Are There Other Causes Of Hair Loss
It is important to first distinguish between female-pattern hair loss and other, less common causes of hair loss. Your physician may want to check laboratory tests or before an examination or tests on your hair. Often, your physician will check hormonal levels and make sure there are no signs of autoimmune disease. Even stress can cause hair loss. Some of these less common causes of hair loss can be reversed with treatment, so it is important to have an evaluation before starting treatment.
How Can Hair Loss In Women Be Prevented
Preventing hair loss is not possible when it is due to disease, aging, heredity or physical stressors like injuries. You can prevent hair loss caused by caustic chemicals or tight hairstyles by avoiding them. You might be able to prevent some hair loss by eating a healthy diet that provides necessary nutrients in terms of vitamins, minerals and protein. You can stop smoking.
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.
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What Types Of Hair Loss Does Rogaine Help
Rogaine is the mainstay treatment for patients with androgenetic alopecia. However, it has been an excellent adjuvant off-label treatment for many other hair loss conditions, such as alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium. Minoxidil works well both for male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss. Rogaine is an FDA approved treatment for hair loss, and both men and women have showed large gains in the number of new hairs grown with daily and continued use.
How Do Dermatologists Diagnose Hair Loss
Because so many things can cause hair loss, a dermatologist acts like a detective and begins by asking questions. The dermatologist will want to know whether your hair loss happened suddenly or gradually. Knowing this helps to determine the cause.
A dermatologist also will ask what medicines you take, what allergies you have, and whether you have been dieting. It is important to give the dermatologist accurate information. Like a murder mystery, the slightest clue can solve the case. Women may be asked about their menstrual cycles, pregnancies, and menopause.
The dermatologist also will carefully look at your scalp and hair. During an exam, the dermatologist may pull on your hair. Sometimes a dermatologist needs to pull out a hair to get the necessary evidence. And sometimes a dermatologist needs to look at the hair on the rest of your body to see whether there is too little or too much hair in other areas.
Sometimes the evidence lies in your scalp. The dermatologist may remove a small piece of the scalp. This is called a scalp biopsy. A dermatologist can quickly and safely perform a scalp biopsy during an office visit. A scalp biopsy can be essential to solving the case. Sometimes, a blood test is necessary.
Because so many things can cause hair loss, it can take time to find the cause.
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Surgical And Physical Treatments
Medications and supplements also boost your bodily functions to grow hair and should take some time to actually produce results.
And these results might vary, as they promise a certain amount of success, unlike some surgical and physical treatments.
So lets take a look at these direct treatments that most consider as last resort, but experts and dermatologists agree should be considered as effective primary solutions:
What’s The Best Doctor To See For Hair Loss
If you’ve started to notice your hairline receding or the hair on the crown of your head slipping away, you may be experiencing male pattern hair loss.
It’s a genuine medical condition that affects millions of men globally, and this type of hair loss is actually the most common cause of hair loss among men. Nearly 80% of men will experience significant hair loss in their lifetime because of it.
For most men, the process of losing their hair will start sometimes in their 30s, but it can start later or much earlier depending on genetic traits. In fact, genetics and heredity are key factors in whether you’ll be affected by male pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia.
While male pattern hair loss is a progressive condition that results in continual hair loss over time, there are hair loss treatments that can delay loss and even stimulate new growth. The first step to treatment may involve seeing a medical professional.
But which is the best medical professional for hair loss?
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When Does Postpartum Hair Loss Stop
Postpartum hair loss can begin immediately after delivery. The hair that might have been shed while pregnant, may start to fall out. This shedding can last up to one year, but is generally at its peak in the fourth month after delivery. Continued use of prenatal vitamins can help mitigate some of this hair loss, as well as a heathy diet, rest, and exercise.
What Types Of Hair Loss Are Permanent: Scarring Or Cicatricial Alopecia
Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia, is the result of the active destruction of the hair follicle, which can cause permanent hair loss and scarring. This type of scarring alopecia, in which the inflammation permanently destroys the hair follicle, is much more rare than non-scarring alopecia. It is important to determine whether the hair loss is non scarring , which is reversible, or scarring, which may be irreversible. There are several diseases which can cause scarring alopecia. The patches may start small and increase in size over time. Burning, pruritus, and erythema, and pain, can often accompany the hair loss.
Scarring alopecia may be triggered by a variety of skin diseases, such as lichen planus, frontal fibrosing alopecia, folliculitis decalvans, or discoid lupus.
Since scarring alopecia can be progressive, it is vital to diagnose and initiate therapy early to attempt to minimize hair loss and formulate a comprehensive treatment plan. Hair may grow back around the scarred area, in nearby hair follicles, which can help your cosmetic appearance.
PRP treatment, 2 months before and after
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Procedures To Help Regrow Hair
While at-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 areas. These injections are usually given every 4 to 8 weeks as needed, so you will need to return to your dermatologists 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 pattern baldness, your dermatologist may mention a hair transplant as an option. This can be an effective and permanent solution.
