The human hair (part 2)

The crowning glory, “I got a good hair day”; these are what you commonly hear from persons who are very particular with their hair. Usually common among women. However, men may say but are, silently, affected.

Men, at a young age, don’t bother about their hair. Come their 40’s they may start to look at their father’s hair, thinking that this may be destiny.

Hair loss, among many, is the many hair problems is the most dreaded. Alopecia, from the Greek word Alopex(“fox”), can be associated with many conditions. Starting from genetically related ailments to environmentally cause diseases.

Hair loss may refer to excessive shedding or baldness (or both). 

Types hair loss

1. Localized or diffuse

2. Scarring or non-scarring

Hair shedding

Hair shedding can be temporary and is often due to telogen effluvium but may also be during anagen. Sometimes it can also be caused by drugs.

Telogen effluvium, a scalp disorder characterized by the thinning or shedding of hair, may last 2 or 3 months and is often due to parturition, sudden weight loss, blood loss, fever, or stress. The shedding stops after a few months, but recovery may take a couple of years.

Chronic telogen effluvium arises when the hair cycle has sped up so that the growth phase is shorter. This is rare in children but is quite often in women with diffuse non-androgenic pattern balding.

Diffuse alopecia

Diffuse hair thinning in adults and is often due to males. The balding in men is androgen-dependent, while female balding is non-androgen-dependent. This is uncommon for adolescents. This type of hair thinning may be accompanied by internal diseases; particularly systemic lupus erythematosus and syphilis.

Localised alopecia

This type of hair loss is reversible, but the scars are permanent. Alopecia areata is the most common cause of localized baldness on the scalp. It is an autoimmune skin disease common with a family history of vitiligo, diabetes, and thyroid disease.

The scalp appears normal, but about 5% of the hair on the head is lost. There is an 80% chance of regrowth in a few months. Prognosis seems less good in very young children if the initial hair loss is severe and extensive or affecting facial areas. The nails may be affected and result in pitting and ridging.

Scalp disease and hair loss

Scalp diseases may not cause any hair loss, although in severe cases these may occur:

Dandruff or pityriasis capitisDiffuse scaling
Seborrhoeic dermatitisIll-defined inflammatory plaques with yellowish scale
PsoriasisDiffuse or localised well-defined erythematous plaques with silvery scale
Pityriasis amiantaceaSticky scale due to underlying psoriasis or seborrhoeic dermatitis
Head liceAdult lice, nits on hair shaft, tiny haemorrhagic spots and excoriations
Lichen simplexWell demarcated lichenified intensely itchy plaques, usually on occiput
FolliculitisChronic scattered and irritable follicular pustules

It is a bit concerning that you have read. Some hair loss is avoidable; others not so. Before your hair starts to fall, you can prevent falling with proper hair care.

Thermalabs’s Shampoo Gracilaria For Men is derived from Gracilaria Hydrogel. Its nutritious content is what the hair needs to grow and restore. It has Vitamins A, B6, and B2 to maintain the hair, while vitamin B12 lightens it. The folic acid promotes cellular growth and encourages the scalp to grow damaged hair.

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