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Scheme which helps female cancer patients cope with hair loss to be extended

by Michelle Fiddler, Liverpool Echo

A SERVICE that helps female cancer sufferers cope with hair loss is being expanded in Liverpool.

Breast Cancer Care is expanding its HeadStrong service at the Linda McCartney Centre in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

HeadStrong gives tips on headscarves, hats and hairpieces to help reduce the impact of hair loss.

Clients are offered private and confidential hour-long appointments, and they can attend as many times as they want.

The charity is now looking for people to become HeadStrong volunteers. Full training will be given, so no prior experience or skills are needed.

All training and support will be provided by Breast Cancer Care, while the service will be managed by the Macmillan Cancer Centre, based in the Liverpool Royal University Hospital.

Sandra Metcalfe, a HeadStrong volunteer at the Macmillan Cancer Centre said: “Losing your hair is one of the most obvious side effects of cancer treatment and it can be a very distressing time.

“The HeadStrong service helps people to get their confidence back and I really enjoy being able to put a smile on someone’s face every day.”

To find out more about becoming a volunteer, or to get an application form, contact 0845 0771893 or e-mail nrc@breastcancer care.org.uk

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

CAUSES OF THINNING HAIR IN WOMEN

It is completely normal to lose some hair – about 100 strands – every day as a part of the hair growth cycle.

But if you feel your hair is becoming thinner, there are a number of reasons why, including the natural ageing process and hereditary hair loss. Women with thinning hair often think it’s due to something they’ve done. Whereas, in fact, sustained hair thinning in women is usually hereditary, so don’t blame yourself. It is only occasionally that there may be other causes, such as illness, diet and stress, which we’ll go through in this section. The important thing is for you to get a proper diagnosis of your particular thinning hair by seeing your Trichologist (call 0207 976 6868 for free advice).

Thin, fine or thinning hair?
These three terms are often used in the same breath when talking about thinning hair. However, they each mean something different.

Thin hair
If you have thin hair, it means you physically have a small number of hair follicles on your scalp. Blondes normally have the most hairs, around 140,000, with redheads having fewer, around 90,000.

Fine hair
Although blondes have more hair follicles, the actual diameter of their hair strands are normally smaller, making it appear ‘fine’. Hairs that are coarse have wider, ‘thicker’ hairs.
 

Thinning hair
When hair is thinning, it means that the scalp is in the process of losing hair. This can be due to a variety of conditions. The most common cause is androgenetic alopecia (hereditary hair loss). If you are experiencing thinning hair, we can help you pinpoint the cause in our Root of the Problem section.

True or False?
“Women lose around 20% of their hair between 20 and 50 years of age”
 

True. Between 20 and 30 years of age, you have an average of 615 hair follicles per square centimetre but by 50, this number falls to 485 per square centimetre.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

HAIR LOSS DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN TO MEN, IT HAPPENS TO WOMEN AS WELL

It’s true, hair loss happens to women as well as men. This may come as a shock, but hair loss in women is not as rare as you might think. The fact is, women do experience hair loss, but they may not realize it until later in life.

Just like with men, hair loss in women comes on gradually. Unless you are paying attention, you may gaze into the mirror one morning and be shocked that your hair appears to have lost its fullness; there may be thinning spots, which upon close inspection reveal balding areas.

1 Out of Every 3 Women Will Lose Hair

When a woman begins losing her hair, it is usually due to a condition known as androgenetic alopecia. The result of this form of hair loss is a thinning of the hair in the top, and front areas of the head. Androgenetic alopecia is hereditary and can be inherited from either side of the family. It is estimated that about 33% of postmenopausal women experience hair loss that can be contributed to androgenetic alopecia.

Additional causes of hair loss in women include, stress, birth control pills, and hormone imbalance. Though distressing, hair loss due to these causes normally only lasts about a year. After giving birth, a woman may also experience some hair loss, and a number of women are extremely shocked when it occurs, but can take comfort in knowing that it is not usually permanent.

Permanent hair loss can occur if the hair follicle dies, but if the hair follicle is in a dormant state, there is still hope to stop, and possibly even reverse hair loss. Fortunately there is a way to combat hair loss.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

HAIR LOSS DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN TO MEN, IT HAPPENS TO WOMEN AS WELL

It’s true, hair loss happens to women as well as men. This may come as a shock, but hair loss in women is not as rare as you might think. The fact is, women do experience hair loss, but they may not realize it until later in life.

Just like with men, hair loss in women comes on gradually. Unless you are paying attention, you may gaze into the mirror one morning and be shocked that your hair appears to have lost its fullness; there may be thinning spots, which upon close inspection reveal balding areas.

1 Out of Every 3 Women Will Lose Hair

When a woman begins losing her hair, it is usually due to a condition known as androgenetic alopecia. The result of this form of hair loss is a thinning of the hair in the top, and front areas of the head. Androgenetic alopecia is hereditary and can be inherited from either side of the family. It is estimated that about 33% of postmenopausal women experience hair loss that can be contributed to androgenetic alopecia.

Additional causes of hair loss in women include, stress, birth control pills, and hormone imbalance. Though distressing, hair loss due to these causes normally only lasts about a year. After giving birth, a woman may also experience some hair loss, and a number of women are extremely shocked when it occurs, but can take comfort in knowing that it is not usually permanent.

Permanent hair loss can occur if the hair follicle dies, but if the hair follicle is in a dormant state, there is still hope to stop, and possibly even reverse hair loss. Fortunately there is a way to combat hair loss.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

Hair Loss Immediately After Pregnancy Is Often Considered Abnormal

Hair loss immediately after childbirth is common and totally normal. Women are concerned for postpartum has loss and consider it abnormal. Immediate thinning of hair loss insists them to thinks if they have any fatal disease manifested in the form of hair thinning.

Studies show postpartum or after pregnancy hair loss is totally normal and a part of regular hair growth life cycle. Your hair grows from hair follicles. Each follicle gives rise to a single hair shaft.

Each hair shaft undergoes regular life cycle for its development and replacement with a new one. Anagen is the first phase of hair growth in which it grows as much as and last in 2 to 6 years. The longer the anagen phase, the longer the hair you will have.

Catagen is second phase starts just after ending of anagen. Catagen is intermittent or transitional phase lasting in 2 to 3 weeks. During the phase, hair shaft neither grow nor rest.

Telogen Phase is the third and last phase of hair growth cycle. During this phase old hair are lost and hair enter anagen phase again to maintain normal hair growth. It is the period when you notice hair in your comb and brush.

The duration of each phase is influenced by internal and external stimuli. During pregnancy, women body undergoes uncontrolled hormonal fluctuation, irregular periods etc. It is often caused due to lack of nutrients needed for healthy growth of cells and completion of pregnancy. Folic acid and iron are essential for pregnancy, while most women lack them due to junk and insufficient diet.

Therefore, postpartum hair loss is usually not a result of fatal disease but merely a result of hormonal fluctuation and lack of nutrients. Although it is the most common case, you must consult your doctor for possible risks and diseases etc.

For inhibition of postpartum hair loss, herbal hair loss treatments are often used to meet nutrients requirements of hair follicles and normalize severe hormonal fluctuation after pregnancy. These treatments are used topically twice or thrice a day for follicular nourishments.

Trichotalk connects researchers and hair loss patients together where they can exchange their ideas, find solutions and read articles on hair loss and their preventions.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help