Female Pattern Hair Loss
In women, hair slowly thins all over the scalp, but the hairline usually doesnt recede. Many women experience this type of hair loss as a natural part of aging, although hair loss may begin any time after puberty. Female pattern hair loss can cause hair to thin dramatically, but only rarely does it lead to baldness.
What Causes Hair Loss
There are many different types of hair loss with a variety of potential underlying causes. Several medical conditions are associated with hair loss in women. Common causes include thyroid problems and hormone imbalances. Wondering how to stop hair loss in women? When the underlying cause of hair loss is diagnosed and treated, hair loss may stop, and hair may grow back. Stress, nutritional factors, and genetics may also play a role in hair loss. Severe physical stress such as going through childbirth, surgery, or suffering a serious illness may precipitate a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. This is a condition in which stress forces large numbers of follicles to enter the resting phase, and after a few months, hair will fall out.
Sometimes doctors are not able to determine what is causing hair loss. Other potential causes of hair loss include radiation therapy, cancer, kidney failure, liver failure, medication side effects, and autoimmune disease. If you are experiencing new or increasing hair loss, see your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment.
Treatment For Hair Loss
Most hair loss does not need treatment and is either:
- temporary and it’ll grow back
- a normal part of getting older
Hair loss caused by a medical condition usually stops or grows back once you’ve recovered.
There are things you can try if your hair loss is causing you distress. But most treatments are not available on the NHS, so you’ll have to pay for them.
No treatment is 100% effective.
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How Will A Healthcare Provider Diagnose Hair Loss In Women What Tests Are Done
The tests performed to diagnose hair loss in women can be simple or complicated:
- Gently pulling on your hair to see how many hairs come out.
- Blood tests. These check for vitamin and mineral levels and hormone levels .
- Scalp examination under a microscope and trichoscopy.
- Scalp biopsy to remove and examine a very small piece of scalp skin.
Are There Complications/side Effects Of Treatment
Minoxidil may irritate your scalp and cause dryness, scaling, itching and/or redness. See your dermatologist if this happens.
With Minoxidil you might also see hair growing in other places other than your scalp . Wash your face after you apply Minoxidil and make sure you avoid other areas when you apply it.
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Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Dry, unruly hair is difficult to manage and more prone to falling out or breaking. A lot of people use diluted apple cider vinegar to wash their frizzy hair to make it softer, shinier, and easier to detangle.
Moreover, a healthy scalp is a prerequisite for healthy hair, and ACV might help in that regard too. Dryness of hair and scalp is a sign of increased alkalinity, and this mild acid can help balance it out. Thus, ACV may help relieve itching and flaking of the scalp while stimulating the hair follicles for improved hair growth.
Bear in mind, however, that all these hair benefits attributed to ACV are purely anecdotal with little to no scientific support
Directions:
Note: Do not apply ACV for longer than the recommended period or in undiluted form as it can damage your hair and scalp.
You Have Female Or Malepattern Baldness
You might already know about malepattern baldness, a type of hair loss caused by a combo of genes and male sex hormones that usually makes the hair on a man’s head recede at the temples, leaving an Mshaped hairline.
But hormone-related hairloss for femalesor femalepattern baldnessis also a thing, according to the US National Institute of Health. This type of hair loss occurs when the hair follicle shrinks so much over time that it doesn’t grow new hair. In women, the symptoms of femalepattern baldness includes a widening of the center hair part, and, sometimes, coarser hair on the face.
The only FDAapproved treatment for female and malepattern hair is minoxidil , but if that doesn’t work, your doctor may prescribe oral medications such as finasteride that can halt hair loss or even cause some to grow surgery to transplant or graft hair is also an option.
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Treatments For Severe Hair Loss Thinning Hair Receding Hair Line And Balding
byPeppy BlogNovember 30, 2018, 12:48 pm
There are temporary Solutions like using hair loss concealer products, making use of wigs and extensions and more permanent solutions like hair transplantation. So with the help of your doctor, know the treatment options suitable for you.
