What does Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Gwyneth Paltrow, American Idol Colton Dixon have in common apart from them working in the entertainment industry? The answer is their hair. It’s their signature. People cannot help but find them more appealing than say, if they were all bald. Don’t you?
You get attached to your hair because it is part of who you are. This is why you see some of those America’s Next Top Model contestants crying whenever they get a makeover because makeover involves a lot of hair-chopping incidents, and to them, it’s like chopping a part of what defines them. So when you see a few strands of hair falling on your back or stuck on your brush everyday, there is no need to jump to wrong conclusions because it’s normal to lose about 100 strands of hair per day. The factors that cause such normal hair loss could range from using hair rollers, wearing of tight ponytails, washing your hair with harsh shampoos, treating your hair with chemicals, stress, hair’s lifespan and aging.
But what signals an alarm is when there is a big chunk of hair falling off or big spot of baldness is evident, which could be caused by one of the ff factors:
Androgenetic Alopecia or commonly called male pattern baldness commonly happens to men where the top of the head is usually the first to thin down and the sides of the hair are usually left out. But while men are mostly the ones who inherit such genetic hair loss problem (think Prince Charles and Prince William), women are not spared from it. However, instead of their hair line receding and their hair crown thinning, it affects their whole scalp though it does not always lead to complete baldness overtime. Genetic baldness happens when there isn’t enough hair growing back to replace the fallen hair and the time and the extent of the balding is based on age, gender, hormones, and lifestyle factors. Treatments involve an FDA approved medication called Minoxidil where it can stop or slow hair loss while simultaneously promoting hair re-growth. Another treatment possible is
Cicatricial or Scarring alopecia is a type of rare hair loss disorder that is caused by some auto-immune disease like lupus. This inflames the hair follicles causing irreparable hair loss, which is sometimes associated with extreme itching and burning on the scalp. Cicatricial alopecia is not hereditary or contagious and treatment will vary depending on the trigger factor. If it has been found through scalp biopsy that the scarring and inflammation were caused by lymphocytes that aim to target the hair follicles, a topical cream called corticosteroid, is usually administered via injection on the scalp, plus anti-inflammatory oral medications. If it’s caused by the second type of inflammation due to radiations, traction, or infections, anti-inflammatory and topical oral medications are normally prescribed.
Alopecia Areata is also known as spot baldness, to which the hair loss happens suddenly and often seems to take the shape of a circle. Children and teenagers are usually more susceptible to this and the experience can be traumatizing, but hair usually grows back if the area affected is only small and has only been a short while. In case the hair loss disorder has become severe where the hair loss may have extended to the eyebrows and other areas of the body for long period of time, hair re-growth is likely not possible. This can be caused by several factors: lymphocytes or white blood cells attack, autoimmune diseases like thyroid or lupus, prolonged stress, genes, medications or chemicals that affect the hair follicles but the exact nature of the cause has not been established up to now. Treatments for this kind of hair loss may be difficult as no one type of medication has been shown to give consistent success, but steroid injection is often the one used to treat small spot baldness. Oral medications like corticosteroids is said to decrease the appearance of hair loss but could have side effects to the health.
Traction Alopecia occurs when there is too much and too frequent hair styling being done on the hair. This is particularly common to young girls who join pageant shows where their hair is constrained in a tight bun or ponytails. Models and celebrities who constantly sport weaves cause tension and damage the scalp.
Telogen Effluvium is a hair loss problem that happens when there is a sudden change (illness, pregnancy, emotional or physical stress, medications, sudden and dramatic weight loss, trauma, accident) in one’s body that puts the hair’s growth rate to a halt. Normally, a person’s cycle undergoes 3 stages: Anagen the active stage where in every 28 days, about 1-10 centimeters of hair is growing and stays in this stage for years; Catagenis the transitioning stage that lasts for 1-2 weeks where the hair follicles are getting ready to rest in Telogen stage where hair stops growing for 5-6 weeks while losing 50-100 strands of hair daily, then goes back to the initial stage again. So if one has Telogen Alopecia primarily due to distress, it disrupts the hair cycle and stops the hair from growing and rests in the Telogen phase more than its usual span of 5-6 weeks, while hair falling continues daily. But after a while, the hair goes back to its cycle again so there is no treatment necessary.
So if you notice a sudden change on your hair like if you are shedding more hair than before or there is a sudden appearance of big patch on your scalp, you are advised to have it checked immediately because you might end up losing more than just your mane.
