Hair Loss - Overview
Do Not Neglect Any Of These Or You May Be A Tad Too Late For Recovery. Whether It’s Taking The Appropriate Hair Loss Prevention Measures Or It’s Going For The Right Hair Fall Treatment, Getting It Done At The Right Time Is Of Vital Importance. Two Out Of Three People With Hair Loss Detect It Late And You Surely Don't Want To Be Amongst Them.
After Successfully Treating More Than 2,50,000 Hair Loss Cases With The Winning Combination Of Homeopathy, Trichology And Technology, We Can Assure You Of Safe, Effective And Lasting Solutions For Your Hair Loss Problems. Advanced Diagnostic Technique Such As Video Microscopy, The Expertise Of Our London-trained Trichologists And The Use Of Technology Such As Low Level Laser Comb & Piler Light Therapy Form An Amalgamation That Is A Reliable Treatment For Hair Loss. Go Ahead And Experience The Joy Of Finding That Perfect Hair Fall Solution For You.
General Information
Hair Is Composed Almost Entirely Of A Protein Called Keratin (which Is Why It Is Important To Take Enough Protein In Your Diet) And Gets The Black Color From A Pigment – Eumelanin. Not Everybody Has Hair That Is Black; The Yellowish Or Reddish Color Of Some People’s Hair Comes From The Pigment Pheomelanin.
A Tubular Cavity In Outermost Layer Of Skin From Which The Hair Shaft Grows Is Called ‘hair Follicle’. All Hair Follicles Are Formed While The Baby Is In The Mother’s Womb; No New Follicle Is Produced After Birth. Each Follicle Is Capable Of Producing 20-30 Hair Strands In A Lifetime, With Each Hair Having A Life Cycle Of 3-5 Years.
Natural Growth Of Hair:
Hair Grows At The Rate Of About Half An Inch Per Month. It Grows Fastest In Summers And Slowest In Winters, And Grows Best Between The Ages Of 15 To 30. The Total Length To Which Hair Can Grow Is Genetically Determined And Therefore Everyone Cannot Grow Hair To The Same Length.
There Are Three Main Phases Of The Hair Growth Cycle: Anagen, Catagen And Telogen.
Every Strand Of Hair Goes Through This Cycle Of Growth, Stagnation And Fall. At Any Given Point Of Time, About 90% Of The Hair Strands Are In The Growing Phase. When The Ratio Of Hair In The Growing Phase And Shedding Phase Is Disturbed, The Loss Of Hair Becomes Noticeable.
What Is Hair Loss?
Anyone Can Experience Hair Loss – Men, Women And Children Though It Is Generally Seen To Worsen With Advancing Age. Certain Statistics State That Almost 30% Of People Experience Hair Loss By 30 Years Of Age And Almost 50% Get Hair Loss By The Time They Turn 50.
Women Develop Hair Loss Almost As Frequently As Men Do But They Don’t Lose Much Of The Volume Due To Hormonal Differences. The Patterns Of Hair Loss Also Differ In Both The Sexes And This Has Been Discussed At A Later Stage.
The Response Of People To Hair Loss Varies From Leaving The Condition To Run Its Own Course To Covering It Up With Hats, Wigs, Hair Pieces, Toupees, Etc. Many Rush To Acquire Lotions, Pills, Shampoos To Curb The Hair Loss. And Then There Are Even Those Who Would Take Up The Surgical Option For Freedom From Progressing Baldness. Whatever The Options Available, Do Consult Your Doctor Before You Opt For Any Of These.
Types Of Hair Loss
There Are More Than 40 Different Types Of Hair Loss Known Till Date – Some Of Them Very Common, Others Quite Rare. It Is Not At All Mandatory To Know About Each Of These; However, Knowing Your Type Can Help You To Understand How Well Your Hair Loss Can Respond To Treatment. Few Of The Common Varieties Of Hair Loss Are Discussed Here:
Male Pattern Baldness
The Condition Is Characterized By A Typical Pattern Of Receding Hairline At The Temples And Hair Thinning On The Crown. It Can Progress To Partial Or Complete Baldness In Some Cases. This Is The Cause Of Hair Loss In About 90% Of Men And More Than One Third Of Men Are In Their Thirties. The Percentage Of Men Affected By MPB Increases With Advancing Age.
