Monthly Archives: July 2010

There are many different ploys you can use to camouflage lost or thinning hair. What you choose depends on the degree of hair loss and how it is manifesting.

Scalp make-up
This is a common way of camouflaging bald patches. It involves spraying the scalp the colour to suit a person’s hair. This is only really suitable for mild, patchy hair loss and is unsuitable for masking greater hair loss for obvious reasons.

Medi connect
This is another way of covering patches of scalp where hair loss has taken place, but it is a bit more sophisticated than scalp make-up. It is similar to hair extensions and thickens up patches where hair is thinning.

Synthetic hair
Another option is synthetic hair which can be woven into real hair for added thickness. It is actually a fibrous plastic that is often used in wigs and also for hair extensions. Human hair extensions are also available for a similar purpose.

The above treatments are unsuitable for greater hair loss for which more comprehensive options are also available. Hair loss consultants will be able to advise you as to what would be best for you.

Trichotillomania is the compulsion to pull out the hairs on one’s body. The Daily Mail recently interviewed Laura Forbes who highlights a problem that many people who suffer with the disorder experience; that it can take years before they eventually seek help:

“I had been pulling my hair for about a year by the time my parents realised that I needed help.”

Laura took the right first step by going to see her GP, although he seemed unaware of trichotillomania. If you experience a similar thing, you can arrange to see a qualified dermatologist privately.

The doctor had simply advised Laura to stop pulling out her hair. She points out:

“Now, 14 years later, I know it’s not that simple. It was an unconscious habit – my hand would wander up to my hair, my brain would zone out and, before I knew it, there would be huge bunches of hair around me.”

Laura pulled her hair out to such an extent that she created bald patches. Styling her hair hid the problem initially, but she moved from hairbands to headscarves as the problem developed.

“My head was always covered in clips. Getting ready to leave the house took longer and longer and became more and more stressful.”

Laura intitially used the Intralace system to hide the effects of hair loss, but has since treated the cause through hypnotherapy and habit reversal training and has seen considerable improvement.

Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is also sometimes referred to as androgenetic alopecia. Ordinarily, the human head will shed between 100 and 150 hairs a day. Beyond this and the hair loss may become noticeable.

In FPHL, after a hair is shed, the hair that grows back is not as strong. This process continues until there is merely vellus hair, which is fine hair which is barely noticeable. FPHL can occur any time after puberty, but generally affects women who have gone through the menopause.

FPHL can be divided into mild and severe cases. Mild FPHL is not uncommon and is inherited through a person’s genes. As the hair loss is relatively minor, it can usually be addressed using only scalp make-up and hair style. You can get help and advice with this.

Severe FPHL is usually insufficient to warrant a wig, but as it is more noticeable, there are significant psychological effects for the sufferer. Alternatives to a wig are the Intralace and Medi Connections systems. These offer a greatly effective means of treating effects of this level of hair loss.

Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is a genetically inherited condition where either naturally shed hairs grow back weaker or hairs are shed with greater frequency than normal. It can be either mild or severe.

There are a number of treatment options available for FPHL and what is best for you will most likely depend on the severity of the condition. Mild cases can be treated with nothing more than scalp make-up and hair styling. For more severe cases, there are hair replacement options as well as medical treatments.

Minoxidil is a popular treatment. It is a lotion that is applied to the scalp which promotes the growth of hair. Weaker versions can be bought over the counter, but if you decide to go for this option, it is recommended that you get a stronger five per cent solution that is only available on prescription.

Spironolactone is another option. This is medication that can be taken orally and has shown good results in terms of hair growth improvement for many people.

Other treatments that have been used but about which not much is know include propecia and anti-androgens, including dianette, which has shown signs of slowing FPHL.

One of the major problems of trichotillomania, the compulsion to pull out hairs to calm yourself, is that many sufferers are ashamed of what they do and therefore fail to seek help. This makes it difficult to establish how many people are affected by it, but it is thought to be between two and four per cent of the population, albeit to differing degrees.

Despite this, it is little-known and even many medical practictioners are unaware of it. If you see your GP and they seem unsympathetic, you do have other options. You can arrange to see a qualified dermatologist or a trichologist independently.

Many sufferers describe how isolating the condition can be, saying that they feel like only they are afflicted. It can also lead to further stress if the person feels they are causing their family distress through pulling out their hair, leading to a vicious circle.

There are many different triggers for the condition. It can be stress-related or as a result of emotional trauma. The act of pulling out hairs is calming, giving rise to an endorphin release, which can lead to a form of addiction. It is often the case that the hair is pulled out without the person even knowing that they are doing it.

Scientific studies have shown that hair loss in women produces greater levels of psychological trauma for the sufferer than for men. Whilst losing such an intrinsic part of your physical appearance can be distressing for both sexes, hair has much more significance for women.

What do women feel when they lose their hair?

Many women experience a massive drop in self-confidence when they lose their hair, as thick healthy hair is so often linked with beauty, youth and sexuality in today’s image-conscious society. Women pick up on this very easily, and it can be hard to shake off.

Some women worry about their attractiveness, whilst others – such as alopecia areata sufferers – feel frustrated that they can’t do anything to stop their hair falling out.

Social expectations

The other problem with female hair loss is the reactions of the people around the sufferer. Unlike male pattern baldness, hair loss in women is not seen as ‘normal’ and there is not such a strong support system in place for it.

Treatment

Female hair loss sufferers need not struggle alone with their condition. Thanks to increased awareness, there are now clinics which offer new and advanced treatments specially designed to help women manage or overcome their hair loss symptoms.