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The basics about hair loss

06.05.2010 in TRICHOLOGIST

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Are you as a man or women suffering from hair loss or thinning hair? If so do not feel alone, thousands of hair loss sufferers exist in every town, city and in every country around the world

A diagnoses from a hair loss professional or trichologist is always recommended before embarking on any hair loss treatment or surgical hair restoration procedure. The Hair Centre of  Trichology is a good places to find a trichologist who can evaluate your hair loss condition.

The first thing you need to to is to lean more about the causes of hairloss also collectively known as Alopecia. Male Pattern Baldness or MPB is the most common type of hair loss afflicting most men at some point in their life.

If you are losing your hair in the traditional male pattern you can evaluate your own hair loss pattern by consulting one of our trichologists.

Male Hair Loss Scale

If you are a woman losing your hair then you can check the female hairloss scales that determine the level of diffuse hair loss that you may have.

Female Hair Loss Scale

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

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Female Hair Loss

05.05.2010 in FEMALE HAIR LOSS

Question: I’m female, aged 31. Recently I’ve noticed that my hair is falling out at a great rate in the shower. I haven’t changed my shampoo. It doesn’t hurt, but is quite alarming. What is causing it?

Dr Dan Rutherford

DR DAN RUTHERFORD WRITES:

Answer: Some hair loss is common in women after the menopause, but is less common before it. The pattern of loss tends to be diffused over the scalp, unlike in men where the hair recedes at the front and a bald patch develops over the crown.

Ask your GP to check if your thyroid and other hormone levels are normal. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is common because it involves over-sensitivity to the “androgen” sex hormones and may be accompanied by excessive scalp hair loss. Medical treatment can help counteract the hormone imbalance. You could also try minoxidil solution (Regaine) twice daily. This is available without prescription but does not help everyone and takes weeks to have any effect. A skin specialist can check if there is something specifically wrong with your scalp.

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

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Stress increases risk of hair loss

05.05.2010 in HAIR LOSS HEALTH NEWS

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Poor lifestyle choices can impact hormone release, flaring genetic disposition for balding

By Jonathan Yousefzadeh

Although hair loss is attributed to genetics, health professionals believe stress can exacerbate hair loss by triggering the release of certain hormones in the body which can damage hair follicles.

“Your DNA basically decides if and when you’re going to lose your hair. The primary cause of hair loss is genetic,” said Dr. Gary Perrault, a hair restoration specialist in Beverly Hills.

There are about 100,000 hairs on our heads, and we normally lose 100 to 150 strands a day, said Ted Robles, a health psychology professor who studies the different effects stress has on the body.

Natural hair loss may not be noticeable, but certain hair loss diseases, which young adults are genetically predisposed to, can be aggravated by stress and can cause baldness, said Dr. Cristina Kim, a dermatologist at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Robles said that although current research does not suggest hair loss is completely attributed to stress, it plays a role in how much hair is lost.

Some studies show that certain hormones our body release in response to stress can communicate with hair molecules, and stress certainly communicates with cells throughout the body, Robles said.

“The mechanism for which stress might influence hair loss is plausible and exists,” she added.

Certain hormones released while in times of stress, like dihydrotestosterone, can shorten the life of hair follicles, Perrault said.

These hormonal imbalances are not only affected by stress, but also by the poor lifestyle choices students make, Perrault added. In addition to stress, lack of sleep or a nutritious diet can affect the genetic process in our bodies, he said. During stress especially, the immune system responds differently than normal. As a result, a type of cellular death called apoptosis can occur more often, sometimes killing off cells that would not otherwise be killed, he said.

There are several types of stress most attributed to hair loss, Kim said. One is emotional stress, the type of stress students may have due to exams, work or relationship problems. The other type is medical stress, which patients experience after having surgery or after being in a car accident, she added.

The most common stress-related hair loss problem is telogen effluviam, which is the shedding of hair throughout the head rather than balding in certain spots. There is currently no treatment for telogen effluviam; however, this particular hair loss problem is temporary. Kim said that hair growth is cyclical, and that hair takes, on average, six months to regrow.

