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Hair loss (alopecia) can affect your entire body or just your scalp, and it can be temporary or permanent. It could be the result of inheritance, hormonal changes, medical issues, or aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but males are more likely to do so.
Baldness is commonly defined as significant hair loss from the scalp. The most common cause of baldness is hereditary hair loss with age. Some people prefer to let their hair loss untreated and unhidden. Others may conceal it with different haircuts, makeup, hats, or scarves. Others choose for one of the various treatments to prevent additional hair loss or to restore growth.
Discuss the cause of your hair loss and treatment options with your doctor before considering hair loss treatment.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF HAIR LOSS?
Hair loss can manifest itself in a variety of ways, depending on the cause. It might strike abruptly or gradually, and it can affect only your scalp or your entire body.
The following are some signs and symptoms of hair loss:
- Gradual thinning of the top of the head: This is the most prevalent type of hair loss that people experience as they age. Hair often begins to recede at the hairline on the forehead in men. Women's hair parts are frequently broadened. A receding hairline is an increasingly common hair loss trend in older women (frontal fibrosing alopecia).
- Bald spots that are round or patchy: Some persons have hair loss in the form of round or spotty bald spots on the scalp, beard, or brows. Before the hair falls out, your skin may become uncomfortable or unpleasant.
- Hair loss throughout the body: Some medical diseases and treatments, such as chemotherapy for cancer, can cause hair loss all over your body. The hair generally regrows.
- Scaling patches that spread across the scalp: This is an indication of ringworm. It is sometimes accompanied by broken hair, redness, swelling, and leaking.
- Hair loss that occurs suddenly: Hair might become loose as a result of a physical or mental trauma. Handfuls of hair may fall out while combing or washing your hair, as well as after light tugging. This form of hair loss typically results in overall hair thinning but is very transitory.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS?
The average person loses 50 to 100 hairs per day. Because new hair is growing in at the same time, this is usually not evident. When new hair does not replace the hair that has gone out, hair loss occurs.
Hair loss is frequently caused by one or more of the following factors:
Hereditary history: A inherited disease that occurs with aging is the most common cause of hair loss. Androgenic alopecia, male-pattern baldness, and female-pattern baldness are all names for this disorder. It normally happens gradually and in predictable patterns, with men experiencing a receding hairline and bald spots and women experiencing thinning hair along the crown of the scalp.
Changes in hormones and medical conditions: A range of disorders, including hormonal changes caused by pregnancy, delivery, menopause, and thyroid difficulties, can result in permanent or temporary hair loss. Alopecia areata, an immune-related ailment that causes patchy hair loss, scalp infections such as ringworm, and trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder, are examples of medical conditions.
Supplements and medications: Certain medicines, such as those used to treat cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout, and high blood pressure, can cause hair loss.
Head radiation therapy: Hair may not regrow in the same manner as before.
A very distressing event: Many people notice overall hair thinning several months following a physical or mental trauma. This kind of hair loss is only transient.
Treatments and hairstyles: Excessive hairstyling or hairstyles that pull your hair tight, such as pigtails or cornrows, can cause traction alopecia, a kind of hair loss. Hair loss can also be caused by hot-oil hair treatments and permanents. Scarring may result in permanent hair loss.
WHAT ARE RISK FACTORS FOR HAIR LOSS?
Hair loss can be caused by a variety of circumstances, including:
- A family history of baldness on your mother's or father's side
- Age
- Significant loss of weight
- Certain medical disorders, such as diabetes and lupus,
- Stress
- Inadequate nutrition
HOW IS HAIR LOSS DIAGNOSED?
Before reaching a diagnosis, your doctor will most likely perform a physical examination and inquire about your food, hair care routine, and medical and family history. You may also have tests like the following:
Blood test: This could aid in the discovery of medical problems that cause hair loss.
Pull test: Your doctor gently removes a few hundred hairs to count how many fall out. This is useful in determining the stage of the shedding process.