Severe hair fall can even lead a person to depression and make one suicidal. But know that there are various treatments available that can help you get the results you want.
Homeopathic Remedies For Hair Loss
1. Fluoric acid : This medicine treats well when a person is suffering from vertex baldness, weak hair, and Idiopathic hair loss.
2. Phosphoric acid : Phosphoric acid cures the progressive thinning of hair, which has caused because of lot of stress and grief. It also stops early greying of hair.
3. Phosphorus : When you see that handful of hair comes into your hands while combing, or you are facing hair loss due to some hemorrhagic disorder, Phosphorus can help you out better. It will also cure the problem of dry and itchy scalp.
4. Graphites : This homeopathic remedy treats the troubles of hair fall, caused by menopause and constipation. Graphites cure patchy baldness and hair fall on sides.
5. Mezereum : Mezereum is also a great choice when you are losing handful of strands, and you are afflicted with itchy and dry scalp, and dandruff.
6. : Sepia treats the hair loss, which is caused by menopause or after giving birth to a child.
7. Silica : Frontal hair loss, early greying and baldness at a young age are the main symptoms that are purged with Silica.
The various other medicines to treat hair loss are Natrum mur, Psorinum, Selenium, Medorrhinum, Lachesis, Merc sol, Lycopodium, Kali carb, and Borax.
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Male Pattern Hair Loss
In men, hair loss can begin any time after puberty and progress over the course of years or decades. It starts above the temples and continues around the perimeter and the top of the head, often leaving a ring of hair along the bottom of the scalp. Many men with male pattern hair loss eventually become bald.
What Causes It: The Alopecia Areata Connection
Alopecia universalis is a type of alopecia areata, explained Dr. Viktoryia Kazlouskaya, a dermatologist with the University of Pittsburgh.
In fact, alopecia universalis is considered to be the most advanced presentation of alopecia areata , an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. Alopecia areata can present in different ways, though most commonly, it causes round patches of hair loss on the scalp.
We don’t have a clear understanding as to what might trigger alopecia areata or the family of hair loss conditions that occur under it, including AU. Howeve,r they might be related to immune system dysfunction. Though the exact cause is unknown, AU is thought to be an autoimmune condition meaning it is caused by a fault in the immune response, explained Dr. Enrizza P. Factor, a clinical dermatologist and researcher with MyVitiligoTeam.
According to Dr. Michael May, medical doctor and principal surgeon at the Wimpole Clinic, the underlying autoimmune disease in both AA and AU happens when the immune system acts abnormally, instead of protecting the hair follicles, it destroys them, he said. This skin condition may be closely tied to genetics, an individuals stress levels and an existing autoimmune disorder.
Get the Full Picture: Alopecia Areata Explained
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How To Strengthen Your Hair
The main culprits in balding and receding hair line is genetics. If anyone in the family has a bald head you should be expecting it at some point of your life.
Remember that these kind of hair fall is not due to nutritional deficiencies and hence treating yourself to hair packs and supplements may not do anything for you. You have to accept the facts regarding hereditary and hormonal hair loss. Being anxious will only lead to wrong judgement and waste of money.
The earlier you come to terms with it the better. This is important as the treatment for this hair fall is completely different from the general cases. Starting the treatment early can stop and prevent hair loss and balding. You may need to continue the treatment for a longer period of time.
Let us look at at all the options available for you.
Studies Uncover New Approaches To Combat Hair Loss In Men And Women
Two recent studies highlight novel ways to combat pattern hair loss in men and women using small molecules such as JAK inhibitors that reawaken dormant hair follicles, as well as stem cell therapies aimed at growing new follicles.
In the first study, researchers led by Angela Christiano, PhD, the Richard & Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, discovered previously unknown cells that keep mouse hair follicles in a resting state and show that inhibiting the activity of these cells can reawaken dormant follicles.
In a second study, Christianos team , which could open up hair restoration surgery to more people, including women, and improve the way pharmaceutical companies search for new hair-growth drugs.
