Should I See Dermatologist For Hair Loss

What Are The Common Causes Of Hair Loss In Women

What causes hair loss?

• Hair style: Your style of hair can cause hair loss when your hair is arranged in ways that pull on your roots, like tight ponytails, braids, or corn rows. This type of hair loss is called traction alopecia. If hair follicles are damaged, the loss can be permanent.
• Vitamin deficiency.
• Over processed scalp hair .

What causes anagen effluvium hair loss?

• Toxic substances, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and some medications. These cause sudden hair loss that can occur anywhere on your body. It happens to hair in the growth stage. Sometimes, this type of hair loss can be permanent if your hair follicles are damaged.

What causes telogen effluvium hair loss?

• Extreme physical stress or shock to your body: This causes temporary hair loss. This category includes events like losing a lot of weight, surgery, anemia, illness and having a baby.
• Extreme emotional stress: mental illness, the death of a loved one, etc.
• An abnormal thyroid.
• Medications and supplements: blood pressure medicines, gout medicines and high doses of Vitamin A.
• Hormone changes caused by pregnancy, menopause or birth control pills.

What causes FPHL ?

• Genes: Your familys genes can cause thinning of hair along the top of your head.
• Aging: Hormone changes as you age can cause balding.
• Menopause: This type of hair loss often gets worse when estrogen is lost during menopause.

There are also some conditions that affect hair loss:

Thinning Hair Dont Panic Girl Your Dermatologist Is Here

Are you or someone you know suffering from hair loss? Youre not alone. According toHarvard University, about one-third of women experience hair loss at some time in their lives and among postmenopausal women, as many as two-thirds suffer hair thinning or bald spots.

As dermatologists, twin brothers Dr. Kevin DeHart and Dr. Kelly DeHart have seen it all when it comes to hair loss. Typically, women wait longer than men to come in about their hair struggles. However, the sooner you see a dermatologist, the sooner you can begin the hair regrowth process.

Timeliness is a factor when it comes to hair loss, said Dr. Kelly DeHart. If you leave hair loss untreated for years, you may not see as much regrowth as you do when you see a dermatologist within a few months of noticing symptoms and beginning treatment.

When it comes to hair loss, treatment is indefinite. While there isnt a cure, there are some great treatment options that can make a big difference when it comes to hair regrowth.

Platelet Rich Plasma For Hair Loss

Dr. Michele Green was one of the first dermatologists in NYC to treat hair loss with Platelet Rich Plasma injections. PRP is a holistic, straightforward and highly effective treatment. After a simple blood draw, your blood is spun in a special PRP separating tube, extracting the platelet rich plasma. The PRP has all of the important growth factors, which are injected into your scalp, to re-grow your hair. PRP has been used for years by professional athletes, in conjunction with injections into their joints, to naturally speed up healing. Patients typically benefit from 5 treatments of PRP, spaced one month apart, and annual maintenance treatments to sustain your hair and prevent future hair loss.

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Causes And Symptoms Of Alopecia

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes you to lose hair and often leaves little bald spots on your head. Our hair is made up of mostly protein. When our body does not have enough protein, the hairs enter the resting phase. This causes us to lose hair and hair to become brittle and fall out. Alopecia is both hereditary and hormonal. It affects both males and females and can happen at any age. There are many causes related to alopecia. Causes include severe or chronic illness, thyroid disease, low-protein diets, low iron levels and improper hair care. It is also common after childbirth. If hair loss occurs, the hairs may enter a resting phase and are lost without immediate replacement. It could last up to nine months but should resolve itself without treatment. This also may be the case if you have a chronic illness.

Alopecia occurs when hair follicles are attacked by your own body, causing clumps of hair to fall out. While rare, there is a potential to lose all the hair on your head and/or on your entire body. Males are more likely to lose all their hair while women mostly experience thinning. Sometimes the hair grows back for good and other times it grows back and then falls out again shortly after. Unfortunately, alopecia is not curable, but can and should be treated by a dermatologist. During diagnosis, a skin biopsy may be performed and examined to properly diagnose the alopecia.

Trust Your Dermatologist With Your Hair Loss Concerns

So can a dermatologist help with hair loss? The answer is a resounding yes. With a range of medical and in-office procedures available, your dermatologist will be able to improve your hair. The first step is to visit your dermatologist to comprehensively review your hair and any skin concerns.

At Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics, we pride ourselves in truly understanding the struggles of your hair.

Our board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Rodney, has extensive knowledge of the reasons behind hair loss. From there, her deep understanding will translate to an effective, long-term method to bringing your hair loss under control.

To start your hair-growth journey, schedule a consultation with Eternal Dermatology. Were conveniently located in Fulton, MD, and serve patients in Columbia, Silver Springs, Howard County, Baltimore, Washington DC and surrounding areas.