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:
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Hereditary hair loss
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Hair loss due to chemotherapy
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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.
Female Hair Loss Dermatology In Calabasas Ca
The doctors at Calabasas Dermatology Center understand how difficult dealing with hair loss can be for women and are prepared to help you find the underlying cause of your condition, as well as provide you with the best treatment option for your case to help you restore your hairs strength and beauty.
Call us today to schedule a consultation with one of our several skilled physician
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What Dermatologists Know
Dermatologists arent only concerned with acne and psoriasis, they specialize in treating the skin, nails, and hair.
Theyve typically spent more than a decade in school, learning all sorts of sciencey stuff, including how to diagnose and treat various skin and hair disorders.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, your dermatologist spent four years earning their bachelors degree, four years in medical school, one year as an intern and three years, minimum, as a dermatology resident. So, yeah, theyve learned a few things along the way.
Once this period of education and training is over, a dermatologist can become board certified by completing a rigorous exam to confirm their knowledge. Board-certified dermatologists in the United States are typically certified by the American Board of Dermatology or the American Osteopathic Board of Dermatology.
When it comes to your hair, specifically, a dermatologist can help determine whats causing your hair loss. They can identify what sort of hair loss is occurring, in order to recommend the best course of treatment or refer you to another specialist.
How Does A Board
In some cases of hair loss, such as those caused by alopecia areata, hair will regrow on its own over time. While there is no cure for hereditary hair loss, treatment may help some patients regrow their hair. Because scarring hair loss has the potential to become permanent if the hair follicle is destroyed during the active phase of disease, it is important to seek treatment early.
A board-certified dermatologist can identify the cause of your hair loss and recommend the treatment that is best for
you. Your doctor may do a blood test to help determine the cause. Treatment plans may include:
- Minoxidil: This topical treatment is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat hair loss in both men and women. It is available both over-the-counter and by
- Antibiotics: These may be given to treat hair loss and are often used for their anti-inflammatory
- Finasteride: This oral medication is FDA-approved to treat hair loss in men. It is only available by
- Corticosteroids: These medications, which may be applied topically, injected or taken orally, can speed up hair
regrowth in some patients whose hair loss is associated with inflammation.
- Vitamin supplementation: Some vitamin and mineral deficiencies may contribute to hair loss. Your
dermatologist may order blood tests to check your vitamin and mineral levels if this is suspected.
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Doctors That Treat Hair Loss
The main doctor that specializes in treating hair concerns is a Dermatologist. Dermatologists are trained in hair, skin, and nail conditions, so if you choose to see a dermatologist you can be pretty confident that they are well versed on all things hair.
Another type of doctor with a specialty in hair loss specifically is a Trichologist. Trichologists are doctors that have a focus nearly exclusively on hair loss. In the UK, Trichologists receive training in this formal field of study for two years, but in the US there are no formal requirements for Trichologists.
A doctor can also be both a Trichologist and a Dermatologist, but not all Trichologists are Dermatologists.
Aside from these two types of doctors, it is also common for general practice or other specialties to know about the most common hair loss treatments and be able to help you out with your hair loss as they received general hair loss treatment training in medical school.
You can start by asking your current general doctor about hair loss treatment options, or you can have a free online appointment with our U.S. licensed doctors online to get help for your hair loss.
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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How Many Hair Falling Out Can Lead To Baldness
Hair loss of 100 hairs per day is normal. But, it is very difficult to gauge when this limit of 100 hairs is crossed. Here are 7 warning signs when you should consult your dermatologist:
- Bunch of hair while combing or shampooing your hair.
- Hair on your pillow, beddings or floor.
- Thinner and smaller hair strands.
- Visible bald scalp.
- Receding of the frontal hairline in males. You might notice broadening of the forehead. Your barber might prompt loss of hair on your vertex while doing hair cut.
- In females, widening of central parting and reduction in the volume of the ponytail.
- Positive hair pull test: Pull a bunch of approximately 100 hair using moderate pressure. If you get more than 6 hair, then it is an indicator that you are having active hair fall. Dr Surbhi, MD has shown hair pull test in the end of this video:
What Really Works For Thinning Hair
Minoxidil. Minoxidil is the only FDA-approved ingredient found to improve hair loss, and its available as an over-the-counter treatment or prescription. Minoxidil can enhance the size of the follicle so that it produces a bigger strand of hair, explains Wilma Bergfeld, MD, a Cleveland Clinic dermatologist.
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Alopecia Treatment At Rush
We offer both nonsurgical and surgical treatments for alopecia. If your hair loss is caused by an underlying condition or reaction to a medication, your hair will often grow back on its own once the condition is treated or medication changed.
Your dermatologist can offer medications and procedures to treat alopecia. Your treatment will depend on what is causing your hair loss.