Hair Loss - Why it Occurs
The normal rate of hair fall is 45 to 60 per day and these are
renewed permanently. The hair loss normal predominates in the late
summer and spring but a hair loss of more than 60 hairs per day is
considered excessive.
The causes of falling hair are very numerous among them the most common
are common alopecia (androgenic alopecia male and female) and telogen
effluvium, which comes on after a high fever, pregnancy, or use of
certain strong drugs.
The anagen effluvium leads to a sudden hair loss after chemotherapy.
Falling hair of a genetic nature can occur at birth or during childhood.
Falling hair that is localized occurs within the male androgenic
alopecia patients, infections by fungi are induced by tractions (hair
straightening) or scarring alopecia (lupus erythematosus, lichen.
The responsibility of stress has often been accepted in the occurrence
of falling hair but has not been confirmed by scientific studies.
However, we are all victims of stress induced by the events of daily
life so we must assume the role of stress when hair loss occurs in the
weeks following an emotion with an intensity that is abnormally high.
For effective treatment of falling hair, it is necessary to determine
the cause. The effluvium telogenes may indicate support for a deficiency
(iron, vitamin B12) or a thyroid problem but they often recover without
treatment after 3 to 4 months (after pregnancy, fever, surgery). The
effluviums telogenes induced by a drug (isotretinoin, anticholesterol,
anticoagulant) require whenever possible replacement therapy.
The effluviums anagenes caused by chemotherapy can, to some extent, be
mitigated by measures of prevention. The skin diseases and ailments that
are a general cause hair loss should receive special treatment adapted
to each case.
The male androgenic alopecia benefits of treatment with finasteride (Propécia
) and minoxidil 5%. Hair transplants are the only way to retrieve
natural hair; current techniques for follicular transplants give
excellent results when they are carried out by teams of experts.
Androgenic alopecia in women is common, and is treated with minoxidil 2%
and antiandrogens (cyproterone acetate)
Alopecia androgen (AAG) Male androgenic alopecia (AGH) and female (AGF)
appears with age and leads to a classic bald patch at the top of the
skull in men, whereas in women, there was an overall decrease of hair.
However, the symptoms in both men and women may be the opposite way
around.
Scar Alopecia is hair loss that is the final result of a malformation at
birth, a trauma (wounds, burns or surgery), a disease of the scalp
(lupus erythemateus, lichen) or a tumor of the scalp (basal cell
carcinoma, epidermoid carcinoma), whose evolution for the formation of
an abnormal tissue close to that of a scar.
The anagen phase or phase of growth of hair affects 80 to 90% of hair
and lasts 2 to 6 years (3 years in men, 5 years in women. This phase
determines the length of hair pushed up by about 0.4 mm per day (1 cm
per month).
Catagen phase is a resting phase of hair that lasts three weeks and
concerns about 0 to 2% of hair. During the hair cycle, this phase is
intermediate between the anagen phase and the telogen phase of growth. |