There are a few ways you can connect with us:

• Book an appointment directly on our website.
• You can also request a consultation by clicking the link at the bottom of our homepage.
• Call or email us via our Contact Page.

With your dermatologists help, hair loss does not need to be an inevitable part of life.

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Prescribing Hair Loss Treatment

Finally, your dermatologist can recommend treatments for hair loss once a diagnosis is reached. Ultimately, this is likely why youre seeing them: hope for treatment.

When it comes to androgenetic alopecia, there are treatments available.

There are two FDA-approved treatments available for male pattern hair loss: topical minoxidil and oral finasteride. Minoxidil can be obtained over the counter without a prescription, but finasteride will require a prescription from your dermatologist.

Minoxidilworks by allowing more blood to reach the hair follicles, while the oral medication finasteride is whats known as a 5 alpha-reductase type 2 inhibitor.

Your dermatologist can set proper expectations about the effectiveness of this medication, but they generally take several months to show improvement. Also, the treatment must be consistent — if you stop using these treatments, your hair loss will resume.

Hair loss treatments, delivered

Dermatologist Exams For Hair Loss In New York

There are many different causes why a male or female patient could be losing hair, ranging from autoimmune, stress, hormonal issues, nutrition, metabolic, and genetic. If you are experiencing hair thinning or hair loss, the first step is to set up a consultation with a board certified dermatologist, like Dr. Michele Green. Dr. Green will begin her examination by first taking your complete medical history which includes all of your past medical conditions, surgeries, travel, and medications. Next, she will examine your skin, hair, scalp, and nails, to ascertain the reason behind your hair loss. Baseline photographs will be taken for your private medical record, to track your progress during treatment.

Depending on the type of hair loss, a complete panel of blood work including hormonal, autoimmune, and metabolic tests may be ordered in order to help confirm and identify the etiology of your hair loss. The skin and scalp, as well as the hair itself, can give clues as to the reason for your hair loss. A biopsy or fungus culture of the scalp, skin, nails, or the hair itself, may be needed in order to arrive at the correct diagnosis for your hair loss and formulate the best treatment plan. Alopecia can be a complicated issue and it is important that a complete analysis be performed to ascertain the causes of hair loss.

3 months before and after injections for hair loss

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Rahua Founders Blend Scalp & Hair Treatment

• Key benefits: Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp, notes Saedi of her approach to spurring growth, starting with a good cleanse and condition, notably Rahuas hair-care products. I especially recommend Founders Blend Scalp & Hair Treatment to patients dealing with an itchy, irritated scalp because its anti-inflammatory effects are known for soothing the scalp and strengthening the hair follicle. The treatment, which features a blend of plant-powered botanicals from hemp and peppermint oil to green tea, not only stimulates the follicle but balances the scalp.
• How to use: Massage the treatment into your scalp and haireither leaving it in for 15 minutes or overnight. Just be sure to rinse out.

What Doctor Should You See For Hair Loss

Great news! There are hair loss doctors that specialize in treating just women. Choosing which one to go see can be tricky. Hopefully, our insight can help make that a bit easier. We must state that were not doctors and therefore we can not provide medical advice. This post is based upon opinions and reviews from our own experiences and those of family and close friends.

Many conditions can sometimes be diagnosed and treated within the care of one doctor. Others may not be able it may take a few different doctors to truly diagnosis the issue, and then also the care of a few doctors to see what is the best course of treatment. This may be due to there being more than one underlying issue or the reason behind the problem.

Like many people, we also find comfort in more than just one opinion. Personally, I like to speak to a few different doctors if I have been told there is something serious going in my health which requires a form of treatment. I like to know if there are other options as well. I would suggest going to speak to a few different doctors personally. This is true also with hair loss doctors.

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Is There A Cure For Alopecia Areata

There is currently no cure for alopecia aerata. However, there are many treatments available to keep alopecia areata under control, help restore your hair loss, and prevent its spread.

• Intralesional cortisone injections The most common treatment used are intralesional cortisone injections directly into the areas of hair loss. If these patches of hair loss are treated early, they seem to be more responsive to the positive effects of the injections.
• PRP injections Injections of Platelet Rich Plasma, encourage hair growth since they are replete with all of the growth factors which occur naturally in the body.
• Topical Minoxidil Minoxidil both stimulates new hair growth and helps maintain the current hair thinning or shedding.
• Anthralin is a topical medication that is used to control inflammation at the base of hair follicles. It is a man-made version of a natural substance found in goa powder, which is from the araroba tree.

When To See A Dermatologist For Hair Loss

In a large number of cases the loss of hair is just temporary. This especially happens if the cause was acute, such as childbirth, a medical condition or stressful event. When the cause is removed, the hair also starts to get better.

