Hair Loss: Causes,Treatment & Prevention

Overview

Anyone who notices that their hair has started to fall out is afraid, or who notices a large amount of hair on the comb or hairbrush is better to immediately go to a dermatologist.

Normal hair growth

About 90% of the hair grows all the time, and the period required for hair growth may range from two to six years, while the remaining 10% of the hair is in the resting phase for a period that may extend from two to three months, and then this hair falls out with the end of the rest period.

When the hair falls out, new hair grows from the hair follicles to start a new growth cycle from the beginning, where the head hair grows between 10 - 15 millimeters every month, however, as the person gets older, the pace of hair growth begins to slow down.

Most often, the phenomenon of hair loss is the result of the natural growth cycle of hair, falling at a rate of 50-100 hairs per day is quite normal.

Causes and Risk Factors of hair loss

Hair loss at a high frequency may be caused by a large number of reasons, in some cases of hair loss new hair grows in place of the hair that fell out and in other cases it is possible to successfully treat the phenomenon of hair loss by going to a dermatologist.

As for the other cases for which no treatment is available until today, numerous and continuous research is being conducted on them and it seems at first glance that it is possible to be optimistic about the future and what it holds, in any case it is worth talking with the attending physician about the possibilities of the best and most effective hair loss treatment for the condition.

The most important causes of hair loss are summarized as follows:

1. The use of harmful chemical preparations

There are a lot of women and men who use chemically synthesized preparations for hair care, among these are:

• Hair dyes.
• Color lightening materials.
• Hair straightening materials.
• Various materials are used for curling.

If these preparations are used according to the instructions, the probability of damaging them to the hair is very small, but if these preparations are used at close times, it is possible that the hair will weaken and tend to split.

 

If the use of these preparations leads to hair weakness and brittleness, it is advisable to stop using them until the hair regenerates and recovers and the damaged hairs disappear.

2. Hair loss and hereditary baldness

This phenomenon is known by its scientific name (androgenetic alopecia / Calvities), which is the most common cause of hair loss, as it is transmitted genetically from the mother or father.

Women who suffer from this phenomenon usually have very light and little hair, but they do not become completely bald, it is possible that this phenomenon begins to appear in the second, third and even the fourth decade of life.

3. Alopecia Areata

 

It is not known what causes the phenomenon of partial hair loss, known as Alopecia Areata, but it is widely believed that it is associated with problems affecting the immune system, this phenomenon can occur in children or adults at any stage of life.

People who suffer from it usually have a generally healthy condition, but the injury is characterized by the appearance of small, rounded bald areas, one of which is the diameter of a coin or slightly larger.

Although alopecia areata is a very rare phenomenon, it can lead to the loss of all the hair of the head and the entire body and in most cases the hair regrows again, but treatment with a dermatologist will accelerate the process of renewed hair growth.

4. Traumatic hair loss (Telogen Effluvium)

Illness, stress, psychological stress and other factors may lead a large amount of hair to enter the so-called terminal phase, which is the resting phase in the effectiveness of the hair follicle cells as part of the natural cycle of hair growth, leading to hair loss at an elevated and accelerated pace without resulting in mostly completely bald spots.

In most cases, this type of hair loss stops spontaneously after a few months, among the factors that cause chronic hair loss are:

• Elevated temperature.
• Acute, severe inflammation and severe flu.
• Complicated surgery or chronic illness.
• Diseases of the thyroid gland.
• Low-protein feed.
• Lack of iron in the blood.
• Take certain medications.
• Take contraceptive pills.
• Treatments for cancer.

5. Tinea Capitis

Tinea capitis is caused by fungal contamination caused by a dermatophyte fungus, and is characterized by the appearance of dandruff-covered spots on the scalp, these spots get bigger, widen, spread and cause split ends of hair, redness of the skin, puffiness, and sometimes even discharge of fluid from the scalp.

This disease is very contagious and is very common in children and this disease can be treated with medication.

6. Trichotillomania

This disease is characterized by the patient twisting, bending, pulling and pulling out hair, whether it is head hair, eyebrow hair, or eyelash hair.

