Baldness is a condition in which the hair on the head becomes thinner in appearance and eventually doesn’t grow at all. Baldness can occur in both men and women. It can cause emotional distress for the sufferer because the person’s appearance is significantly altered.
There are several types of baldness. The three most common types of baldness are androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium and alopecia areata.
Androgenetic alopecia is the classic male pattern or female pattern baldness that we are all familiar with seeing. Men will generally see their hair thinning and then balding at the crown and front of the head, and along the temples. Women will see the progression of baldness at the crown and front. Androgenetic alopecia is generally hereditary.
Telogen effluvium isn’t very well understood, but is characterized by overall thinning of the appearance of the hair on the scalp. There may be some areas that have more hair loss than others. In telogen effluvium, there are an increased number of hair follicles that are in the resting stage rather than the growth stage. Illness, high fever, surgery, high levels of stress or trauma, inadequate nutrition and some medications can bring on Telogen effluvium. If your hair loss is telogen effluvium, you should work with your doctor to determine the cause.
Alopecia areata is characterized by small, smooth, round patches of baldness that occur suddenly anywhere on the body. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the hair follicles. Alopecia areata can progress to total loss of hair on the head and even total loss of all of the hair on your body. In alopecia areata, the hair can grow back, even after months or years. The hair can also fall out once again. People with alopecia areata may experience several phases of hair loss and regrowth throughout their lives.
There are also many medical conditions and diseases that can cause hair loss. Diabetes, lupus and thyroid conditions can all be possible underlying causes of hair loss. Diseases of the digestive tract that cause malabsorption can also cause hair loss because the body isn’t able to extract adequate nutrition from the foods you eat. Because of the serious nature of these medical conditions, it’s important to see your doctor so he can determine whether your hair loss may be due to an underlying medical condition.
Poor nutrition can also contribute to baldness. Lack of adequate protein or iron in your diet has been shown to cause hair loss. Some diets such as many fad diets and crash diets that don’t provide well-rounded nutrition can cause hair loss.
Eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia can also cause hair loss because of the person’s refusal to allow the body to receive adequate nutrition. The body absorbs nutrients from the lining of the small intestine. If food is regurgitated from the stomach, as in bulimia, or not eaten at all, as in anorexia, the body never gets a chance to absorb nutrients, which can cause hair loss. Other forms of eating disorders that decrease the amount of time food is in the digestive system can cause poor absorption of nutrients by not allowing the body adequate time to absorb them.
There are other causes of hair loss such as skin infections, ringworm and cosmetic over processing of the hair.
There are several treatments for baldness that have proven to be effective. These treatments fall into two categories – medicinal and surgical. The type, the cause and the extent of your hair loss will determine the best type of treatment for your particular form of hair loss.
Minoxidil (Rogaine) – Minoxidil is a topical medication, meaning that it is applied directly to the scalp. Minoxidil works by stimulating the hair follicles that have begun to shrink, increasing the size of the follicle and increasing the growth phase of the hair follicle. This combination of creating a larger hair follicle and increasing the growth phase can result in more normal hair growth.
When used as directed, Minoxidil should produce results in approximately two months for men, and four months for women. Initially, the hair strands will be fine, but may increase in diameter with continued use of Minoxidil. Everyone responds to Minoxidil differently. You should consult with your doctor and determine if the degree of hair growth you experience with Minoxidil is satisfactory for you.
Minoxidil is for people with hereditary hair loss. People who have hair loss due to underlying medical conditions may not find that Minoxidil is effective for them. People with mild forms of alopecia areata may experience satisfactory results from Minoxidil. If you stop using Minoxidil, you will lose the regrown hair within approximately three to four months.
Propecia (finasteride) – Propecia is a pill that is taken once a day. It is for men only and cannot be taken by women. Women should not handle Propecia because of the risk of birth defects. It works by reducing the amount of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that is created in your scalp. DHT shrinks hair follicles until they can no longer produce visible hair. Propecia is only effective on mild to moderate baldness on the top of the head, often called the bald spot, and the mid-scalp area, or middle front of the head. It isn’t effective on baldness at the temples.
You can see results from Propecia in as early as three months from the time you begin treatment. If you haven’t seen improvement within twelve months, it is likely that Propecia will not be effective for you. If you stop taking Propecia, any regrown hair will gradually fall out over the course of about twelve months. Propecia is only effective for men who have androgenetic, or hereditary hair loss.
Hair Transplants – A hair transplant is a surgical procedure in which healthy hair follicles are transplanted to the balding areas. This is an outpatient procedure in which you will receive a local anesthetic as well as a mild sedative. The procedure lasts a few hours. The number of procedures required to restore the areas of lost hair varies from person to person.
Corticosteroid injections – Monthly corticosteroid injections can be effective in combating hair loss in the case of alopecia areata.
Anthralin (dithrocreme) – Anthralin is a tar-like substance that is applied to the scalp and then washed off. Although it is usually prescribed for psoriasis, it has been used with some success in people with alopecia areata.
For people who do not want to use a medication or undergo hair transplant surgery, but still want to disguise or cover their balding areas, there are many quality wigs and hairpieces available for people who have partial or even total hair loss.
People with slight hair thinning, in which the scalp has begun to show through the overlying hair, may also consider using cosmetic products designed to blend the color of the scalp with the color of the hair. In some cases the use of thickening shampoos and hair styling products can also be effective in disguising thinning hair.
For more information on baldness, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldness
The Mayo Clinic’s page on hair loss
The American Hair Loss Association
The National Alopecia Areata Foundation
Further Reading :
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