Other types of hair loss due to stress include alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes round patches of baldness on the head. Stress can flare this otherwise latent disease in college students, Kim said.

Stress-related hair loss like alopecia areata is treatable with prescription creams and medications, but there is currently no oral medication for stress-induced hair loss, she said.

Robles said he believes that lowering stress levels can not only help decrease the risk of hair loss in students, but it could help other aspects of students’ lives as well.

He added that some studies show the ill effects of stress on students’ immune systems. The experimenters in one study punctured wounds into students’ skin during finals week in order to measure how long it would take for the wound to heal. On average, it took three days longer for the same-sized wound to heal, he said.

“Regardless of the impact stress has to hair loss, I think everybody can benefit from being aware of the stress that they experience,” Robles said.

“We can’t avoid stress, we have to take exams, we have to write papers, but we can certainly change how we deal with stress,” he said. Robles advises students to talk friends or professionals about their problems to alleviate stress.

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

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Female hair loss in the spotlight

04.05.2010 in FEMALE HAIR LOSS

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When you think about people going bald, you probably think about men. But while it is true that hair loss is most commonly experienced by men, it’s easy to forget that plenty of women are prone to losing it too. In the UK alone, eight million women are affected by baldness.

The April newsletter from the Mayo Clinic (a well-known US health centre) has now put this issue in the spotlight, by focusing on androgenetic alopecia – a condition also known as female pattern baldness, which causes women’s hair to thin and drop out. While there are several treatments available, including hair transplants and medication, the initial process of going bald can still be especially traumatic for women. This is largely because of societal pressures, which encourage women to think of their hair as an integral part of their image. Having your once luscious locks drop out can be an intense experience, as TV presenter Gail Porter, who suffered from alopecia, attests: “people stared. Sometimes I held my head up high and other times I just didn’t want to go out”.

The writer Elizabeth Steel couldn’t help but agree: ““The psychological impact is dreadful. I no longer felt attractive. I thought my husband wouldn’t want a bald wife.”

Another condition called alopecia areata affects about one in 100 women, mostly teenagers and young adults, and is linked to immune system problems. With this form of baldness, no treatment is available. However, women with alopecia areata can at least take some consolation in the fact that their hair will probably grow back eventually.

Despite the need to promote wider discussion about female baldness, it still holds true that male baldness is a more common problem. While there is less pressure on men to cover up their hair loss, some choose to use the approved treatment Propecia to delay the process. If you are worried about hair loss, consult a specialist.

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

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Consumer Reports: Hair loss remedies

04.05.2010 in HAIR LOSS PRODUCTS AND TREATMENTS

TAMPA, FL — Two-thirds of men start losing their hair before they turn 35, according to the American Hair Loss Association. If you’re concerned about hair loss, Consumer Reports National Research Center’s new survey can tell you which remedies work best.

Losing hair doesn’t seem to have hurt “cop out” movie star Bruce Willis’ career. 

Bruce Willis

But hair loss is traumatic for many people, according to a Consumer Reports survey of more than eight thousand subscribers. Here’s Todd Marks, “We asked people a broad spectrum of questions as to what worked and what didn’t when it came to treating pattern baldness.”

A prescription drug was by far the most effective treatment for men – though not available for women. It’s Finasteride, also sold under the brand name Propecia. Marks says, “When it came to Finasteride, 27 percent of those men we surveyed said it was very effective, and another 41 percent said it was somewhat effective. So there’s more hope with Finasteride than there is with almost anything else.”

The only other FDA-approved treatment for hair loss is Minoxidil, also sold as Rogaine. It’s approved for men and for women in lower doses. “Only four percent of those surveyed said it was very effective at treating hair loss.”

Dr. Robert Bernstein treats many patients for baldness. “Of the two, Propecia is a lot more effective. But we use both in many patients.”   

And for hiding hair loss, wearing a wig or toupee won the most praise, and doing what Bruce Willis does – shaving your head – along with dressing better and exercising.

As for women, Consumer Reports says those who attributed their hair loss to stress found changing their diet and exercise were relatively effective. Those surveyed did not include people who were losing their hair due to chemotherapy or chronic illness.

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

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