In these cases, the hair gets into the so-called resting phase. It can take 6 9 months for the hair to recover, but it does get better after a while without any special treatments.

You can help your hair to regain its previous glory by using special oils and over the counter hair products formulated to help with hair loss. And, of course, try to avoid stressful situations as much as possible and eat diverse, protein-rich food.

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What Are The Types Of Hair Loss

There are three: anagen effluvium, telogen effluvium and FPHL.

• Anagen effluvium: This is caused by medications that poison a growing hair follicle .
• Telogen effluvium: This is caused by an increased number of hair follicles reaching the telogen phase, which is the stage where hair falls out.
• Androgenetic alopecia/female pattern alopecia/female pattern hair loss /baldness: This type is the most common. Hair thins over the top of the head and on the sides.

What Can A Dermatologist Do For Hair Loss

Medically reviewed by Kristin Hall, FNP

Youre losing your hair, but who do you call? Many people dont know what type of doctor or professional to contact when they start experiencing hair loss or thinning. Your barber might be able to confirm, Yep, theres less than last time! but that hardly serves as a diagnosis and certainly wont help you get prescription hair loss treatments.

The best medical professional for that job is a dermatologist. You might think of dermatologists as skin doctors and not associate your scalp with your complexion, but hair follicles are located in the skin, and the two are most definitely closely related.

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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.

A Trichologist Is Not Medically Trained

A trichologist can of course help in some cases but can only give patients topical treatment for hair loss, as they are not medically trained. Unlike a dermatologist, they cannot perform tests that help with the diagnosis and evaluation of the condition and inform the best course of treatment these require special training.

For example, a dermatologist can perform a trichoscopy with a video dermatoscopy, a non-invasive technique that allows a rapid and magnified observation of the skins surface enabling the evaluation of hair thickness, presence of regrowing hairs and scalp inflammation. We can also perform a trigonometry, which involves an instrument that provides a numeric value of the hair quality. All of which are vital to in-depth diagnosis.

Dermatologists can also carry out a scalp biopsy, where a sample from the scalp is taken under local anaesthetic and tested under the microscope by a histopathologist. These tests are often necessary to evaluate cases of hair loss.

Only a dermatologist is qualified to carry out these tests, without which a full and thorough evaluation and diagnosis is not possible. Getting to the cause of your condition leads to better treatment. Furthermore, there are a variety of oral treatments available for hair disorders which a trichologist cannot prescribe but a dermatologist can so these are some reasons why you need a dermatologist for hair loss and not a Trichologist.

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Prescription Medication That Can Regrow Hair

Another treatment option is to take prescription medication. The type of medication prescribed will depend on your:

• Hair loss cause

• Expected results

• Plans for getting pregnant

With any medication, side effects are possible. Ask your dermatologist about possible side effects that you might experience while taking one of these medications to treat hair loss. The medications include:

Finasteride : The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved this medication to treat male pattern hair loss. When taken as directed, finasteride can:

• Slow down hair loss

• Stimulate new hair growth

Finasteride is a pill that you take once a day. Taking it at the same time each day seems to produce the best results.

Finasteride: Before and after

This man took finasteride to treat his male pattern hair loss, and within 1 year , he had noticeable improvement. After 2 years , he had regrown most of his hair.

Like other treatments for hair loss, this, too, takes time to work. It usually takes about 4 months to notice any improvement.

Finasteride tends to be more effective if you begin taking it when you first notice hair loss.A dermatologist may also prescribe this medication to treat a woman who has hereditary hair loss and cannot get pregnant.

If finasteride works for you, you will need to keep taking it to continue getting results. Once you stop, youll start losing hair again.Before taking this medication, be sure to discuss possible side effects with your dermatologist.

Causes Of Excessive Hair Loss

Improper Hair Cosmetic Use/Improper Hair Care Many men and women use chemical treatments on their hair, including dyes, tints, bleaches, straighteners, and permanent waves. These treatments rarely damage hair if they are done correctly. However, the hair can become weak and break if any of these chemicals are used too often. Hair can also break if the solution is left on too long, if two procedures are done on the same day, or if bleach is applied to previously bleached hair. If hair becomes brittle from chemical treatments, its best to stop until the hair has grown out.

Hairstyles that pull on the hair, like ponytails and braids, should not be pulled tightly and should be alternated with looser hairstyles. The constant pull causes some hair loss, especially along the sides of the scalp.

Shampooing, combing and brushing too often, can also damage hair, causing it to break. Using a cream rinse or conditioner after shampooing will make it more manageable and easier to comb. When hair is wet, it is more fragile, so vigorous rubbing with a towel, and rough combing and brushing should be avoided. Dont follow the old rule of 100 brush strokes a day that damages hair. Instead, use wide toothed combs and brushes with smooth tips.

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