How To Cause Hair Loss

How To Prepare For Hair Loss

• Each person is different. Ask your health care team if hair loss is likely to happen. If it is, ask if it will happen quickly or gradually.
• If you are going to get chemotherapy that might cause hair loss, talk to your health care team about whether a cooling cap might help reduce your risk. More research is being done to understand how effective and safe cooling caps may be. There are some side effects of cooling caps to consider, such as headaches, scalp pain, and neck and shoulder discomfort. Talk to your health care team about the benefits, limitations, and side effects of cooling caps.
• If the thought of losing your hair bothers you, you might choose to cut your hair very short or even shave your head before it starts falling out.
• If you think you might want a wig, buy it before treatment begins or at the very start of treatment. Ask if the wig can be adjusted you might need a smaller wig as you lose hair. To match hair color, you can cut a swatch of hair from the top front of your head, where hair is lightest..
• Wigs and other scalp coverings may be partially or fully covered by your health insurance. If so, ask for a prescription for a cranial prosthesis. Do not use the word wig on the prescription.
• Get a list of wig shops in your area from your cancer team, other patients, or from the phone book. You can also order the American Cancer Societys tlc Tender Loving Care® catalog by visiting tlc or by calling 1-800-850-9445.

Known Drugs That Can Cause Hair Loss

Drug induced alopecia, hair loss that develops due to a side effect of medication, will often occur within three months after starting the particular medication, but the exact timeline will depend on a few factors. The type of drug, type of hair loss, dosage, and your sensitivity to the drug are all important factors in how severe the side effects will be.

What Is Hair Replacement Surgery

There are a number of hair replacement methods available. But hairreplacement surgery can’t help those who suffer from total baldness.Candidates for hair replacement must have a healthy growth of hair at theback and sides of the head. The hair on the back and sides of the head willserve as hair donor areas where grafts and flaps will be taken.

There are 4 different types of hair replacement methods, including thefollowing:

• Hair transplantation. During hair transplantation, the surgeon removes small pieces of hair-bearing scalp grafts from the back or sides of the head. These grafts are then relocated to a bald or thinning area.

• Tissue expansion. In this procedure, a device called a tissue expander is placed underneath a hair-bearing area that is located next to a bald area. After several weeks, the tissue expander causes the skin to grow new skin cells. Another surgery is then needed to place the newly expanded skin over the nearby bald spot.

• Flap surgery. Flap surgery is ideal for covering large balding areas. During this procedure a part of the bald area is removed and a flap of the hair-bearing skin is placed onto the bald area. This is done while the flap of the hair-bearing skin is still attached at one end to its original blood supply.

• Scalp reduction. Scalp reduction is done to cover the bald areas at the top and back of the head. This method involves removing the bald scalp with sections of the hair-bearing scalp pulled together filling in the bald area.

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Tight Hairstyles And Grooming

Traction alopecia is the hair loss caused by external pressure on the scalp, usually from very tight hairstyles or extensions. Putting the hair up into a tight ponytail every once in a while isnt likely to cause hair loss, but doing so regularly or opting for very tight protective hairstyles can eventually lead to serious damage, especially if the follicle becomes scarred.

In the same vein, traction alopecia can also be caused by regularly pulling out hair, especially via tweezing and waxing. Additionally, people dealing with stress-related conditions that lead to hair-pulling, like trichotillomania, are also very susceptible to traction alopecia.

Ask a Hairstylist: Is It OK To Sleep With Wet Hair?

Whats Hair Loss In Women

Hair loss in women is just that when a woman experiences unexpected, heavy loss of hair. Generally, humans shed between 50 and 100 single hairs per day. Hair shedding is part of a natural balance some hairs fall out while others grow in. When the balance is interrupted when hair falls out and less hair grows in hair loss happens. Hair loss is different than hair shedding. The medical term for hair loss is alopecia.

Hair grows on almost all of your skin surfaces not the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, lips or eyelids. Light, fine, short hair is called vellus hair. Terminal/androgenic hair is thicker, darker and longer.

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Physical Trauma: A Shock To Hair Follicles

When your body is under serious physical stress, the natural cycle of hair growth and resting can be disrupted, resulting in hair loss, often in the form of thinning hair strands may come out in clumps. Any shock to the system, such as being in a severe accident, undergoing surgery, experiencing burns, or becoming very ill, can also shock the hair follicles, resulting in up to 75 percent of your hair falling out, sometimes months after the fact.

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• Scabs or crusts are present in the hair
• Ringworm of the scalp suspected.
• Broken hairs from tight hair style and pimples are present in scalp
• Patch of hair loss and cause not known
• Widespread hair thinning and cause not known
• Hair loss from nervous habit of twisting the hair
• Hair loss is a chronic problem
• Normal hair loss suspected, but doesn’t grow back within 6 months
• You have other questions or concerns

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How To Deal With Gabapentin And Hair Loss

Gabapentin is a very beneficial drug that helps millions of people every year to control their seizures. It is also helpful in addressing other medical conditions . Similar to any other drug, gabapentin has numerous side effects, including potential hair loss.

Hopefully, this article about gabapentin and hair loss helped you appreciate the relationship between gabapentin and hair loss.

If you experience hair loss or any other side effects after taking gabapentin, make sure to speak with your primary care physician for tailored medical advice.

Read more:

Hair Loss: Common Causes And Treatment

T. GRANT PHILLIPS, MD W. PAUL SLOMIANY, MD and ROBERT ALLISON, DO, Washington Health Systems Family Medicine Residency, Washington, Pennsylvania

Am Fam Physician. 2017 Sep 15 96:371-378.

Patient information: See related handout on hair loss.

