Alopecia
Alopecia is a general term for hair loss. It’s important to know the type of alopecia. Reports confirm that Alopecia areata affects up to 2 percent of the entire population. It is linked to an Auto immune reaction where your body is fighting against itself.
Types of Alopecia
- Alopecia Areata – Used to describe hair loss occurring in patches anywhere on the body.
- Alopecia Totalis – Total loss of the hair on the scalp.
- Alopecia Universalis – Total loss of all hair on the body.
- Alopecia Oophaiais – A band of Alopecia which encircles the hair line, usually a marker of a more severe onset.
- Alopecia Barbae – Loss of facial hair (for a man) especially in the beard area.
- Alopecia Mucinosa – A type of Alopecia which results in scaly patches.
- Androgenetic Alopecia – Also known as male pattern baldness.
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia is defined as a hair loss disease that affects men, women and children. The onset of hair loss is often sudden, random and frequently recurrent. While the disease itself is not damaging to the person’s health, coping with hair loss can prove challenging. The exact cause of Alopecia Areata is presently not known, although it is generally agreed that it is a disorder of the autoimmune system.
In Alopecia areata, the affected hair follicles are mistakenly attacked by a person’s own immune system, resulting in the arrest of the anagen (hair growth) stage and a move to the telogen (resting) phase where the hairs are then abruptly shed.
We would advise visiting us for alopecia after you have visited your if you are not having results from your dermatologist.
We can help decode underlying issues that may influence hair loss and act as a liaison between you and your Doctor to shed light on what may have been overlooked.
Scarring Alopecia
Usually scarring alopecia goes unnoticed until it affects a significant portion of the hair. Scarring alopecia is triggered by auto-immune issues, bacterial infections, physical or chemical assaults to the scalp.
Unlike the usual Alopecia Areata etc., Scarring Alopecia will cause the destruction of the hair follicle completely, which results in permanent hair loss.
We would always recommend visiting your doctors initially for any scalp problem, however, it is quite common to misdiagnose a scarring alopecia.
If you feel as though your hair has changed or your scalp does not feel right, or you are not happy with the diagnosis (or lack of one) given, we suggest booking a consultation where we can usually highlight any problems and act as a liaison between you and your doctor to support you.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Acute Telogen effluvium… the disorder will simply rectify itself after 6 months or so, the shedding will slow, and the hair will gradually get back to normal. We can help identify the trigger and offer advice as to when you will see a change in the hair cycle.
For Chronic Telogen Effluvium to be corrected, the underlying condition must be corrected or medicated against before the hair cycle corrects itself and allows the hair to start growing ‘normally’. A full investigation is required to determine the cause, which in turn will guide us to what the protocol will entail.