Hair loss — prevention and treatment
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - HAIR is often a defining point in personal style for everyone. That is one reason why most people panic at even the thought of losing a few strands down the drain with shampoo. This fear is not unfounded as each year more people (both men and women) are forced to come to grips with the possibility of serious hair loss.
Like every cell in the human body, the hair follicle also observes a pattern of growth cycle. It is normal to shed 50 to 80 hair everyday, but at some point in life one may lose hair at a faster rate. This includes time following an episode of sudden acute illness or a surgery. Some may experience excessive hair loss after a span of severe mental or psychological stress. Women may suffer from excessive hair loss after child birth.
Luckily most of the skin diseases causing hair loss are treatable and sometimes patient is just going through a phase of excessive hair fall that does not need any specific treatment.
The real question is when to seek medical help for any hair loss condition? There are few guidelines to help you decide when to see your dermatologist: 1. Single patch or multiple patches or hair loss. 2. Sudden episode of hair loss though the scalp / overlying skin is normal. 3. Itching, burning and redness on scalp with hair loss. 4. Pus discharge/infection of scalp. 5. Heavy hair loss observed during combing or on pillows. 6. Decrease in the size of the ponytail over a period of time. 7. Widening of parting in hair.
Here are few secrets that may help in the prevention and treatment of hair loss. 1. Food rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, proteins and minerals like Zinc and Biotin are helpful in having healthy hair. 2. Use luke warm water to wash hair. This will reduce sebum removal and protect scalp. 3. Avoid hair styles that cause extra traction /pull on hair roots (like tight pony tails and tie ups). 4. For mature hair, always use weaker strength of chemicals for dyeing, curling, straightening etc, to minimize the damage. 5. Sun protection is important for healthy hair. Use hair sprays with Sun Protection Factor. 6. Always rinse hair before swimming to minimize the absorption of chlorine in the water -saturated hair strands. 7. Always consult your dermatologist before treating any scalp condition or hair loss condition and get thoroughly screened for a dermatological disease.
Meanwhile according to preliminary findings from two studies it is revealed that in men, baldness is due mostly to an unlucky roll of the genetic dice. But in women, hair loss appears to be linked much more strongly to lifestyle factors like stress — from divorce or the death of a spouse.
For the studies, Dr. Bahman Guyuron, a plastic surgeon at Case Western Reserve University, and his colleagues looked at 66 male and 84 female identical twin pairs. Since twins are genetically identical — and programmed to have identical hairlines — the researchers knew that any differences could be attributed to environmental factors.
Like every cell in the human body, the hair follicle also observes a pattern of growth cycle. It is normal to shed 50 to 80 hair everyday, but at some point in life one may lose hair at a faster rate. This includes time following an episode of sudden acute illness or a surgery. Some may experience excessive hair loss after a span of severe mental or psychological stress. Women may suffer from excessive hair loss after child birth.
Luckily most of the skin diseases causing hair loss are treatable and sometimes patient is just going through a phase of excessive hair fall that does not need any specific treatment.
The real question is when to seek medical help for any hair loss condition? There are few guidelines to help you decide when to see your dermatologist: 1. Single patch or multiple patches or hair loss. 2. Sudden episode of hair loss though the scalp / overlying skin is normal. 3. Itching, burning and redness on scalp with hair loss. 4. Pus discharge/infection of scalp. 5. Heavy hair loss observed during combing or on pillows. 6. Decrease in the size of the ponytail over a period of time. 7. Widening of parting in hair.
Here are few secrets that may help in the prevention and treatment of hair loss. 1. Food rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, proteins and minerals like Zinc and Biotin are helpful in having healthy hair. 2. Use luke warm water to wash hair. This will reduce sebum removal and protect scalp. 3. Avoid hair styles that cause extra traction /pull on hair roots (like tight pony tails and tie ups). 4. For mature hair, always use weaker strength of chemicals for dyeing, curling, straightening etc, to minimize the damage. 5. Sun protection is important for healthy hair. Use hair sprays with Sun Protection Factor. 6. Always rinse hair before swimming to minimize the absorption of chlorine in the water -saturated hair strands. 7. Always consult your dermatologist before treating any scalp condition or hair loss condition and get thoroughly screened for a dermatological disease.
Meanwhile according to preliminary findings from two studies it is revealed that in men, baldness is due mostly to an unlucky roll of the genetic dice. But in women, hair loss appears to be linked much more strongly to lifestyle factors like stress — from divorce or the death of a spouse.
For the studies, Dr. Bahman Guyuron, a plastic surgeon at Case Western Reserve University, and his colleagues looked at 66 male and 84 female identical twin pairs. Since twins are genetically identical — and programmed to have identical hairlines — the researchers knew that any differences could be attributed to environmental factors.
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