• References

Patients with hair loss will often consult their family physician first. Hair loss is not life threatening, but it is distressing and significantly affects the patient’s quality of life. The pattern of hair loss may be obvious, such as the bald patches that occur in alopecia areata, or more subtle, such as the diffuse hair loss that occurs in telogen effluvium. As with most conditions, the physician should begin the evaluation with a detailed history and physical examination. It is helpful to determine whether the hair loss is nonscarring , which is reversible, or scarring , which is permanent. Scarring alopecia is rare and has various etiologies, including autoimmune diseases such as discoid lupus erythematosus. If the follicular orifices are absent, the alopecia is probably scarring these patients should be referred to a dermatologist. This article will discuss approaches to nonscarring causes of alopecia.

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Topical minoxidil is safe and effective for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women.

SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Topical minoxidil is safe and effective for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women.

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How Bad Is Traction Alopecia

Luckily, the thing about traction alopecia is that you can see it coming and treat it as well. So, it doesn’t get as bad as you would think. However, if you find out and still don’t do anything about it, then several years later, it can permanently damage your hair follicles. This then leads to balding.

Now, there are several signs that you might have traction alopecia. You can easily understand the reason after seeing those signs if you do something to pull your hair constantly. So, let’s check out the signs quickly.

• You will notice some form of redness on your scalp, especially on the front.
• You will have stinging and an itchy feeling on your head.
• Your scalps will face scaling issues.
• Irritation in your hair follicles is also a crying signal for this condition.
• There will be a lot of blisters on your scalp with pus inside.
• You will have an unprecedented headache most of the time.

These are the signs that can indicate that you have traction alopecia. Once you have any of the signs, make sure to think about whether you do something that creates traction in your hair. If you do then, you have to ascertain that it’s traction alopecia.

What Is Tinea Capitis

Tinea is the medical word for fungal infection, and capitis means head. Tinea capitis is a fungal infection of the scalp that for the most part affects school-age children.

• Tinea capitis is more common in black African or African-American scalps.
• This condition is rare in healthy adults.
• Bald spots usually show broken-off hairs accompanied by dermatitis.
• Oral antifungals can penetrate the hair roots and cure the infection, after which hair grows back.
• Sharing hats or combs and brushes may transmit tinea capitis.

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What Questions Might Your Healthcare Provider Ask To Diagnose And Categorize Your Hair Loss

Your healthcare provider might ask about your habits:

• What kinds of hair products do you use?
• What kinds of hair styles do you wear?
• What types of food do you eat ?
• Do you have a habit of pulling your hair out ?

They might ask about your history:

• Has anyone in your immediate family experienced hair loss?
• Is there anything stressful going on in your life?
• What medications and supplements do you take every day?
• Has hair loss ever happened to you before?
• What foods are in your diet?

And, they might ask about your observations:

• How long have you been losing hair?
• Have you been shedding more?
• Have you noticed hair loss in places other than your scalp, like your eyebrows? Leg and arm hair?
• Does anything worsen your hair loss?
• Does anything improve your hair loss?
• Have you noticed hair loss occasionally or has it been going on continuously?
• Have you noticed if your hair growth has changed?
• Has your hair been breaking more often?

Reasons For Sudden Hair Loss And How You Can Get Help

Everyone experiences hair shedding, and it happens to each of us every day. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle, more on days you wash your hair. But what if you check your pillow, shower drain, or comb and it looks like youâre suddenly losing much more than that?

The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor or dermatologist. Theyâll get to the bottom of why youâre losing hair, and theyâll make sure you get the right treatment in case a medical condition is to blame.

Here are just some of the reasons you could have sudden hair loss.

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Symptoms Of Excessive Hair Loss

For most people, excessive hair loss is gradual, which means it happens over a long period of time. This is especially true of male-pattern baldness. Hair loss is considered excessive when it results in bald spots or hair that is noticeably thinning. In some cases, hair can fall out suddenly. This is typically caused by sudden or prolonged stress, either physical or emotional.

Avoid Using Headphones For Long Hours

Now, this is a solution that can be a bit debatable. Sometimes there is no option but to use your headphones for long hours. In those cases, I suggest taking breaks. Other than that, try not to keep wearing your headphones for more than 4 hours continuously.

In a survey of gamers, 90% of them said that they don’t wear headphones for more than 4 hours a day. They don’t face any issues of hair fall either.

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You Have Low Iron Levels

The American Academy of Dermatology also says that not getting enough iron into your diet can lead to unwanted hair loss, too.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute , iron-deficiency anemia occurs when you don’t have enough iron in your bodythe symptoms of which include fatigue, tiredness, shortness of breath, or chest pain. To help remedy this, your doctor might suggest iron supplements or other healthy lifestyle choices, like increasing your intake of both iron- and vitamin-C rich foods.

Managing Your Hair Loss

Losing your hair can cause more than a change in your physical appearance. It can be an emotional challenge that affects your self-image and quality of life. It is important to be kind to yourself during this stressful time.

People cope with hair loss in different ways. Thinking about how you feel most comfortable in managing hair loss before, during, and after treatment may help. And, your choices may change over time.

Cold cap therapy

Wearing a cap that cools the scalp can help prevent hair loss from drugs given through a vein. This treatment is called scalp cryotherapy. You wear the cap before, during, and after chemotherapy.

The cold makes the blood vessels in the skin of your head narrower. Less blood and less of the chemotherapy drug reaches your hair follicles through the blood vessels. Keeping your scalp very cold also helps prevent damage to the hair follicles. Talk with your health care team to learn if cold cap therapy is available and might work for you.

Medications

An over-the-counter medication called minoxidil may help thinning hair from hormonal therapy or targeted therapy. It may also help if your hair does not grow back completely after chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a stem cell/bone marrow transplant.

There are also other medications you can take by mouth. These include spironolactone and finasteride .

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