Biopsy of the scalp: To study the hair roots under a microscope, your doctor scrapes samples from the skin or plucked hairs from the scalp. This can help detect whether hair loss is caused by an infection.
Light microscopy: Your doctor examines hairs that have been clipped at the base with a specific device. Microscopy aids in the detection of hair shaft abnormalities.
WHAT ARE THE TREATMENTS FOR HAIR LOSS?
Some types of hair loss can be effectively treated. You might be able to reverse or at least slow hair loss. Hair may recover without therapy in some cases, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), within a year. Medication and surgery are both options for treating hair loss.
Medication
If your hair loss is caused by an underlying disease, you will need to be treated for that disease. If a medicine is affecting your hair loss, your doctor may advise you to discontinue use for a few months.
Pattern (hereditary) baldness can be treated with medications. The most prevalent choices are:
- Minoxidil (Rogaine): Minoxidil is available without a prescription and is available in liquid, foam, and shampoo forms. Apply the product to the scalp skin once daily for women and twice daily for males to be most effective. Many people like to use foam when their hair is wet.
Many people find that minoxidil-containing products help them regrow their hair, delay the rate of hair loss, or both. It will take at least six months of treatment to stop future hair loss and begin hair regrowth. It may take several months to determine whether the treatment is effective for you. If it's working, you'll need to keep taking it indefinitely to get the benefits.
Side effects may include scalp discomfort and unwelcome hair growth on the nearby skin of the face and hands.
- Finasteride (Propecia): This is a prescription medication for guys. You take it as a pill every day. Many men who use finasteride notice a reduction in hair loss and, in some cases, new hair growth. It may take several months to determine whether it is working for you. To keep the benefits, you must continue to take it. Finasteride may not be as effective in males over the age of 60.
Finasteride's rare adverse effects include decreased sex drive and sexual function, as well as an increased risk of prostate cancer. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should avoid touching crushed or broken pills.
- Other drugs: Other oral alternatives include spironolactone (Carospir, Aldactone) and oral dutasteride (Avodart).
Hair transplant surgery
Only the top of the head is affected by the most prevalent type of permanent hair loss. Hair transplantation, often known as restoration surgery, can help you make the most of the hair you still have.
A dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon pulls hair from a hairy area of the head and transplants it to a bald place during a hair transplant operation. Each hair patch has one to multiple hairs (micrografts and minigrafts). A broader slice of skin with several hair groups is sometimes taken. This operation does not necessitate hospitalization, but it is uncomfortable, therefore you will be given anesthesia to alleviate any discomfort. Bleeding, bruising, edema, and infection are all potential dangers. You may require more than one procedure to achieve the desired result. Despite surgery, hereditary hair loss will progress.
Baldness surgical procedures are typically not covered by insurance.
Laser therapy
The FDA has approved a low-level laser device as a treatment for hereditary hair loss in both men and women. It enhances hair density, according to a few short studies. More research is needed to demonstrate long-term effects.
HOW CAN HAIR LOSS PREVENTED?
The majority of baldness is caused by heredity (male-pattern baldness and female-pattern baldness). This form of hair loss cannot be avoided.
These suggestions may assist you in avoiding preventable types of hair loss:
- Take care of your hair. When brushing and combing your hair, use a detangler and avoid tugging, especially if it is wet. A wide-toothed comb may help reduce hair loss. Hot rollers, curling irons, hot-oil treatments, and permanents should be avoided. Limit the tension on your hair caused by rubber bands, barrettes, and braids.
- Inquire with your doctor about any medications or supplements you are taking that may be causing hair loss.
- Sunlight and other UV light sources should be avoided.
- Quit smoking. Some research demonstrate a link between smoking and male baldness.
- If you're undergoing chemotherapy, talk to your doctor about getting a cooling cap. This cap may lessen your chances of losing hair while undergoing chemotherapy.