Most men as they age, 80-90% men start losing hair in some form or the other. In most men, the most common causes of hair loss are genetics and the male hormone testosterone. Other factors including quality of water, nutritional deficiency, smoking, dandruff, drugs, stress, any ongoing diseases(anemia/thyroid disorders) and autoimmune phenomenon also have a significant effect on hair growth. It is a complex interplay of many factors which maintain the hair cycle and its growth. Not everyone develops hair fall with the above mentioned factors and it should be examined properly by a trained doctor preferably a trichologist.
Reason for hair loss
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) causes hair follicles to shrink in size(miniaturization), both in thickness and length. Slowly over a period of few months to years these turn into fine hair and eventually disappear giving a bald appearance.
Hair loss in Women
The most prominent causes of chronic (long-term) hair loss in females are iron deficiency anaemia, associated hormonal irregularity and hypothyroidism. Acute causes include stress, pregnancy,lactation, medicines, associated systemic illness.Hair loss in women starts from the central partition and extends peripherally on both the sides.
Reason for hair loss
Scarring Alopecia
This category of hair loss is considered to be an aggressive form of hair loss. In most cases due to persisting disease activity, the follicles tend to get damaged permanently thereby making it tough to treat later on.
Common recognisable signs for patients:
- 1) Redness
- 2) Too much itching
- 3) Scaling in the area of hair loss
- 4) Patches of smooth shiny skin on the scalp
- 5) Bumpiness and altered texture on the scalp
- 6) Significant Bald areas
- 7) Pus discharge
- These might be alarming signs for the patients and should be identified early. Visit a doctor/trichologist for an early opinion and management as this might lead to permanent hair loss.
Medical Treatment
Medical treatment has been found to reverse the thinning process when taken for adequate periods
Benefit
- 1) It halts the progression of hair loss
- 2) It causes hair thickening
- 3) It improves the density
Derma-roller/ Microneedling
Microneedling is a process which uses rolling cylinders with needles , also called as a der-maroller. These needles cause microtrauma on the scalp and release lots of platelet derived and epidermal growth factors which are essential for hair growth.Normally 1.5mm/2mm deep punctures are used for giving an adequate response. It creates thousands of mico-trauma points. The growth factors released in these areas act on hair follicles close to it and cause its thickening.
Scalp Micropigmentation
It is a tattooing process where the tattoo pigment (depending upon patient’s hair color) is placed in a stippled fashion so that it gives appearance of trimmed hair. A technically cor-rectly done procedure is indistinguishable from a trimmed hair.Also this color is safe and does not cause any allergic reactions in most patients.
Candidates for SMP:
- 1) Extensive hair loss with poor donor
- 2) Autoimmune diseases like alopecia areata
- 3) Thinning of hair not responding to medicines/non surgical therapies
- 4) Eye brow thinning
- 5) Scars produced by FUT method
- 6) Scars produced by conventional FUE
- 7) Female pattern baldness