Reversible Forms of Female Hair Loss
If you had the power to stop and reverse your hair loss, would you? Hair loss is a common condition that can hold different meaning to everyone. There are lots of men who will be happy to tell you that baldness is a sign of virility or even that, “Bald is beautiful!” Very few women however are not distressed if they experience excessive hair loss and many cover it up with hairstyles, makeup, hats or scarves. Others choose medications, hair replacement systems or surgical procedures to deal with hair loss. However not all forms of hair loss are permanent. So how do you know when and if you should do something about it? Let’s take a look at some of the temporary conditions and what can be done to correct them.
Diffuse thinning is frequently seen in women. It is not the type of hair loss where you wake up in the morning and your hair is gone. Rather it is the kind that sees extra hairs in your comb, a few more in the sink and will eventually become noticeably thinner each time you look in the mirror. Diffuse hair loss results in a general thinning all over the scalp and a detailed clinical history must be taken as there are a number of factors that could be linked to the condition. Diet should be checked for adequate intake of nutrients, clinical investigations should be made for thyroid, haemoglobin and hormonal problems and stress may also be a contributing factor.
Telogen effluvium
Telogen effluvium is a form of diffuse hair loss many women experience, especially after giving birth. It can be brought on by emotional distress, such as a death in the family, or after a physical stress, such as a high fever, sudden or excessive weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, surgery, or serious illness and hair loss is spread over the whole scalp.
Normally, the hair goes through cycles of growth (lasting about two or three years) and rest (lasting about three or four months). During anagen (growth), hair grows about half an inch each month and when it reaches telogen (rest), the hair strand falls out and a new one grows in its place. Most people shed 50 to 100 hairs per day and this amount of hair loss is considered normal and does not cause noticeable thinning of the scalp hair.
However telogen effluvium causes the timing of the resting (telogen) phase to be reset. A couple of months later, too many strands fall out at the same time resulting in overall hair thinning and the sufferer who by this stage, may find it difficult to pin-point a cause, is left in a panic. Hair typically grows back once the condition that caused the hair loss corrects itself, but it can takes months.
“If the stress was a one-off, then telogen effluvium will often correct itself,” Leonora Doclis, senior trichologist of the Belgravia Centre said. “However, treatment for the loss of hair can help to minimize the damage, particularly if there is a tendency toward female pattern hair loss, whilst the body is dealing with the crisis.”
Other Causes for Female Hair Loss
There are a number of things that can affect hair loss and the condition of the hair, such as having inadequate protein or iron in your diet. This is often seen with fad diets, crash diets, and illnesses, such as eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Diseases like diabetes and lupus can also cause hair loss, as can some drugs used to treat gout, arthritis, depression, heart problems and high blood pressure. Taking birth control pills also may result in hair loss for some women.
Instead of thinning, some people develop bald patches.
Traction Alopecia
This can occur if you regularly wear certain hairstyles, such as ponytails, braids, dreadlocks or if you use tight rollers. Hair loss typically occurs where hair is pulled tightly but if the pulling is stopped before there is scarring of your scalp and permanent damage to the root, hair usually grows back normally. The problem is that when the hair starts to thin, most people cover it with weaves or add hair extensions until the condition gets so bad that very little can be done.
“If the hair starts to thin and becomes an issue for the person, instead of adding artificial coverage they should consult a professional,” Leonora said. “At least that way they can be educated on hair styling if that is what the problem is.”
The hair loss may also be linked to female pattern hair loss in which case it’s best to catch as early as possible. “If the follicles have shriveled and the area has gone smooth, then it’s very unlikely the condition can be reversed,” Leonora said.
Traction alopecia should not be confused with trichotillomania, which is a obsessive condition in which people have an irresistible urge to pull out their hair, from their scalp, their eyebrows or other areas of their body. Hair pulling from the scalp often leaves them with patchy bald spots on their head, which they may go to great lengths to disguise. No specific cause has been found for trichotillomania but psychiatrists regard trichotillomania as a psychological disorder and treatment will usually involve therapy. Trichotillomania sufferers have also been known to eat the hair that they pull out – this is a condition called Trichophagia.
Alopecia Areata
In alopecia areata, hair loss usually occurs in small, round, smooth patches on the scalp, but hair loss can crop up on any area that has hair, including the eyebrows, eyelashes and beard. It is a condition that might cure itself or might progress, possibly even leading to complete baldness over the head (alopecia totalis) or even over the whole body (alopecia universalis), however both of these cases are extremely rare. No-one knows much about what causes alopecia areata but it is classified as an autoimmune condition and can be triggered by stress. People who develop the condition are generally in good health but some may have other autoimmune disorders such as a thyroid condition.
“They are of similar nature, so the genetic tendency is always there,” Leonora said. For instance, psoriasis is a condition where the immune system attacks the skin, but in alopecia it’s the hair.”
The hair will frequently grow back by itself with no treatment or if not there are effective treatments that help to regrow hair lost from mild cases of alopecia areata.
“The rule of thumb is that if it hasn’t grown back in six months, then it’s time to consider treatment,” Leonora said.
Effective Treatment for Hair Loss & Baldness
Most of the time, in the conditions mentioned above, the situation will correct itself and the hair loss will stop. Unfortunately however, this is not always the case and the problem won’t go away by simply combing and pinning the hair to hide the loss or wearing a headscarf.
There are plenty of miracle cures on the shelves to choose from but there only two options (for women) that are clinically proven, and approved by the FDA, to be the best hair loss treatment products. These are of course minoxidil and the HairMax LaserComb. And, whilst not a proven treatment for hair loss, it is usually recommended that women use a herbal supplement to complement one or more of the proven treatments. A supplement will supply the body with a number of vitamins, minerals and nutrients to ensure healthy hair growth. No supplement has been proven to effectively stop hair loss or generate new growth but they work to improve the strength and quality of the hair.
The effective treatment of female hair loss requires a combined approach that tackles all possible causes. A professional hair loss treatment course aimed at halting hair loss and encouraging regrowth should start with a diagnosis of the problem by a trichologist along with a discussion and a search for contributory lifestyle and health factors. Ongoing monitoring and advice is important so that progress can be checked and the treatment can be adjusted if necessary. With a combined, professional program female hair loss can often be stopped and often reversed.
(Images courtesy of stephmcg, maleika2006 and Vanessa D all at flickr)
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 6:16 pm and is filed under Alopecia, Female Hair Loss, Hair Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
