Overview
Hair fall (alopecia) is one of the common problems we face these days. It affects our personality, lifestyle, and other impacts of life. Hair is the protective layer of our body and it has a great role in the beauty of man and woman. Hair fall has many reasons. It can be caused by a genetic problem, hormonal imbalance, tension, and stress, aging, medication of cancer, liver, thyroid gland’s problem, etc.
Symptoms of hair fall (alopecia)
Hair fall appears in different ways depending on what’s causes of it. It can start suddenly, fast or gradually with the age. it may fall during washing or applying oil. It also can fall during combing. Daily 50 to 100 hair fall is common because when if falls the same time it also grows.
Following are the symptoms of alopecia:
1.Gradual thinning on top of the head.
This is the most popular type of hair loss, affecting people as they age. In men, hair often starts to fall at the hairline on the forehead. Women typically have a broadening of the part in their hair. An increasingly popular hair loss pattern in older women is a receding hairline (frontal fibrosing alopecia).
2.Circular or patchy bald spots.
Some people lose hair in circular or patchy bald areas on the scalp, beard, or eyebrows. Your skin may become itchy or painful before the hair falls out.
3.Sudden loosening of hair.
A physical or emotional shock can cause hair to loosen. Few of hair may come out when combing or washing your hair or even after gentle tugging. This type of hair loss usually causes overall hair thinning but is temporary.
4.Full-body hair loss.
Some conditions and medical treatments, such as chemotherapy for cancer, can result in the loss of hair all over your body. The hair usually grows back.
5.Patches of scaling that spread over the scalp.
This is a sign of ringworm. It may be accompanied by broken hair, redness, swelling and, at times, oozing.
Causes of hair fall
People typically lose 50 to 100 hairs a day. This usually isn’t noticeable because new hair grows in at the same time. Hair loss occurs when new hair doesn’t replace the hair that has fallen out.
Hair loss is typically related to one or more of the following factors:
1. Family history (heredity).
The most common cause of hair loss is a hereditary condition that happens with aging. This condition is called androgenic alopecia, male-pattern baldness and female-pattern baldness. Certain sex hormones can trigger hereditary hair loss. It may begin as early as puberty. It usually occurs gradually and in predictable patterns — a receding hairline and bald spots in men and thinning hair along the crown of the scalp in women.
Hormonal changes
Hormones are a few of the most essential, and influential, chemical messengers of our body. Read on to know about the hormonal balance and why it is essential for our hair quality and quantity.
A variety of conditions can cause permanent or temporary hair loss, including hormonal changes due to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and thyroid problems.
Hormones that Cause hair loss
Oestrogen
too much oestrogen, which can be caused by weight gain and perimenopause can lead to thinning hair. During and after pregnancy, for example, oestrogen levels peak and then dip, causing sudden hair loss for many women.
Testosterone
At times, testosterone gets converted to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) when this happens it suppresses hair growth, where men want it the most on their head. The result is male pattern baldness (MPB). This is the most common condition that trichologists treat at the clinic.
Medications and supplements.
Hair loss can be a side effect of certain drugs, such as those used for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout, sore throat, and high blood pressure. Chemotherapy drugs often lead to the anagen effluvium type of hair loss. As these drugs kill cancer cells throughout the body, they also can damage healthy cells, including hair matrix cells. The hair typically starts to fall out within two weeks of starting chemotherapy and progresses more rapidly after one to two months, according to the American Cancer Society. Hair loss is more common and severe in patients taking combinations of chemotherapy drugs than in those who take just one drug.
Chemotherapy drugs that tend to cause hair loss include:
- adriamycin
- cyclophosphamide
- dactinomycin
- daunorubicin
- docetaxel
- doxorubicin
- etoposide
- fluorouracil
- irinotecan
- methotrexate
- topotecan
Radiation therapy to the head. The hair may not grow back the same as it was before.
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Stress and hair fall
Many people experience a general thinning of hair several months after a physical or emotional shock and depression. This type of hair loss is temporary. Significant stress pushes large numbers of hair follicles into a resting phase. Within a few months, affected hairs might fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair. Irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows, or other areas of your body. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, tension, loneliness, boredom, or frustration.
Diagnosis
Before making a diagnosis, your doctor will likely give you a physical exam and ask about your diet, your hair care routine, and your medical and family history. You might also have tests, such as the following:
Blood test: This might help uncover medical conditions that can cause hair loss.
