Hair loss causes: expert advice to prevent and treat baldness
With the arrival of autumn it is common to observe a greater hair losssays Dr. Michele Cardonedermatologist of Humanities. Although it is a completely physiological phenomenon, in some cases the hair loss arouses discomfort and concern. There hair loss it is an extremely widespread phenomenon that mainly affects men, but which is found with a worsening incidence in recent years also in women. In fact, it is estimated that up to 60% of women have suffered from weakening and thinning of the hair at least once in their life.
The hair is a living element that follows a cycle lasting an average of 2-6 years, shorter in the male and longer in the female. In humans, unlike other mammals that are subjected to periodic moulting, this cyclic evolution is not synchronous, so each hair is independent from the others and is in a different phase of the cycle.
This life cycle and the consequent hair growth occur at the speed of 1-1.5cm per month. In the life of a hair we can in fact identify three phases in which the hair is born and develops, stops its growth, finally falls out and will be replaced by a new one:
- a growth phase called anagen
- a phase of regression called catagen
- and finally a rest period said telogen
The hair loss, when normal, it is absolutely physiological. They generally get lost up to about 100 hairs a day and we must consider that in the spring and autumn seasons there is an increase in the fall. However, when the latter becomes unbalanced, i.e. the amount of growth is visibly lower than the amount of that which is lost, or when there are even hairless patchesit is necessary to take precautions and consult a specialist.
Hair loss causes: 9 possible reasons for hair loss
There are several factors that lead to the hair loss. In the male and female gender, the hair loss takes place in different ways: the receding hairline with retraction of the frontal line it is typical in men, while in women it diffuses the entire vertex of the scalp. The causes can be many, in particular they affect:
- special conditions of stress for the organism, which can be physical (post-partum period, breastfeeding, chronic diseases, weight loss in a short time) or psychological (separations, bereavement, anxiety);
- lifestyle (diet lacking in protein, fruit, vegetables, legumes, eggs or high in fat);
- alopecia androgenetica (it concerns 70% of men and 40% of women at a certain stage of their life);
- hyper and hypothyroidism (makes hair brittle);
- frequent discolorations and dyes;
- incorrect use of hair dryers and plates;
- ponytail too tight;
- state of the nails (they contain the same amino acids as hair). If they crack, flake or struggle to grow there could be a correlation;
- inflammatory pathologies (it is. lupus) or autoimmune (ie alopecia areata).
Hair loss causes: who to contact
The specialist dealing with these issues is the dermatologistspecialized in trichologywhich through a trichological visit will be able to identify anomalies affecting the scalp and / or hair and their causes. The trichological visit is divided into several phases.
- Initial interview and anamnesi: in this phase the dermatologist asks the patient a series of questions aimed at verifying his general state of health, the presence of cases of baldness in the family, investigating the possible intake of drugs, lifestyle (e.g. lack of sleep) and eating habits.
- Visual inspection of the scalp and hair to ascertain the presence of any thinning and also pathologies of the scalp skin such as seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, folliculitis etc.
- Trichoscopy: it is a microscopic examination of the hair and scalp carried out with a digital video camera that allows to digitally document and quantify widespread hair loss. The method allows to observe the single hair and to identify anomalies such as inhomogeneity of the diameters, alterations of the shafts etc.
The trichoscopy together with the physical examination it allows to diagnose even very early or initial forms of alopecia androgenetica thus allowing to intervene promptly with adequate therapy. In some cases they will be prescribed blood chemistry tests or even a biopsy sampling with andsame histological to highlight the problems triggering the fall, which are often also systemic.
Hair loss causes: diagnosis and therapy
Once the visit and the necessary checks have been carried out, a diagnosis is made and a medical, regenerative or surgical therapy is prescribed, customized according to the characteristics of the patient.
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