Hair Loss Treatment

Some hairstyles, including tight braids and weaves, may increase the risk of developing an irreversible form of scarring hair loss, according to a new study in the Archives of Dermatology.
Seen predominately in African-American women, this type of hair loss, central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, centers on the vertex (crown) of the scalp and spreads peripherally.

“Any style that causes too much tension and traction on the hair, such as braiding with artificial hair weaved in, can possibly lead to scarring hair loss,” says study author Angela Kyei, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

“You can’t bring the hair back, so you should see a dermatologist who specializes in hair loss and let them evaluate your scalp.”

In the study, 326 African-American women answered questionnaires about their hair-grooming methods, health status, and other demographic information. Dermatologists then performed a scalp examination to grade hair loss.

Nearly 60 percent of the women showed signs of advanced central hair loss with scarring. The women were also more likely to have type-2 diabetes and bacterial scalp infections, and sport hairstyles associated with traction, including braids and weaves, the study showed.

The increase in the number of women with type-2 diabetes and traction alopecia dovetails with the theory that it may also be influenced by metabolic problems.

Hair Loss in African-American Women

“It is harder to manage tightly curled hair and is often not socially acceptable to wear hair in its natural form for these women,” Kyei says. So some women turn to braids and weaves, and because these hairstyles can be costly, they are sometimes worn for extended periods.

“But hair loss is permanent, meaning that we can inject steroids or creams but it won’t bring your hair back, so it’s very important to seek help with dermatologists early on,” she says.

The study “is 100 percent true,” says Yael Halaas, MD, a facial plastic surgeon in New York City who specializes in hair restoration. “This type of hair loss starts from the center and spreads out,” she says. “It is an epidemic among African-American women with a history of tight braids and weaves.”

Often the only treatment option is a hair transplant, she says. This can be problematic if the hair loss is extensive and has jeopardized donor sites.

“Avoid tight braids and weaves at all cost,” she says. “They will do damage.”

“Their hair has a lot of curl, which means it provides good coverage for thinning areas, so they are slower to take action because they don’t realize how much thinning they are getting,” Halaas says.

Neil Sadick, MD, a New York City–based dermatologist and clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College, says this type of hair loss is a growing problem in African-American women.

“These hair-grooming practices can lead to excessive trauma to the hair shaft of predisposed individuals [and] interfere with hair integrity and are major culprits in causing this cosmetically debilitating scarring hair loss,” he says.

“It can be best tempered by dermatologists by educating the patient to the deleterious effects of their current hairstyling practices and discontinuing excessive heat and chemical treatments to their hair,” he says.

Stress is a part of our life. It is in fact an integral part of our existence. Stress can affect our physical efforts and mental framework. All of us feel stress, but have different ways to express or react to it.

Stress can be termed as the unseen ailment which disturbs our equilibrium. It is something which shouldn’t be taken lightly because it is an established and well-proven cause of mental and physical pathos.

Talking about the impact of stress on hair and scalp condition, it is important to mention that this type of stress-induced hair loss is called telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is a temporary condition characterized by shedding of hair from the scalp triggered by acute or chronic stressful situations. The hair may re-grow within 6–9 months.

The only lasting treatment apart from a symptomatic one is proper management of stress. Stress becomes highly injurious to our health if not managed effectively.

Learning to relax, exercises and meditation, spending a quiet time in introspection, organizing oneself, avoiding unnecessary competition, talking to friends, developing a positive attitude and taking things lightly, are the techniques of dealing with stressed conditions.

Managing stress properly will make your life beautiful. You will feel positive, better, charged, active and relaxed. Stress can be positive or negative depending on how you perceive it. On one hand, it might bring the best out of you, by instilling a sense of heightened concentration while encountering a challenging situation. And on the other hand, it can be so consuming that it might end up being highly stressing, ultimately making you unable to relax. So a balance is needed, to be in complete control of life and decide the path you want to tread and not forcefully follow, out of stress, jeopardizing your health, mind, and peace.

Apart from these useful methods, excessive use of synthetic hair care products—which leads to damaging hair, causing baldness and rapid hair loss—should also be avoided. The use of natural herbal products should be promoted which will be mild on your precious priceless possession—your hair, the crowning glory!

If you are anything like a lot of men with thinning hair, then it probably feels like you’ve tried every hair loss medication in the world. If you are still looking, it is most likely because nothing you’ve tried so far has actually worked. Sometimes, these medications cause side effects that are too problematic to ignore; other times, there is no noticeable benefit in taking a particular medication, and you end up throwing it out. Frustrating, isn’t it? One of the biggest problems with a lot of products today is that they are geared for use by both men and women—and a man, your problem is probably androgenic alopecia.

Natural Treatments and Androgenic Alopecia

You are most likely more familiar with the common term for androgenic alopecia—male pattern baldness. This is the most common type of hair loss in men, by far. Yet so many kinds of medication completely disregard the science behind what causes male pattern baldness, hoping to cash in on and appeal to as many customers as possible. Today’s natural products are the few kinds of medication available that are specifically designed to deal with the underlying causes of male pattern baldness.

Nip Thinning Hair in the Bud

Now this is a very important part of this topic. DHT blockers are an exciting type of hair loss medication that works in two very distinct ways. Their oral supplements work to block the hormone known as DHT—or dihydrotestosterone—preventing it from being produced in the first place. Some DHT blockers also contain a topical serum to gently massage into the scalp to help create a fertile environment for fresh, new hair to regrow. Men who have tried virtually every medication under the sun swear by DHT blockers because they actually work—and keep on working. Since they’re all natural, they can be safely used every single day.

For many women facing the emotional and physical whirlwind of breast cancer treatment, the possibility of losing their hair is one more trauma to go through.

“It’s typically two of the first questions I get: ‘Will I lose it, and when will I lose it?’” said Dr. Susan Melin, who specializes in treating breast cancer as an associate professor of internal medicine—hematology and oncology—at Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center.

“They feel like it is a declaration to the world of their condition and the chemotherapy that they’re about to go through.”

Melin is hopeful that a feasibility study of a scalp-cooling device—just under way at Wake Forest Baptist—will enable her to eventually answer “no” more often to those questions.

“Preventing chemotherapy-induced hair loss by using the scalp-cooling cap may relieve severe psychological and emotional stress and improve the patient’s quality of life,” Melin said.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Wake Forest Baptist and the University of California at San Francisco for an investigational device exemption for DigniCap, which is made by Dignitana of Lund, Sweden. The study is the first step required to gain FDA approval. Melin is the principal investigator for the Wake Forest Baptist study.

The device, aimed at patients with stage 1 breast cancer, is already in clinical use in Canada, Europe, and Japan. According to the Dignitana website, more than 80 percent of the patients have kept their hair during chemotherapy.

Both US medical centers will enroll 10 patients. The first patient at Wake Forest Baptist is set to undergo chemo treatment while wearing the cap. UCSF has at least five patients enrolled.

The device is a tight-fitting silicone cap placed directly on the head, and an outer neoprene cap that insulates and secures the inner one. The cap is connected to a cooling and control unit with touch-screen controls. The design leaves the ears uncovered.

A coolant circulates throughout the inner silicone layer. The cap is designed to deliver consistent cooling to all areas of the scalp. The device features safety sensors that monitor and optimize the treatment temperature, typically around 42 degrees. A lower temperature is recommended for patients with thick hair.

When a cap is applied to the head, the temperature of the scalp is lowered over a 20- to 30-minute period. Blood vessels surrounding the hair roots contract, resulting in a significant reduction of cytotoxins to the follicle.

Reduced blood flow leaves a smaller amount of chemotherapy available for uptake in the cells. The decreased temperature results in less absorption of—and reduced effects from—the chemotherapy.
The treatment cycle, depending on the patient, would range from four times over a two-month period to eight times over a four-month period, Melin shares.
Melin said there have been few side effects with the cap, primarily headaches. Melin said that one of the goals with the study is to determine if it is safe and will cause no side effects.

Patients will have follow-up visits of three, six, nine and twelve months to determine whether hair has grown back.

Melin said that a larger efficacy study would include patients with stage 1 and stage 2 breast cancer. “Basically, the DigniCap would be used for certain patients who have a moderate chance of their cancer recurring,” she said.