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Though hair loss isn’t a medical emergency, it can be distressing, impacting self-esteem and mental health. However, certain medications and other therapies may help manage the problem, and some types resolve independently. This article discusses the symptoms and possible causes of alopecia and provides a quick breakdown of how it can be treated. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that causes hair to fall out suddenly. The immune system attacks hair follicles, along with other healthy parts of the body. This is true for damaged hair follicles from too-tight hairstyles, damaged hair follicles from chemicals applied to the hair, and damages caused by certain autoimmune diseases.
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If a medication or disease is at the root, treatments focus on those. For anagen effluvium, caused by cancer treatment, there’s some evidence that cooling the scalp during chemotherapy may help preserve hair. Affecting men and women, alopecia areata occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles. This autoimmune disorder typically causes round, bald patches.
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Men with fathers who had male-pattern hair loss are over five times more likely to develop it than men with fathers without the condition. People with frontal fibrosing alopecia have symmetric bands of patches near the front of the hairline, but it may spread to other regions. Scientists suspect that immune cells attack the hair follicles. The most common form of alopecia is a genetic condition called androgenetic alopecia.
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Treatment for this condition depends on the cause but may include a topical solution of minoxidil (Rogaine). If you want to diminish a noticeable scar, know these 10 things before having laser treatment. If you’re currently losing hair, use a gentle baby shampoo to wash your hair.
A dermatologist may also prescribe this medication to treat a woman who has hereditary hair loss and cannot get pregnant. After 12 weeks of treatment, the patients treated with minoxidil and microneedling had significantly more hair growth. While your hair may regrow on its own, your dermatologist may recommend treatment to help it grow more quickly. Sometimes, treatment is essential to prevent further hair loss. If your dermatologist suspects that the cause of your hair loss could be a disease, vitamin deficiency, hormone imbalance, or infection, you may need a blood test or scalp biopsy.
A hair follicle is a tube-like skin pore that encloses the shaft and root of the hair. Most healthy adults have around 80,000–120,000 hairs on their scalps. Topical minoxidil is a popular treatment for hair loss and baldness, but some dermatologists are now prescribing this medication orally. A high fever or a severe infection can all contribute to temporary hair loss. These physical traumas may include fungal skin infections, as well as bacterial infections like syphilis, which can all be responsible for balding or thinning hair. When the hair loss is caused by illness, treating the underlying cause allows hair to grow back.
CICATRICIAL ALOPECIAS
In men, hair loss is often caused by reactions to the predominant male reproductive hormone, testosterone. Many factors affect these levels, with other diseases or conditions leading to different types of hair loss. Early treatment of a receding hairline (frontal fibrosing alopecia) might help avoid significant permanent baldness.
If your hair loss results from medication, hormonal imbalances, thyroid disease or diet, your provider will address the cause. Correcting the underlying problem is often all that’s needed to help stop hair loss. Losing your hair — whether the hair loss is temporary or permanent — can be emotionally difficult for many people.
Sometimes hair loss is a sign of a condition called hyperandrogenism, which happens when your body makes too many androgens (male hormones). In women and others with female reproductive organs, its most common cause is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Along with hair loss, other signs of PCOS include weight gain, acne, and irregular periods. Things that interfere with the growth cycle -- like medications, illnesses, infections, or chemicals -- have the potential to stop hair from being formed the right way. Beyond that, age, hormones, stress, and even the way you style your hair can lead to hair loss. This man took finasteride to treat his male pattern hair loss, and within 1 year (B), he had noticeable improvement.
Normalizing mineral ion homeostasis prevents all these abnormalities, except alopecia. Hair regeneration experiments in athymic nude mice demonstrate that the lack of VDR in keratinocytes results in a defect in anagen initiation, similar to the one observed in mice without VDR. Although these studies show that expression of the VDR in keratinocytes is necessary, they do not prove that it is sufficient to maintain the normal hair cycle [66]. For androgenetic alopecia, your healthcare provider may indicate topical medications to help prevent further hair loss.
Men also experience anagen and telogen effluvium in response to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or certain medications. In these cases, the hair loss is often reversible when medication or treatment is stopped. As in women, hair loss in men can be a natural result of changes in the body due to aging.
People with this type of hair loss may inherit certain genes that lead to excess androgen hormone production (e.g., testosterone). These forms of alopecia are generally non-scarring alopecia, meaning they don't cause permanent damage (scarring) to the hair follicles. The hair may regrow once the cause of the hair loss is addressed. These hair changes can make it hard to maintain how you want to look, especially if you're transgender or nonbinary (which means you don't identify as fully male or female). You may want to shift where hair grows (or doesn't) to reflect your affirmed gender.
Male pattern baldness typically involves progressive hair loss above the temples and thinning at the crown of the head, creating an “M” shape. Androgenetic alopecia can occur at any age after puberty, but it’s most common in postmenopausal women. Advancing age and a family history of the condition are two of the primary risk factors. Below, we’ll explore common causes of hair loss in women and the treatment options available.
You can lose hair during menopause as your estrogen and progesterone levels drop. Also, because hair follicles shrink during this time, your hair might be thinner, fall out easier, and grow more slowly. While male hair loss tends to affect the forehead or the crown of the head, female hair loss often leads to thinning on the top third to half of the scalp. Your part may gradually become wider, you might see more of your scalp when your hair is pulled back, or your ponytail could be less full. With an accurate diagnosis, many people who have hair loss can see hair regrowth.
