How to Prevent Hair Loss /Baldness/Alopecia

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     Hair loss has multiple causes, including diet, mineral deficiency, medications, stress, pollution, and your genetics. wearing helmets and caps can also increase hair loss. Up to one third of the population suffers from hair loss, and of that third, thousands are women. Whatever the cause of hair loss that might be worrying you, it's important to understand what is hair loss, how hair grows, and what you could be doing before hair loss even becomes an issue for you. In this article, you'll find out all  answers, as well as some short advice on what to do if hair loss does become an issue for you.

      Take care of your hair. There are no guarantees that you can prevent hair loss that is genetically programmed or hair loss caused by factors not within your control. However, you can do the best by your hair at all stages to give it the greatest chance of staying in top condition and not leaving your head sooner than it needs to. There are a number of things you can do to take good care of your hair.

                Hair Loss Treatment              

                      Don't subject your hair to frequent, constant heating and drying procedures. Heat weakens hair proteins, no matter the gimmicks promising softness and shine, and constant heating and drying can lead to brittleness and fragility that causes hair loss that would not have occurred otherwise. Minimize the usage of hair dryers, hot curlers, hot brushes, hair straightener, hair fasteners, and chemical treatments and your hair will last longer. And watch where you put those heated tools; burned scalps can permanently damage hair follicles! Ultimately, natural drying is best for you hair, so aim to dry it naturally more often than drying it with heat.

·              Slow down on the dyeing. Never color your hair more often than 6 to 8 weeks and try for semi-coverage rather than full dyeing. When it comes to going gray, it's a lot kinder to your hair to let it turn gray than to dye it. While there are a lot of well-meaning comments about not needing to look older than you are, this ageist "beauty before health" slant overlooks the value of having your hair at all!

·                     Be careful how you style your hair. Some styles that require tight pulling and elastics, clips, etc. can be a cause of hair loss if done on a daily basis. For example, tight ponytails, braiding tightly, corn-rows, and plaits, can lead to significant hair loss when done daily. Winding hair tightly onto rollers, especially heated rollers, is also liable to cause more hair loss. The medical name for loss of hair due to hairstyles that are too tight is known as "traction alopecia" and it is completely preventable as a cause in and of itself!

·                          Avoid layering cuts that lose a lot of your hair. If you're already experiencing hair loss, don't speed it up by having the hairdresser remove more hair!  

SCARRING ALOPECIA

Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia, refers to a collection of hair loss disorders that may be diagnosed in up to 3% of hair loss patients. It occurs worldwide in otherwise healthy men and women of all ages.

Each specific diagnosis within this category is fairly rare, but some examples include dissecting cellulitis, eosinophilic pustular folliculitis, follicular degeneration syndrome (previously called "hot comb" alopecia), folliculitis decalvans, lichen planopilaris, and pseudopelade of Brocq, to name a few. Scarring alopecia may also be part of a much larger condition such as chronic lupus erythematosus, where many organs of the body can be affected.

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Understanding Hair Loss

Although you can't reverse natural balding, you can protect your hair from damage that may eventually lead to hair thinning.  Many people put tremendous stress on their hair. Hair dryers, hot curlers, hair dyes, permanent and hair straightening products, and chemical-laden cosmetics may cause dry, brittle, and thinning hair.  To prevent hair damage that may cause hair loss, follow these tips: Go natural: Leave your hair its natural color and texture. If that is not an option for you...

Read the Understanding Hair Loss

While there are many forms of scarring alopecia, the common theme is a potentially permanent and irreversible destruction of hair follicles and their replacement with scar tissue.

Most forms of scarring alopecia first occur as small patches of hair loss that may expand with time. In some cases the hair loss is gradual, without noticeable symptoms, and may go unnoticed for a long time. In other instances, the hair loss is associated with severe itching, burning, and pain, and is rapidly progressive.

The scarring alopecia patches usually look a little different from alopecia areata in that the edges of the bald patches look more "ragged." The destruction of the hair follicle occurs below the skin surface so there may not be much to actually see on the scalp skin surface other than patchy hair loss. Affected areas may be smooth and clean, or may have redness, scaling, increased or decreased pigmentation, or may have raised blisters with fluids or pus coming from the affected area.

These visual indicators may help with diagnosis, but it is difficult to diagnose a scarring alopecia just from the pattern of the hair loss and the nature of the scalp skin. Often when scarring alopecia is suspected, one or more skin biopsies are done to confirm the diagnosis and help identify the particular form of scarring alopecia. A small biopsy of 2 to 4 mm in diameter is taken and examined under a microscope. A pathologist or dermatologist will look for destruction of the hair follicles, scar tissue deep in the skin, and the presence and location of inflammation in relation to the hair follicles.

Often, the early stages of a scarring alopecia will have inflammatory cells around the hair follicles, which, many researchers believe, induces the destruction of the hair follicles and development of scar tissue. However, there is some argument about this among dermatologists, as sometimes a biopsy from a scarring alopecia-affected individual shows very little inflammation.

Scarring alopecia almost always burns out. The bald patches stop expanding and any inflammation, itching, burning, or pain goes away. In this end stage, another skin biopsy usually shows no inflammation around hair follicles. Bald areas usually have no more hair follicles. 

Sometimes, though, hair follicles, at least those at the periphery of a bald patch, are not completely destroyed and they can regrow, but often all that is left are just a few longitudinal scars deep in the skin to show where the hair follicles once were.