Hair Loss

Hair loss is not life threatening but is often distressing and can have a significant effect on the patient’s quality of life.

The pattern of hair loss may be obvious, such as the bald patches that occur in alopecia areata, or more subtle, such as the diffuse hair loss.

Hair grows in three phases: anagen (active growing, about 90 % of hairs), catagen (degeneration, less than 10% of hairs) and telogen (resting, 5% to 10% of hairs). Hair is shed during the telogen phase

Facts:

• Losing up to 100 hairs a day is normal and does not mean you are going bald.
• Under normal conditions, scalp hairs live for about three years.
• Baldness is inherited; It can come from either side of the family, or both. Looking at your family can give you at best an educated guess about how you’ll turn out.
• Shampooing does not accelerate hair loss; it just removes the hairs that were ready to fall out anyway. Coloring, perming, and conditioning the hair do not usually cause hair loss. Burns or severe processing may cause hair loss and breakage. Styles that pull tight may cause some loss.
• There are several circumstances that produce a “shock to the hair growth rhythm. As a result, as much as 30%
• 40% of the hairs can be affected. Three months later, hairs come out in a massive shedding, especially near the front of the scalp. These include childbirth, high fever, sudden weight loss from crash dieting, surgery, severe illness, and stressors such as a loss, death, or divorce.
• In general, most hair loss is not associated with systemic or internal disease, nor is poor diet a frequent factor. Often, hair simply thins as a result of predetermined genetic factors, family history, and the overall aging process.
• Several health conditions, including thyroid disease and iron deficiency anemia, can cause hair loss.