Hair Loss Types
It may surprise you to know that there is more than one category of hair loss. Is it possible for your doctor to tell just by looking at your what kind of hair loss you have? The answer is yes, sometimes this is possible.
When it comes to hereditary hair loss patterns, the most common type of hair loss in men, these have developed into a classical clinical descriptive science. Genetic hair loss shows up in distinctive patterns, and these patterns tend to be almost 100% diagnostic for male pattern baldness.
Balding patterns also exist in women and a knowledgeable doctor may well be able to tell just by looking what the cause of the hair loss is. A small number of people will lose scalp hair in a uniform (diffuse) way, rather than by losing it in specific areas of the scalp. This type of hair loss is not just as easy to detect as the hair is lost steadily from all over the head. It is generally easier to detect a bald spot resulting from hair loss in a specific area of the scalp from diseases which can cause uniform hair loss to the normal genetics of a particular person.
Hair loss occurs naturally and this will usually be at the end of one of the normal hair cycles which all hair goes through. The hair cycles are as follows:
- Anagen – this is the growth stage, which lasts three years on average, but could also be as short as a year or as long as seven years.
- Catogen – this stage is where the hair prepares to go into the next phase and therefore undergoes changes in its anatomy, and falls out at the end of this stage of the cycle.
- Telogen – this is the sleep stage when a percentage of the hair disappears – lasts between two and five months on average – approximately 10% of all the hairs on our heads are in the telogen part of the cycle at any one time.
At the end of the telogen stage, a new hair bud appears, and this signals the beginning of the anagen stage, as so the circle continues.
Find out more about the common hair loss causes.
Maintaining A Healthy Scalp
It is often said that by maintaining a healthy scalp you will delay the onset of hair loss. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as the hair actually starts to grow from below the scalp, meaning therefore the scalp has very little to do with hair loss or hair health.
When hair loss occurs due to male genetic hair loss, or any other cause, the blood supply to the area drops because it is not required where there is no hair. When a hair transplantation takes place the circulation of the scalp improves as the new hair grow out. In other words it recruits the blood supply it needs.
It is generally advised that patients use a good shampoo and conditioner once a day to help keep the scalp moist and well taken care off. The condition of your scalp can be affected by many things, some direct and some by indirect ways. The following are things which are bad for the scalp and its circulation:
- Smoking – smoking reduces scalp circulation. Over a long period of time, and with every cigarette smoking may contribute to whatever hair loss is occurring on the head. There are many doctors who believe there to be a connection between hair loss and smoking, however there is no definitive scientific proof to date.
- Sun exposure – by repeatedly suffering from sunburn to the scald may impact on structures deep in the scalp causing the hair producing cells to shrink. The combination of genetic hair loss and intense ultraviolet light may hasten the balding process.
- Skin cancer – skin cancer can appear in three different ways in the body, two of which can be deadly by spreading through the body (malignant melanomas and squamous cell cancers). These cancers generally appear in sun exposed skin. When balding takes place the scalp can become exposed to the impact if ultraviolet light from direct sunlight, and this can cause the skin to change from smooth, and uniform in colour, to a skin which has spots and discolouration throughout. Hair is there to protect the scalp from direct sunlight and can produce sufficient shade to reduce the risks of skin cancer.
- Dermatological conditions – there are many different types of this type of condition which can impact on the skin and scalp.
- Folliculitis – this is a condition where the hair follicles become infected. It will appear as acne or red or white bumps on the scalp or skin and may be required to be treated with soaks, antibiotics, or a minor surgical incision. It is important not to pick at or scratch the infected area as this may increase the risk of permanent scarring and may spread the infection from an infected hair follicle to one that is not infected. This type of infection may not in itself cause permanent hair loss, but it may cause the hair to prematurely enter into the sleep (telogen) phase of the hair cycle.
- Chlorine and salt water – frequent swimming in chlorine pools or in salt water without shampooing and conditioning afterwards may cause damage to the hair and scalp from the heavy salt or chlorine level of exposure. Salt can in fact dry out the scalp.
It is often the case that many people believe that dandruff may cause balding, but this is not true. Many other people complain of having a dry, itchy, or tingling scalp, and believe this to be a precursor to the balding process. This type of complaint is relatively common and may in fact be a sign of early genetic hair loss.
Causes Of Hair Loss
There are a number of reasons why people will suffer from hair loss, whether it is through disease or other conditions. But the majority of people will go bald as a result of the influence of genetics, hormones, and time. Stress may also cause additional loss, but this type of hair loss is more common in women than in men.
When it comes to genetic hair loss, it is often a good indicator to look at Grandpa’s hair to see if you are likely to lose yours. Doctors will often look a few generations back on the family tree, on both sides, in order to determine if you have inherited a genetic type of pattern baldness.
We all know that everyone inherits genetic tendencies from their parents. It is a common belief amongst doctors today that the genes responsible for common baldness are autosomal – that is they can be inherited from either the mother’s side or the father’s side of the family. There is a belief that baldness comes only from the mother’s side, but this is false. However, for reasons which are not fully understood, the predisposition inherited from an affected mother is of a slightly higher importance than that inherited from an affected father.
It is also a common belief amongst doctors that the genes involved in androgenic alopecia are dominant, which means that only one gene out of a pair is required for the trait to show up in the individual. So, unfortunately, even if only one of your parents passes on the gene involved in baldness, then you are more than likely to suffer some hair loss yourself.
The good news is that the inherited gene is not “expressed”, so it is possible to carry the gene for balding, but in fact never suffer with baldness. It is possible for the gene to skip a generation or two, so only looking at the generation preceding you will not tell you what might happen to your own head.
The ability of a gene to affect you is known as “expressivity” and occurs when a number of factors come into play. The major ones of these involve hormones and age, although stress is another quite common factor. For example, if a man has a father and uncles who suffer with severe baldness, he may have minimal hair loss because of the expression of the baldness gene, which may be limited in this case. This is quite a complex matter and scientists are still trying to find out why this happens.
The whole point of gene identification is to manipulate genes to prevent or reverse common baldness. In order to do this, doctors will need to find and fully understand which genes result in the balding process, and why these genes appear to manifest themselves in you and in a completely other way in your brother.
Find out more about the main hair loss causes