Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself.

Hubert de Givenchy

Hair loss: treatment and medication

The healthy condition of the hair depends, to a very large extent, on the intake of sufficient amounts of essential nutrients in the daily diet. Hair is made of keratin, a protein, which also makes up the nails and the outer layer of our skin.

One of the primary cause of hair loss is a high amount of the male hormone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) within the hair follicle. DHT is produced from testosterone in the prostate, various adrenal glands, and the scalp. After a period of time, an over abundance of DHT causes the hair follicle to degrade and shortens the active phase of the hair.

Women require 60 grams, men 80 to 90 grams, adolescent boys and girls 80 to 100 grams of protein. It is supplied by milk, buttermilk, yogurt, soyabean, eggs, cheese, meat and fish. A deficiency of some of the B vitamins, of iron, copper and iodine may cause hair disorders like falling of hair and premature greying of hair.

There are many surgical procedures which will help to restore the hair from falling. Surgical restoration is the only permanent solution to baldness. It involves a series of operations that extract plugs of scalp from the sides and back of your head, where hair grows densely, and implant them on top and in front, where you are going bald.

Scalp reduction is performed on patients with well-defined bald spots in the crown area of the scalp. It is sometimes done in conjunction with hair transplantaion to reduce the size of the bald scalp, especially in patients who do not have enough donor hair to cover the bald areas.

For women, hair loss is different. There is no set pattern for womens androgenic hair loss, which like MPB, occurs in the overwhelming majority of cases. Women can suffer from alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis just like men. Women can experience patch baldness for the same reasons as men (stress, poor nutrition, etc.), as well as due to hormonal changes from pregnancy and certain eating disorders. However, like men, the hair will generally grow back.

The chief difference in womens androgenic hair loss from mens (both are hormone related) is that women tend to experience thinning that occurs in no particular pattern or part of the scalp. Unlike men, the scalp may not actually be totally denuded of hair, just thin to the point where the scalp is visible. Like men, however, the resulting hair loss is generally irreversible.

New hair resulting from minoxidil use may be thinner and shorter than previous hair. But there can be enough regrowth for some people to hide their bald spots and have it blend with existing hair. New hair stops growing soon after you discontinue the use of minoxidil. If you experience minimal results within six months, your doctor may recommend discontinuing use. Side effects can include irritation of the scalp.

Finasteride (Propecia). This prescription medication to treat male-pattern baldness is taken daily in pill form. Many people taking finasteride experience a slowing of hair loss, and some may show some new hair growth. Positive results may take several months. Finasteride works by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone that shrinks hair follicles and is an important factor in male hair loss. Rare side effects of finasteride include diminished sex drive and sexual function. As with minoxidil, the benefits of finasteride stop if you stop using it.

Anthralin (Drithocreme). Available as either a cream or an ointment, anthralin is a synthetic, tarry substance that you apply to your scalp and wash off daily. It's typically used to treat psoriasis, but doctors can prescribe it to treat other skin conditions. Anthralin may stimulate new hair growth for cases of alopecia areata.

Hair growth

The outer layer is called the cuticle and is thin and colorless, its job is to protect the thicker cortex which contains the melanin. Melanin is responsible for the color of your hair and the actual color depends on what kind of melanin you have .

The physical thickness and length of hair depends on what type of hair it is. Vellus hair is the fine fuzz type of hair that's often called peach fuzz. Its very fine and colorless and often almost invisible to the naked eye.

Hair that is dark and very visible is known as Terminal hair. Terminal hair is the hair that we refer to when talk about hair. Whether a hair is a fine vellus hair or a thick dark hair depends entirely on the follicle that is producing the hair. In balding men thick terminal hair is often replaced by fine vellus hair. This is a result of the hair producing equipment, the follicle, suffering physical damage and being unable to produce terminal hair.

Restore your hair by hair transplantation

Hair transplantation has come a long way from the days of "hair plugs" and a pleasing, natural result is now routine. It is an excellent option for treatment of hereditary hair loss in many men and women.

Hair transplantation refers to the surgical movement of permanent hair with its roots to an area of bald or balding skin. Hair transplantation is an effective and permanent solution for hair loss.

Hair transplantation is a surgical modality used for the correction of androgenic alopecia, scarring alopecia, and other causes of permanent alopecia.

Hair transplantation is done under local anesthesia as an outpatient procedure. Hair and follicles are removed from the "donor area" of permanent hair along the back and sides of the head. This area is immediately camouflaged by the surrounding hair.

