Causes And Treatment Of Alopecia

Hair loss, though typically tagged as a male thing, has now been considered as a condition that affects anyone regardless of gender. According to the American Hair Loss Association, everyone sheds about 100 hairs per day. This is part of the regular hair growth cycle, but the excess loss of hair can be embarrassing.

Alopecia, the medical term for hair loss, doesn’t only happen on the scalp. Although most cases on the head are genetic, several illnesses and medications can trigger it.

Symptoms

Contrary to popular opinion, hair loss is quite different from shedding of hair; shed hairs often grow back. People often shed hair when going through stressful situations like childbirth, breakups, divorce or grief.

Causes

Aside from genetics, a wide variety of factors can cause alopecia. They include hairstyles, hair treatments, hormone imbalance, illness, surgery, medication, nutritional deficits and ageing.

Treatment and medication

According to the Cleveland Clinic, treatments include:

Hair weaves or wigs: Females have it easy. Baldness or hair loss can be covered up with wigs or hair weaves to cover the full head of hair. Also, cancer patients who experience temporary hair loss have found this useful.

Anti-inflammatory medications: Prescription steroid-based creams or injections from a doctor can reduce follicles damaged or inflamed by harsh chemicals or excessive pulling.

Natural remedies: Natural remedies like coconut oil can be applied to the scalp to reverse hair loss.

Surgery: Surgery is recommended for men over women as their hair loss is mostly restricted to just one or two areas of the scalp. Scalp reduction can be used to remove the bald skin on the scalp. This way, the hair-covered scalp can fill in bald areas.