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Phs Hairscience Miracle Stem Cell Solution
This is a patented cell-signalling programme designed to combat hair loss at the cellular level. Backed-by science and developed together with Korean trichologists, it is a non-invasive salon-based hair treatment and contains growth factors and stem cell technology that effectively reactivates dormant and inactive follicle cells for hair regrowth and melanin production. Proven effective by many, there are no side effects, no downtime, and it is the perfect solution for your hair loss and hair thinning concerns!
Depending on the extent of the chemical damage, our scalp care experts will advise the treatment programme accordingly.
What Is The Outcome For Someone Who Has Hair Loss
With an accurate diagnosis, many people who have hair loss can see hair regrowth. If you need treatment for regrowth, the earlier you start, the more likely you are to see regrowth.
Its important to understand that:
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Not every type of hair loss can be treated, but a dermatologist may be able to prevent further hair loss.
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It can take months before you see results from treatment.
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No one treatment works for everyone, even two people with the same type of hair loss.
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Sometimes, hair loss is stubborn and requires trying different treatments before finding one that works.
Self-care also plays an essential role in preventing and treating hair loss. To find out what dermatologists recommend, go to Hair loss: Self-care.
Images1,2: Getty Images
3: Property of the American Academy of Dermatology, A to Z Video Series
4: Image used with permission of Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology: J Am Acad Dermatol. 1998 39:578-89.
ReferencesAdil A, Godwin M. The effectiveness of treatments for androgenetic alopecia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017 77:136-141.
American Academy of Dermatology:
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Research demonstrates potential of platelet-rich plasma therapy for hair loss News release issued March 1, 2019. Last accessed May 22, 2019.
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New generation of laser and light therapies could provide future treatment options for skin, hair and nail conditions, News release issued March 16, 2012. Last accessed May 22, 2019.
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Reawakening Dormant Hair Follicles With New Drugs
Our previous studies implicated JAK-STAT signaling as one potential new therapeutic pathway for hair loss disorders by targeting hair follicle stem cells with JAK inhibitors, Christiano says. Here, we show that blocking the source of the JAK activating signal outside the hair follicle is another way to target this mechanism.
Most drug development has focused on treatments for male pattern hair loss, and the majority of clinical trials are conducted exclusively in men.
These new pathways may lead to new treatments for both men and women suffering from hair loss, since they appear to be acting independently of male hormone pathways, Christiano says. Especially if treatments are used topically, that could avoid the related side effects seen with finasteride and minoxidil.
Will Lost Hair Grow Back
If your hair loss is due to a genetic tendency, there is nothing you can do to stop or reverse it. On the other hand, hair fall triggered by other preventable factors can usually be controlled by addressing the root cause.
Thus, different types of hair loss call for different treatments, but the purpose remains the same: helping new hair to grow while preventing more hair from falling out. But it is nearly impossible to get all your hair back, no matter how effective the treatment.
Besides, a treatment that yielded successful results for one person may prove completely ineffective for another person, so there is no guaranteed success rate for these interventions. You may have to try a variety of treatments to find which one suits you best.
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What Is The Prognosis/outlook For Women With Hair Loss
Your diagnosis determines the prognosis:
- Anagen and telogen shedding may stop with time.
- Treat any diseases associated with hair loss.
- Disguise or cover your hair loss using a wig or hat.
- Early treatment of alopecia may reduce the speed of thinning and may promote regrowth.
While hair loss is not itself dangerous, women with hair loss tend to be very upset by the changes to their appearance. These negative feelings can affect self-esteem and social lives. Recent studies suggest that FPHL can be associated with conditions that include metabolic syndrome, endocrine disorders and diabetes.
What Is Traction Alopecia
This is a small or localized hair loss area caused by repetitive or persistent pulling or traction on hair roots.
- Tight braids and ponytails can pull hard enough on hairs to make them fall out. If this happens, it’s best to choose hairstyles that put less tension on the hair.
- Doing this sooner helps to avoid permanent damage.
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