Hair Loss
What is Hair Loss?
Alopecia is baldness or loss of hair. The most common form is male-pattern baldness (also known as androgenic alopecia), but both women and men can get hair loss.Alopecia areata is another type of hair loss, involving patches of baldness that come and go periodically. It affects about 1 in 100 people, mostly teenagers and young adults.
In some cases, hair loss is a side effect of having cancer treatment drugs, but in many cases the hair grows back.Hair loss can lead to problems with confidence and self-esteem.
Causes of Hair Loss
The average human head has 100,000 hairs. Hair is made up of hair follicles (the root of the hair). Each hair grows for about 3 years, then it drops out, and a new one grows – and you wont believe this but infact, we lose 40-120 hairs a day. Male-pattern and female-pattern baldness is caused by over-sensitive hair follicles. This is linked to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that is produced by the male hormone testosterone. If there is too much DHT, the follicles shrink, so the hair becomes thinner and grows for a time less than normal. The balding process is gradual because different follicles are affected at different times.
Alopecia areata is linked to a problem with the immune system. The hair follicles are not permanently damaged and in many of these cases the hair grows back in a few months. In 1 in 5 cases it runs in the family (2).
Some conditions such as anaemia (disorder of the blood), illness, stress (including bereavement), fungal infections and thyroid problems can make you lose some of your hair, as well as drug treatment for cancer. Women who are pregnant or have recently given birth may also experience some hair loss. Hair loss is not caused by a lack of any vitamins in the diet.
Hair Loss Symptoms
Hair loss can occur as thinning, in which you may not notice hair falling out, or as shedding, in which clumps of hair fall out.In the most common type of hair loss, inherited hair loss (androgenetic alopecia), men tend to lose hair on the front hairline and forehead and on top of the head. Eventually, only hair around the ears, the sides, and back of the head remains. Women with this condition typically have gradual thinning throughout the scalp.
Permanent hair loss
Male-pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). For men, pattern baldness can begin early, even in the teens or early 20s. It's typically characterized by a receding hairline at the temples and balding at the top of the head. The end result may be partial or complete baldness.
Female-pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). Women with permanent hair loss usually have hair loss limited to thinning at the front, sides or crown. Women usually maintain their front hairline and rarely experience complete baldness.
Cicatricial (scarring) alopecia. This rare condition occurs when inflammation damages and scars hair follicles, causing permanent hair loss. Sometimes the patchy hair loss is associated with itching or pain.
Temporary hair loss
Alopecia areata. Hair loss usually occurs in small, round, smooth patches about the size of a quarter. Usually the disease doesn't extend beyond a few bare patches on the scalp, but it can cause patchy hair loss on any area that has hair, including eyebrows, eyelashes and beard. In rare cases, it can progress to cause hair loss over the entire body. If the hair loss includes your entire scalp, the condition is called alopecia totalis. If it involves your whole body, it's called alopecia universalis. Soreness and itching may precede the hair loss, but symptoms are often minimal.
Telogen effluvium. This type of temporary hair loss occurs suddenly, most often after a significant illness or major life stress. Handfuls of hair may come out when combing or washing your hair or may fall out after gentle tugging. This type of hair loss usually causes overall hair thinning and not bald patches.
Traction alopecia. Bald patches can occur if you regularly wear certain hairstyles, such as pigtails, braids or cornrows, or if you use tight rollers. Hair loss typically occurs between the rows or at the part where hair is pulled tightly.
Anagen effluvium. In this type of hair loss, actively growing hairs in the anagen state are affected most often by chemotherapeutic drugs given to fight cancer or lymphoma. Hair loss starts soon after beginning therapy and is more extensive than in the telogen effluvium state. In the weeks after the therapy has been completed, the hair cycles re-establish themselves, although the hair may not return as thickly as before chemotherapy.
