Hair: what is alopecia?

The hair loss that this term designates can be more or less important. How to take care of it?

L’alopecia is the term related to the loss of hair, whether moderate or severe, temporary or permanent. It is estimated that a number of lost hairs greater than 100 is not normal.

If the first inconvenience is above all psychological, aesthetic, this hair loss can be the symptom of an underlying disease. Circumscribed to an area or affecting the entire scalp, it affects men or women, even children. In men, this alopecia most commonly occurs before the age of 40 and in women, later.

The causes of alopecia

Hair loss, as we said earlier, can be a sign of a pathology:

• iron deficiency,
• a hypothyroidismor on the contrary a hyperthyroidism,
• the ringwormle lupus among others,
• the consequence of treatment such as chemotherapy, childbirth or menopause.

Factors can also promote it such as heredity, androgens (hormones present indifferently in women or men), or lifestyle (stress, feed…).

signs of hair loss

Androgenic alopecia is the most common. It is a chronic form resulting from hypersensitization of the hair follicle to androgens.

As for its acute form, it is a sudden fall affecting the entire scalp and which is temporary and reversible. The signs :

• the hair is thinning and the hair is finer,
• the hair is less numerous or disappears in patches.

Note that in women, hair loss will often affect the area behind the front line of implantation and the top of the skull.

Prevent hair loss

Here is what to do to limit the risk of hair loss:

• do not apply too many harsh hair products such as dyes;
• let the hair air dry naturally;
• follow a balanced diet;
• reduce stress, sun exposure, tight hairstyles…

Alopecia treatments

In humans, here is what it is possible to do:

• application of treatments aimed at hair growth,
• a graft of hair when the solutions or tablets do not give conclusive results.

In women:

• hormonal treatment (anti-androgens) if not contraindicated;
• local treatments but without much guarantee of results;
• a wig to limit the psychological aspect of alopecia;
• mesotherapy.