The removed hair follicles are then divided into individual grafts of varying sizes. The smallest grafts contain 1-2 hairs and are often referred to as "follicular units" or "micrografts". Larger minigrafts may contain up to 6 hairs and can provide more density per graft. Choice of number and type of graft is made taking into account the patient's hair type, quality, color and the area to be transplanted. Once prepared the grafts (hair and its roots) are then inserted into the thin area.

Women with localized thinning on the top of their heads or thinning around the temples often make good candidates for hair transplantation. Prior to evaluation for hair transplantation, it is important for women to discuss your thinning hair with a dermatologist and/or endocrinologist to make sure there is no other treatable reason for the hair loss.

Hair transplantation is a cost-competitive solution for hair loss. Other hair replacement alternatives require additional maintenance over the years. The cost depends on the amount of bald area that will need to be transplanted, and the desired thickness. More grafts are necessary to cover more bald or thin area and to maximize hair density. Because the procedure is individual, costs are usually determined individually.

Hair transplantation can be done both on patients with advanced baldness and earlier thinning. Newer treatments for men like Propecia or for both men and women, like Rogaine should be considered as well especially in patients with earlier thinning as these medications often slow significantly the progression of hair loss. In general, hair transplantation is not considered for patients younger than their mid 20s because of difficulty in predicting ultimate extent of hair loss.

Hair transplantation is universally accepted as a treatment for hair loss. While it was developed and first offered as a hair-loss treatment for men, women have increasingly found hair transplantation a viable option to correct the cosmetic deficit of thinning hair. Advances in hair transplantation techniques and better understanding of the biology of female hair loss contributed to the evolution of hair transplantation got women.

Almost worse than hair loss in some cases is hair miniaturization-the fine-caliber, wispy hair that grows out a follicle when the follicle is no longer able to produce hair of normal size. Miniaturized hair is hard to style and difficult to conceal. It begins to appear in the course of female pattern hair loss, the female form of the most common type of hair loss in men.

Terms interpreting

Alopecia Areata

• Alopecia areata is a hair loss condition which usually affects the scalp. It can, however, sometimes affect other areas of the body.

Hair loss

• A progressive, diffuse loss of scalp hair in men that begins in the twenties or early thirties, depends on the presence of the androgenic hormone testosterone, and is caused by a combination of genetic and hormonal factors. Also called androgenetic alopecia.

Hair transplantation

• Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure used to treat baldness or hair loss (alopecia). Typically, tiny patches of scalp are removed from the back and sides of the head and implanted in the bald spots in the front and top of the head.

Protein

• Important building blocks of the body, composed of amino acids, involved in the formation of body structures and controlling the basic functions of the human body.


• Complex organic molecules made up of amino acids. Proteins are basic components of all living cells and are therefore among the principal substances that make up the body.

Ringworm

• The term "ringworm" refers to fungal infections that are on the surface of the skin. The early belief was that the infection was due to a worm, which it is not, although the name has stuck. Some of these fungi produce round spots, but many do not.

Thyroid

• A gland in the throat that produces hormones that regulate growth and metabolism.


• A large gland in the neck that functions in the endocrine system. The thyroid secretes hormones that regulate growth and metabolism.

Alopecia

• A hair loss, baldness, and epilation.


• Alopecia, also called hair loss, baldness, and epilation, is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Baldness

• A progressive, diffuse loss of scalp hair in men that begins in the twenties or early thirties, depends on the presence of the androgenic hormone testosterone, and is caused by a combination of genetic and hormonal factors. Also called androgenetic alopecia.

Biotin

• Also know as Vitamin H.

Follicles

• A follicle (from the Latin folliculus) is a term to describe a small spherical group of cells containing a cavity.

Grafts

• To transplant or implant surgically into a bodily part to replace a damaged part or compensate for a defect.

Hormone

• A substance, usually a peptide or steroid, produced by one tissue and conveyed by the bloodstream to another to effect physiological activity, such as growth or metabolism.

Scalp

• The skin covering the top of the human head with its attached hair.

Stress

• Importance, significance, or emphasis placed on something.


• The relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken.


• Accent or a mark representing such emphasis or force.


• An applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body.


• A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.


• A state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain.


• A physical and psychological response that results from being exposed to a demand or pressure.

Testosterone

• A white crystalline steroid hormone, C19H28O2, produced primarily in the testes and responsible for the development and maintenance of male secondary sex characteristics. It is also produced synthetically for use in medical treatment.

Quality plastic surgery and dental care procedures for affordable prices.