For women, hair is closely linked to feminity and beauty, so hair loss can be devastating and it can really affect confidence and self-esteem.
There are many causes of hair loss, from stress, to hormonal imbalance, illness, chemotherapy, and over processing with chemicals, and the cause of your hair loss will determine the treatment that you need.
Common types of hair loss
Telogen Effluvium
We shed around 80-100 hairs every day naturally, but people with this condition lose far more. There is a thinning of the hair rather than bald patches, and the scalp and the hair that’s left will most likely look healthy. This type of hair loss is usually temporary.
It usually happens 1-3 months after the body is put through stress, so it might be that you notice it after having a baby, having surgery, or after an illness. This stressful event stops some of the older hairs from growing and they shed sooner than they should. Hair growth usually returns to normal within a few months after the stressful event. No treatment is usually offered for this condition, as the hair grows back in time. In the event that the hair loss has been caused by a nutrient deficiency, taking supplements can help.
Trichotillomania
This is a disorder that causes sufferers to compulsively pull at their hair, because of anxiety, stress, or even boredom. It can start at any age but it’s very common in teenagers. Because hairs are pulled out randomly, there is not typically a pattern of hair loss, and sufferers might also pull at their eyebrows or eyelashes. Treatment for this disorder must include some form of cognitive behavioural therapy before physical treatment of the hair loss is even considered.
Female Pattern hair loss
This is the most common reason for hair loss in women. It’s also known as androgenetic alopecia and it’s a hereditary condition which causes changes in your hair follicles. The follicles shrink, so any new hair growth will be finer, shorter and less visible, until it stops growing completely.
Even though this type of hair loss is hereditary, there are still things you can do about it, like using Nioxin treatments to improve the health of your scalp and keep your hair follicles clear, which will encourage healthy hair growth.
Alopecia
The most common form of alopecia is alopecia areata. This is an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles. Patches of hair loss develop, followed by complete baldness in some cases. The patches are usually round and they can appear quite quickly.
The hair usually grows back, but for some people, hair loss is permanent. Sometimes when the hair grows back, it can appear lighter in colour, and bald patches can grow back then reappear elsewhere on the scalp.
There are rarer types of alopecia; alopecia totalis, which results in the complete loss of the hair on the head, and alopecia universalis, where all the hair on the body, including underarm hair and the eyebrows disappears.
As far as treatment goes, the medical options are usually steroid injections or immunotherapy, and many people opt for wigs or hair replacement systems to camouflage their hair loss. Topical hair loss treatments are also worth a try.
Are you worried about hair thinning or loss?
At Salon La Reine we can help. We have the Nioxin treatment system and product range in the salon, so if you’re worried about hair thinning or loss, come in for a consultation and rediscover thicker, fuller hair that shines with health.