TLDR Balding doesn't reduce the number of hair follicles, it just makes them smaller.
The document "Histological Findings in Androgenetic Alopecia" from 1995 concluded that the process of balding does not result in a decrease in the number of hair follicles, but rather a reduction in their size, a phenomenon first termed "vellus transformation" by Uno et al. in 1969.
February 2021 Caffeine can potentially treat common hair loss by counteracting hair follicle shrinkage caused by hormones.
2 citations
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January 2020 in “Springer eBooks”
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3 citations
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April 2011 in “Expert Review of Dermatology” Male hair loss is caused by inactive hair follicle stem cells.
209 citations
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September 2008 in “Dermatologic Therapy” Androgens can both increase and decrease hair growth in different parts of the body.
13 citations
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January 2008 in “Springer eBooks”
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