Women with pattern baldness typically find their hair thinning around the front and the crown of their heads. While pattern baldness can start anytime after puberty, it's most common for it to begin in a person's 20's. Some people with pattern baldness become completely bald, others don't. Pattern baldness is usually hereditary, although not always. Although pattern baldness is permanent, there are some treatments available that a doctor could recommend after diagnosing it.

     While pattern baldness doesn't indicate an underlying medical problem, some types of temporary hair loss do. So, if your brother thinks he is dealing with one of the below-mentioned conditions, it'd be a good idea to see another doctor for a complete medical work-up. Here is some information on types of temporary hair loss:

·         Trauma. Sometimes, hair falls out weeks or months following psychological stress or trauma to the body (i.e., childbirth, major surgery, illness, etc.). This is called telogen effluvium.

·         Alopecia areata. When small round patches of hair fall from the scalp, it could be a sign of alopecia areata — an incurable, but sometimes treatable, disease of the immune system. This usually occurs in childhood or young adulthood, although it could occur at any age. While it's usually hereditary, not always.

·         Hairstyles and treatments. Hair loss can occur when hair is tightly styled or  damaged by heat from hot rollers or dryers. Also, when chemical treatments (i.e., perms, dye, straighteners) are used improperly they can burn the scalp or cause hair to break mid-strand.

·         Medical treatments and medications. Certain medical treatments like radiation and chemotherapy for cancer can result in hair loss. Some medications are known to cause hair loss, including some birth control pills, and those prescribed for hormone replacement therapy, depression, arthritis, heart problems, and high blood pressure.  

·         Recreational drugs. Use of some drugs like anabolic steroids and amphetamines is also linked to hair loss.

·         Underlying medical conditions. Hair loss can also be a symptom of an underlying medical condition like diabetes, lupus, or thyroid disease. It could also signal poor nutrition. 

·         Fungal infection. Sometimes people lose hair as a result of a fungal infection to the scalp (ringworm or tinea capitis). In these cases, the scalp gets flaky or scaly and hair breaks of at the scalp.

·         Trichotillomania. Lastly, a condition in which people are driven by an internal urge to pull their own hair out, can also explain some people’s hair loss.