In some cases, this phenomenon is not only a bad habit, but disappears after getting a professional consultation and an explanation of the damage and side effects that can be caused by hair pulling, but the phenomenon of hair pulling may be in other cases an emotional reaction to stress or psychological pressure, and sometimes it may be a serious and severe psychological disorder.

7. Cicatricial Alopecia

Cicatricial alopecia is one of the very rare phenomena that causes the appearance of bald spots accompanied by itching and pain, and the formation of inflammation around the hair follicles that damages them and leads to the appearance of scars and hair loss instead of growth.

The factor that causes the occurrence of cicatricial alopecia is not known, however, the treatment is carried out by stopping the spread of inflammation and preventing its transmission to other parts and places of the scalp.

Complications of Hair loss

In all types of surgical procedures, there are always certain risks that may be part of this process, but complications after treatments for hair restoration and restoration are very rare, when performing hair restoration surgery, the person undergoing treatment should expect the following:

1. Limited daily activities after the operation

The possibility of his return to practicing his daily routine activities while refraining from doing great physical exertion or sports activities until the doctor allows him to do so.

2. Other Complications

The appearance of mild side effects can include the following:

• Swelling and bruising around the eyes for two to three days, and these side effects can be reduced by using ice packs and sleeping in a half-sitting position.
• The patient loses sensation in the area from which the transplanted hair was taken or in the area where it was transplanted, but this loss of sensation usually goes away within a period of no more than three months.

Diagnosis of Hair loss

The correct diagnosis will help the majority of people suffering from hair loss, as a dermatologist can examine the patient and diagnose the cause of hair loss and baldness and then know whether this phenomenon will disappear on its own or there is a need to give the patient drug treatment.

Hair loss Treatment

The type of operation that should be performed to restore hair is determined according to the extent of baldness and its shape, and the dermatologist can recommend one of the types of surgeries detailed below in order to obtain the best possible result, hair loss treatments vary, the most important of which are the following:

1. Hair restoration surgery

Dermatologists and surgeons perform several types of surgical operations aimed at restoring and restoring hair, restoring the places where they fell out, as well as giving the hair a natural look as much as possible.

The most likely candidates to undergo such surgeries and the most in need of them are those whose baldness is clearly visible, those who have very light hair, and those whose hair falls out as a result of scalp injury or burns.

2. Hair transplantation

Hair transplantation is based on the prevailing principle of donation, i.e. taking hair from a healthy place and transplanting it during the surgical procedure in order to grow back in the place affected by baldness, hair transplantation requires the following things:

• Removing streaks from the skin of the scalp

A sample is taken from the back and sides of the scalp, where these places are called donation areas, because they contain hair that will continue to grow for life.

• Repair and restoration of the donation area

It is an operation that usually results in the appearance of a small scar covered with surrounding hair.

• Cut the bumps from the skin of the scalp

The tubercles contain hair, they are cut from the donor area and divided into groups of implants in order to implant them in the bald patches prepared for this.

The area that can be covered by hair transplantation varies depending on the size of the bald spot and the method of transplantation followed.about a month after the operation, the bulk of the transplanted hair falls out. two months after that, new hair begins to grow and then continues to grow at a natural pace. after six months, the transplanted hair acquires a shape and appearance similar to the shape and appearance of natural hair. 

3. Shrink the skin of the scalp

This treatment is a surgical operation during which the space of bald spots is narrowed, and in some cases they are completely hidden by removing a few centimeters of hairless skin, after which the two ends of the pieces are pulled towards each other and connected to the suture.

The scalp reduction procedure can be performed alone or combined with another hair transplant procedure.

4. Expansion of scalp lashes

Two devices are implanted under the skin of the scalp for three or four weeks, the function of these devices is to tighten the skin that holds the hair in order to improve the results of the surgical procedure to shrink the skin of the scalp.

The tightening device works with a technique similar to the action of an elastic band, while the expander works like a balloon, and they make it possible to reduce the area of hairless skin, i.e. bald, on the scalp.

5. Complex Treatment

It is possible that the treatment will be a complex of several medical procedures at different and sporadic appointments, which means that the completion of treatment may require a long period of time that can last from a few months to a few years.

Prevention of Hair loss

Methods of prevention include the following:

• Choose the right hair products.
• Avoid bathing with hot water.
• Try a scalp massage.