Pull test: Your doctor gently pulls several dozen hairs to see how many come out. This helps to determine the stage of the shedding process.
Scalp biopsy. Your doctor scrapes samples from the skin or a few hairs plucked from the scalp to examine the hair roots under a microscope. This can help determine whether an infection is causing hair loss.
Light microscopy: Your doctor uses a special instrument to examine hairs trimmed at their bases. Microscopy helps uncover possible disorders of the hair shaft.
Treatment of hair fall
Your hair may regrow on its own, your dermatologist may recommend treatment to help it grow more quickly. Sometimes, treatment is essential to prevent further hair loss.
A treatment plan for hair loss may include one or more of the following.
Home treatments for hair loss:
Home treatments offer convenience, and you can buy many of them without a prescription. Because studies show that the following can help, your dermatologist may include one (or more) in your at-home treatment plan.
Minoxidil (Rogaine®):
To use minoxidil, you apply it to the scalp as directed, usually once or twice a day.
When used as directed, minoxidil can:
Stimulate hair growth
Prevent further hair loss
Minoxidil tends to be more effective when used along with another treatment for hair loss. Many people see some regrowth when using minoxidil, but it takes time to see results, usually about 3 to 6 months.
Should you see regrowth, you will need to keep using it every day. Once you stop applying it, hair loss returns.
Minoxidil can help early hair loss; it cannot regrow an entire head of hair.
Laser for at-home use:
You can buy laser caps and combs to treat hair loss at home. While only a few studies have looked at these devices, the results are promising.
In one study, more than 200 men and women who had hereditary hair loss were given either a laser hair comb or a sham device that looked like a laser comb. The patients used the device that they were given 3 times per week for 26 weeks.
The researchers found that some patients using the laser rather than the sham device saw overall thicker and fuller hair.
It’s important to understand that not everyone who used a laser saw regrowth.
More studies are needed to find out who is most likely to benefit from this treatment and whether these devices cause long-term side effects.
Microneedling:
A micro-needling device contains hundreds of tiny needles. A few studies have shown that it can help stimulate hair growth. In one study, men between the ages of 20 and 35 years old who had mild or moderate hereditary hair loss were treated with either:
5% minoxidil twice a day
5% minoxidil twice a day plus weekly micro-needling
After 12 weeks of treatment, the patients treated with minoxidil and micro-needling had significantly more hair growth.
Other studies have shown that using micro-needling along with another treatment, including platelet-rich plasma or a corticosteroid that you apply to the thinning area, helps improve hair growth.
While you can buy a micro-needling device without a prescription, it’s best to check with your dermatologist first. Microneedling can worsen some conditions. It’s also important to get the right micro-needling device.
The devices used for hair loss contain longer needles than those used to treat the skin.
Procedures to help regrow hair
Home treatments offer convenience, a procedure performed by a board-certified dermatologist tends to be more effective. For this reason, your dermatologist may include one of the following in your treatment plan.
Injections of corticosteroids:
To help your hair regrow, your dermatologist injects this medication into the bald (or thinning) areas. These injections are usually given every 4 to 8 weeks as needed, so you will need to return to your dermatologist’s office for treatment.
This is considered the most effective treatment for people who have a few patches of alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair loss. In one study of 127 patients with patchy alopecia areata, more than 80% who were treated with these injections had at least half of their hair regrow within 12 weeks.
Hair transplant:
If you have an area of thinning or balding due to male (or female) pattern baldness, your dermatologist may mention a hair transplant as an option. This can be an effective and permanent solution.
To learn more, go to A hair transplant can give you permanent, natural-looking results.
Laser therapy:
If using minoxidil every day or taking medication to treat hair loss seems unappealing to you, laser therapy may be an option. Also called low-level laser therapy, a few studies suggest that this may help:
Hereditary hair loss
Alopecia areata
Hair loss due to chemotherapy
Stimulate healing and hair growth after a hair transplant
Studies indicate that laser therapy is safe and painless but requires many treatment sessions. To see a bit of hair growth, you may need several treatments a week for many months.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP): Studies show that this can be a safe and effective hair loss treatment. PRP involves drawing a small amount of your blood, placing your blood into a machine that separates it into parts, and then injecting one part of your blood (the plasma) into the area with hair loss.
The entire procedure takes about 10 minutes and usually doesn’t require any downtime.
You will need to return for repeat injections. Most patients return once a month for 3 months and then once every 3 to 6 months.
Within the first few months of treatment, you may notice that you are losing less or minimal amounts of hair.