What Should I Know About Hair Loss?

What Should I Know About Hair Loss?

Hair loss is a common concern for many women. Professional hair loss experts offer various treatments for men and women who suffer from hair loss. There are several common causes of hair loss that affect 60% of men as well as 40% of women. Alopecia is the technical name for hair loss and it can occur almost anywhere on the body as well as the scalp. In some cases, the condition is temporary but in others, it’s permanent. The good news is that many persons who suffer from permanent hair loss can be successfully treated using one or more methods, including hair transplants. 

Why does hair loss occur?

Keratin is a protein that creates hair and other fibrous substances, including the outer layer of skin. Humans grow hair on almost all areas of the body with the exception of the soles of the feet and on the palms. In fact, the average adult human head grows from 100,000-150,000 hairs in their lifetime. On average, adult humans shed from 80-100 hairs every day. About 90% of a person’s hair is growing on their scalp at any time. This growth is known as the anagen phase. Hair growth occurs in three phases:

  1. Anagen phase. Based on a person’s genetics, their hair may grow 4.72” to 5.9” in a year. As a person ages, their hair growth rate slows. Healthy hair roots appear white, tapered, and long in the anagen phase.
  2. Catagen phase. During this second phase, the hair growth stops. In addition, the hair root becomes more rounded and begins to shrink.
  3. Telogen phase. The third phase is also known as the resting stage. At this point the hair root is completely rounded. As new anagen hair grows and pushes out the resting stage hair, it sheds the older hair. The telogen phase lasts between three and four months.

Is all hair loss the same?

There are actually different types of hair loss. It can affect the entire scalp or be limited to certain areas of the scalp. The hair loss may not even occur on the scalp, it may only happen in one or more other areas of the body. Here are the most common types of hair loss that a person may experience:

  • Alopecia areata.
  • Male pattern baldness or hair loss. This is a common, inherited condition and is referred to as androgenetic alopecia. It is characterized by hair loss on the top of the head and/or a receding hairline.
  •  Female pattern baldness or hair loss. As with male pattern baldness, this is an inherited condition. It is characterized by a thinning of the hair or a center part that widens because of increased hair shedding. Unlike male baldness, women do not usually experience frontal hairline loss.
  • Anagen effluvium, or the excess shedding of anagen phase hairs.
  • Telogen effluvium, or the excess shedding of telogen phase hairs.

 To learn more about hair treatments to combat hair loss, contact us to schedule a consultation with our hair loss doctor.

Thank you to Dr. Robin Unger for input into women coping with hair loss and how to get help.