What is hair loss?

Hair loss is a condition that involves receding hairline and thinning in crown area, which in time leads to a complete bald look. It is a very common condition that most of the men experience throughout their lives.

Causes of Hairloss

The main causes of hairloss is hormonal disorders. Women with estrogen deficiency and men with excess androgen experience overly greasy scalp skin, which leads to the formation of a layer called sebum. It is considered to be normal if one loses 50 to 100 hair strands a day. As hair follicles are still alive, they reproduce hair. During this circulation, sebum layer blocks hair roots and within time it basically blocks new hair production. This is basically the beginning of hair loss.

Hair loss related hormones are not only the gender hormones, but thyroid also plays a big role in hair loss. For this reason, if a person experiences hair loss, it is recommended that he/she should check thyroid function and iron, zinc rates of blood. If there is any deficiency in blood test results, necessary supplements may be enough to solve this problem. Otherwise we should evaluate if this is a normal hair loss or is it related to any medical disorders.

Besides these factors, hair loss may also be caused by external factors such as air pollution, stress, being overly tired, insufficient nutrition, side effects of drugs, genetic predisposition, or harmful cosmetic products for hair.

We can study hair loss in two categories as temporary hair loss and constant hair loss.

Causes of temporary hair loss

A hair that naturally matured and disconnected from the follicle falls out. Loss of maximum 100 hair strands can be considered normal but if this is more than this amount, it is a hair loss condition.

Hair loss related to pregnancy

During pregnancy, irregularities in hormones and insufficient enzymes can lead to a hair loss problem. Normally 6 months after giving birth, all the hormones come back up to normal levels and hair loss problem finishes.

Stress

Every person experiences stress during a certain period of time, it can be whether a loss of someone that you love or having trouble finding a new job. This can cause hair loss (telogen effluvium). If you fix the lifestyle that gives you too much stress, this hair loss problem can be also fixed with a regular lifestyle, physical activity and good nutrition.

Alopecia Areata

It is a medical condition that involves hair loss in a circular part of your head with approximate diameter of 2-2,5 cm. It is not associated with age or gender, and is very commonly seen. Main cause of this condition is overly stressful lifestyle which leads to a lower immunity system. It can heal naturally once your immunity increases again.

Misuse of cosmetic products

Synthetic chemicals in cosmetic products or wrong use of these products can cause irritation and allergies on scalp, and as a result, hair can fall out. For example, damages may occur due to shampoos, hair dyes that are not suitable for the person’s hair characteristics, and the materials and substances used for styling hair.

Hair loss due to fever

It occurs if a person experiences fever for a long period of time. Usually it is seen 4-6 weeks after fever and it is called post-febrile alopecia.

Hair loss because of medications/drugs

Especially blood thinners, antidepressants, hypertension pills, contraseptives, high doses of vitamin A etc. They can affect the hair follicles and cause hair loss, especially in long-term use of such drugs. This type of hair loss is called diffuse alopecia.

Hair loss associated with illnesses

Hormonal or hereditary disorders, or the ones that affect immunity system (AIDS, Lichen Planus, Folliculitis) can cause hair loss.

Insufficient or unbalanced diet

Insufficient intake of B group vitamins as well as iron, zinc, sulphur, which are especially important for hair health, and nutrition with only heavy protein or carbohydrate cause vitamin and mineral deficiency and indirectly hair loss.

Permanent Hair Loss

Due to a sub-branch of male hormone (testosterone), reduces the productivity during the growing phase (anagen) of hair follicle which leads to a thinning in hair strands. This type of hair loss usually starts in temple areas and crown where lack of density can be noticed within time.

Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic Alopecia is a type of hair loss that is caused by male hormone (androgen) and is seen after puberty usually in 20s or 30s. It usually starts with a receding hairline and thinning in the crown area. This type of alopecia has many names such as androgenetic alopecia, male pattern baldness or common baldness. It can be a diffuse hair loss or in specific areas of the scalp. It is not considered as a disorder, but as a male characteristics.

Women can also experience androgenetic alopecia, but it happens in a different way.

Both men and women possess the androgen hormone. Since everyone has these hormones,  you may wonder why not everyone has hair loss. In this case, besides the genetic carrier, the following issues are also important:

1. The number of androgen receptors in the hair follicles of those who suffer Androgenetic Alopecia is high. Even though the hormone is at a normal level, this hormone has a lot of effect on the hair because there are many receptors that bind it.

2. The receptors of people with androgenetic alopecia are more sensitive.

3. Alpha-5 reductase enzyme activity is higher in people with Androgenetic Alopecia.

About 50% of men may experience androgenetic alopecia after puberty.

Three factors play leading roles in androgenetic alopecia:

• Aging
• Hormones
• 5-alpha reductase
  

How common is androgenetic alopecia?

It has been addressed that after puberty, 94.96% of white males have receding in the hairline, and about 50% have hair loss in the crown area.

30% of men show signs of Androgenetic Alopecia at the age of 25, 40% at the age of 40, and 50% at the age of 50.

Androgenetic Alopecia is seen in 20-30% of women.

Treatment of Hair Loss

The most important stage of hair loss treatment is to determine the causes of hair loss with an expert dermatologist. Diagnostic of the causes of hair loss should be made once hair loss starts to appear. Postponing this diagnostic can also make you lose the chance of having benefits from treatments. Unconsciously used medicines or cosmetic products can cause hair loss to go further and can cost you time, hair and money.

Whether you experience hair loss or not, using dermatologically tested and proven dermo-cosmetic shampoos against hair loss, which are recommended by expert dermatologists, nourishes the hair cells and can slow down and stop hair loss by stimulating the blood circulation in the scalp. This method is also the first step of the treatment.

Those who do not start to follow a treatment regimen in the first place, can have more severe hair loss within time and in this case even if they start to apply treatments, they will not have the same benefits by then. In such cases, medical treatments, which are the second step of treatment, are used. Medical treatments against hair loss are PRP, hair stem cell therapy and hair mesotherapy. The medical treatment method is based on the patient’s condition, not the choice of the person. Because every hair loss does not occur for the same reason, it would be incorrect to say that only PRP or hair mesotherapy is good for hair loss.

In cases where the second step of the treatment is not sufficient or when the desired results are not obtained, hair transplantation is required. Hair care with dermo-cosmetic products such as anti-hair loss shampoos should be used regularly after hair transplantation which we mentioned in the first step, in order to feed the hair follicles and support new hair growth.