Losing hair is very common nowadays in both men and women. In the past men used to experience the hair loss by the age of 50-60, but nowadays, men are getting baldness as early as in their 20s. This condition is termed as Premature Baldness. Patient with this problem can get bald in just 2 to 4 years. The hair loss can be slow, gradual and unnoticeable, but mostly it is sudden and severe.
Bald head may not trouble some men, but most men are concerned about their hair, they might lose self-confidence because of it and sometimes they stop social interaction altogether.
Hair loss in women is quite different from the men. It usually does not begin with a sudden recession in hairline. Rather, it begins with widening part and uniform thinning of hair throughout the scalp.Most women notice the hair loss in their 40s or 50s, but it can happen at any age. Women have starting to have hair loss in their 30s mainly due to hormonal which include PCOS and poor dietary habits.
Causes of Hair Loss
Male Pattern and female pattern Baldness: hair loss occurs in frontal region in an ‘M-shaped’ or ‘U-shaped’ pattern in males. In some cases, the hair loss begins from the vertex side. In women there is diffuse thinning of hair throughout the scalp especially around parting line. Tthis is either hereditary, hormonal or both. It is also called Androgenetic Alopecia. PCOS has emerged as major culprit in females for causing female pattern baldness.
Alopecia Areata: Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system damages the healthy hair follicles, which results in hair loss. It leads to formation of patches.
Telogen effluvium: sudden hair fall occurs after 1 to 2months of severe illness like dengue, typhoid, surgery trauma, severe physical and mental stress. Chronic hair fall can occur like in thyroid problems.
Infection: Various scalp infections like ringworm also cause hair loss. This is commonly observed in children.
Trichotillomania: In this condition, a person feels the urge to pull out hair from his scalp, eyebrow and other body areas.
Poor diet, excessive weight loss, medications, and unhealthy lifestyle are also the reasons behind hair loss.Post partum and post menopause hair loss can occur in women.
Hair Loss Treatments
If the hair loss is temporary or due to any disease, it can be cured by treating the disease. But, for other cases, it is required to get a hair restoration treatment.
Medication: Two FDA-approved hair fall medications are Minoxidil and Finasteride. Minoxidil is lotion and finasteride is tablet. Other therapies include biotin supplements, procapil serums.
PRP Therapy: During a Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy, the plasma content is taken from your blood, centrifuged and injected into the bald scalp to boost hair regrowth.
Hair Transplant: In this procedure, the hairs are taken from a body region and transplanted to the bald area.