How To Identify Male Pattern Baldness?
How Does It Happen?
The Male Hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone) Is Important For The Normal Male Sexual Development. However, In Some Cases, The Hair Follicles Are Genetically Sensitive To This Hormone And Exposure To It Results In Shrinkage Of The Follicles. This Shortens The Lifespan Of The Follicles And Prevents Them From Producing Hair Normally. Hair Follicles In The Temples And Crown Of The Scalp Are More Sensitive To This Hormone And Hence Hair Loss Affects These Areas More Prominently.
Genetic Cause Is A Strong Factor For Developing Male Pattern Baldness And Almost 80% Of Balding Men Have A History Of Baldness In Their Father Or Grandfathers.
This Image Shows The Hamilton-Norwood Scale Which Grades Male Pattern Baldness From Stages 1 To 7:
Stages Of Male Pattern Baldness According To The Norwood Hamilton Scale:
Stage 1:
No Hair Loss. The Head Is Full Of Hair.
Stage 2:
Minor Recession At The Front Of Hairline And Some Temporal Recession. This Stage May Not Even Be Called As Balding.
Stage 2A:
Recession Progresses Across The Entire Frontal Hairline.
Stage 3:
Temporal Recession Deepens.
Stage 3A:
Frontal Recession Keeps Progressing Backwards.
Stage 3V:
Besides The Loss Of Hair In The Frontal And Temporal Regions, There Is Early Hair Loss From The Crown (vertex).
Stage 4:
Frontal And Temporal Hair Loss Progresses And There Is Enlargement Of The Bald Patch At The Crown.
Stage 4A:
Hair Loss Progresses Past The Mid-crown.
Stage 5:
Bald Area In The Front Enlarges And Starts Joining The Bald Area At The Crown.
Stage 5A:
Bald Patches In The Front And At The Crown Fuse And Keep Enlarging. The Back Part Of The Bald Area Is Narrower Are Compared To Stage 6.
Stage 5V:
The Bald Patch At The Crown Enlarges Although It Has Still Not Fused With The Bald Area At The Front.
Stage 6:
Frontal Bald Area And The One At The Crown Are Fused And Continue To Enlarge. The Back Part Of The Bald Area Is Wider Than In Stage 5.
Stage 7:
Extensive Baldness Where Only A Strip Of Hair Remains At The Back And Sides Of The Head.
Female Pattern Baldness
Female Pattern Baldness, Also Known As Alopecia Diffusa, Is A Common Cause Of Hair Loss In Women. It Is Characterized By Diffuse Loss Of Hair From The Scalp.
The Mechanism Of Female Pattern Baldness Is Believed To Be Very Similar To That Of Male Pattern Baldness, With The Bulk Of The Damage Being Done Due To Hormonal Changes In The Body. Genetic Disposition Combined With Sensitivity To The Male Sex Hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone) Are The Primary Triggers For This Condition.
Besides The Aforementioned, Following Can Also Lead To Hair Loss In The Characteristic Female Pattern Baldness Pattern:
How To Identify Female Pattern Baldness?
Causes Of Hair Loss
"A Hair In The Head Is Worth Two In The Brush" Thus Said Oliver Herford And He Surely Realized The Worth Of Every Strand. But Do We Stop To Think As To What Has Resulted In All Those Extra Hair In Our Hair Brush, On The Pillow Or On The Floor Of Our House? If We Know What Has Caused The Hair Loss, We Can Surely Take The Next Step To Control The Same.
We Have Already Seen That DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) - The Male Sex Hormone - Is The Primary Trigger Of Male And Female Pattern Baldness. Besides This, More And More Hair Follicles Go Into The Resting Phase With Advancing Age Leading To Gradual Thinning Of Hair. Heredity Is Also Known To Determine Hair Loss Problems.
Discussed Here Are Some Of The Other General Causes Of Hair Loss Commonly Seen:
Diagnosis Of Hair Loss
This Early Detection Technology Which Very Few Clinics Have, Facilitates Early Treatment Thereby Raising The Probability Of Its Success.
In Most Cases Of Hair Loss, A Detailed Case History And Proper Examination Also Gives Significant Clues About The Condition And Its Causes. Certain Other Tests May Also Be Required To Detect The Cause Of The Hair Loss: