hairfallandcauses
Baldness / Alopecia, is a problem of ‘hair loss’ especially in the head, that is quite common in men as they grow old, which normally takes place in late thirties or early forties. Some men get baldness even at a young age. As per records, two-third of men is affected with the problem of baldness or excess hair loss around the age of 35. While the causes could be mainly genetic, environmental factors are also responsible for baldness. Women and children too are affected with baldness, though not in percentage equivalent to men. Baldness can be classified as male pattern baldness
and female pattern baldness
as shown in figures below:
Some types of baldness can be caused due to an autoimmune disorder, ‘Alopecia Areata’ (AA).
This causes hair loss in some areas or in the whole body. It also causes baldness as small spots as shown in the figures below:
Severe forms of alopecia areata are: Alopecia Totalis
, which causes complete hair loss in head and, Alopecia Universalis
causes complete hair loss in head as well as body. These could affect men, women and children too.
Alopecia’s effects are: dandruff, skin lesions, scarring and hair loss in circular patterns. Alopecia Areata is the mild / medium level baldness that manifests with abnormal hair loss in the eyebrows, at the back part of the head, on the sides – above the ears, while in male pattern baldness, hair loss occurs in the temples as well as in the top part of the head and in the case of female pattern baldness, it happens at the frontal and parietal areas.
Hair growth takes place in cycles of diverse phases namely, the Anagen, Catagen, Telogen and Exogen
phases. The Anagen
is the actual growth phase that lasts for 2-5 years and it is the phase during which the length of the hair growth is determined. The Catagen
phase, which begins after the close of the Anagen phase, lasts for 1 to 2 weeks during which hair growth is stopped and the hair follicle is caused to shrink and even a part of the follicles get destroyed. The Telogen
phase follows after the Catagen phase, which is actually a resting phase that lasts for about 5 months. There will be no hair growth during this phase and when this phase comes to an end, the hairs get shed and the hair follicles begin to grow new hairs. During the Telogen phase, there will be excessive hair loss. While about 90% of the hairs will be in the Anagen phase, that is, in the growing phase, about 1 to 2% of the will be in Catagen phase and about 10 to 12% of hairs will always be in the Telogen phase. The Exogen phase is a shedding phase during which several hairs arise out of one follicle. However, the length of the hair growth cycle is not the same on all parts of the body. For example, while it takes about four months to complete the cycle in the eyebrows, it takes about 3 to 4 years to complete in the scalp.
Enough sleep, enough intake of water and consumption of protein-rich foods will be highly beneficial in controlling hair loss.
Causes
While the main causes for baldness, apart from heredity, are hormonal imbalance and autoimmune diseases, including fungal infection, traumatic damage (which is mostly compulsive pulling), effect of radiotherapy / chemotherapy for cancer treatment and nutritional deficiencies – like iron deficiency or so, there are various other common factors
that causes baldness, which are as follows:
• Eating disorders
– lack of essential nutrition leads to baldness. Junk foods should be replaced with healthy, nutritional diet.
• Dandruff
should be treated and cured in order not to let it to grow as psoriasis. Dandruff also causes hair loss and controls hair growth.
• Diseases that cause hair loss
like, (i) Hypothyroidism
, (ii) Diabetes
– which affects the blood circulation to the scalp as well as feet, which results in hair loss and prevention of hair growth, (iii) Psoriasis
and (iv) PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome)
– caused due to hormonal imbalance.
• Stress
is one of the natural causes that cause shedding of excess hair, which may be physical or mental stress. The energy required for hair growth by the hair follicles, especially the Coenzyme Q10, which is found in fish, meat as well as whole grains, enables the scalp to produce the required energy. Stress causes harm to this Q10, thus causing hair fall. Meditation keeps stress away and promotes hormonal balance.
DOs and DONOTs
• When there is excess hair loss or a sudden baldness at an early age, check out the reason first – get it confirmed whether it is due to any disease or otherwise.
• Stay cool to avoid stress as stress contributes to hair loss.
• Avoid using a hair dryer as much as possible, as it leads to shedding of hair. Straightening / curling of hair are also not advisable to maintain the hair healthy.
• Avoid washing the hair in chlorinated water and also, coloring of hair using artificial dyes.
• Quit smoking - While the carbon monoxide inhaled through smoking stops the hair follicles from getting enough oxygen and nutrients from the blood, the Nicotine contained in cigarettes narrows the blood vessels thus preventing growth of new hairs.
• Quit alcohol consumption - Alcohol sucks the iron content from the body, hindering assimilation of zinc. It also causes the body to get dehydrated and stops absorption of essential nutrients.
and female pattern baldness
as shown in figures below:
Some types of baldness can be caused due to an autoimmune disorder, ‘Alopecia Areata’ (AA).
This causes hair loss in some areas or in the whole body. It also causes baldness as small spots as shown in the figures below:
Severe forms of alopecia areata are: Alopecia Totalis
, which causes complete hair loss in head and, Alopecia Universalis
causes complete hair loss in head as well as body. These could affect men, women and children too.
Alopecia’s effects are: dandruff, skin lesions, scarring and hair loss in circular patterns. Alopecia Areata is the mild / medium level baldness that manifests with abnormal hair loss in the eyebrows, at the back part of the head, on the sides – above the ears, while in male pattern baldness, hair loss occurs in the temples as well as in the top part of the head and in the case of female pattern baldness, it happens at the frontal and parietal areas.
Hair growth takes place in cycles of diverse phases namely, the Anagen, Catagen, Telogen and Exogen
phases. The Anagen
is the actual growth phase that lasts for 2-5 years and it is the phase during which the length of the hair growth is determined. The Catagen
phase, which begins after the close of the Anagen phase, lasts for 1 to 2 weeks during which hair growth is stopped and the hair follicle is caused to shrink and even a part of the follicles get destroyed. The Telogen
phase follows after the Catagen phase, which is actually a resting phase that lasts for about 5 months. There will be no hair growth during this phase and when this phase comes to an end, the hairs get shed and the hair follicles begin to grow new hairs. During the Telogen phase, there will be excessive hair loss. While about 90% of the hairs will be in the Anagen phase, that is, in the growing phase, about 1 to 2% of the will be in Catagen phase and about 10 to 12% of hairs will always be in the Telogen phase. The Exogen phase is a shedding phase during which several hairs arise out of one follicle. However, the length of the hair growth cycle is not the same on all parts of the body. For example, while it takes about four months to complete the cycle in the eyebrows, it takes about 3 to 4 years to complete in the scalp.
Enough sleep, enough intake of water and consumption of protein-rich foods will be highly beneficial in controlling hair loss.
Causes
While the main causes for baldness, apart from heredity, are hormonal imbalance and autoimmune diseases, including fungal infection, traumatic damage (which is mostly compulsive pulling), effect of radiotherapy / chemotherapy for cancer treatment and nutritional deficiencies – like iron deficiency or so, there are various other common factors
that causes baldness, which are as follows:
• Eating disorders
– lack of essential nutrition leads to baldness. Junk foods should be replaced with healthy, nutritional diet.
• Dandruff
should be treated and cured in order not to let it to grow as psoriasis. Dandruff also causes hair loss and controls hair growth.
• Diseases that cause hair loss
like, (i) Hypothyroidism
, (ii) Diabetes
– which affects the blood circulation to the scalp as well as feet, which results in hair loss and prevention of hair growth, (iii) Psoriasis
and (iv) PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome)
– caused due to hormonal imbalance.
• Stress
is one of the natural causes that cause shedding of excess hair, which may be physical or mental stress. The energy required for hair growth by the hair follicles, especially the Coenzyme Q10, which is found in fish, meat as well as whole grains, enables the scalp to produce the required energy. Stress causes harm to this Q10, thus causing hair fall. Meditation keeps stress away and promotes hormonal balance.
DOs and DONOTs
• When there is excess hair loss or a sudden baldness at an early age, check out the reason first – get it confirmed whether it is due to any disease or otherwise.
• Stay cool to avoid stress as stress contributes to hair loss.
• Avoid using a hair dryer as much as possible, as it leads to shedding of hair. Straightening / curling of hair are also not advisable to maintain the hair healthy.
• Avoid washing the hair in chlorinated water and also, coloring of hair using artificial dyes.
• Quit smoking - While the carbon monoxide inhaled through smoking stops the hair follicles from getting enough oxygen and nutrients from the blood, the Nicotine contained in cigarettes narrows the blood vessels thus preventing growth of new hairs.
• Quit alcohol consumption - Alcohol sucks the iron content from the body, hindering assimilation of zinc. It also causes the body to get dehydrated and stops absorption of essential nutrients.
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