Manchester Studio - Alopecia Management

Concealing Alopecia and understanding the fear it causes

The word Alopecia on its own simply means "hair loss" - to understand the different types there are usually one or two additional words added to it. The one that most people find the most alarming is Alopecia Areata and it's usually this one they mean when using the short form. Their alarm is because of its unpredictable nature - it can strike very suddenly and cause patches of complete hair loss. In extreme cases this can spread and the whole scalp can be affected - you may have seen UK TV celebrities such as Gail Porter recounting their struggles with it, while in the US Jada Pinkett Smith is among those who have publicised the problem. Sometimes regrowth can occur and if they're lucky the sufferer may never be troubled again, but in other cases it can return again and again and they may find it affects them for many years.

There are a variety of other types of alopecia, of which the most common is Androgenetic Alopecia. This type is inherited from one or both sides of your family and causes a general overall thinning of the hair. While often associated with older people it can start at any age and usually proceeds gradually, If you think you may have this then asking if parents, grandparents or aunts have had a similar problem may give you confirmation of the likely cause.

Other types also exist - Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia seems to be increasingly common. This is a form where the front, and often side, hairlines recede gradually - often accompanied by inflammation and irritation. This causes scar tissue and kills the hair follicles so there is no chance of regrowth.

Medicine has few answers

Apart from a few limited instances, medical science hasn't had much success with finding cures for the various kinds of alopecia; indeed it barely recognised female hair loss at all until relatively recently. That of course hasn't prevented the flood of advertising claiming miracle solutions and hi-tech treatments. Hair loss has always had more than its share of snake-oil salesmen. In the last couple of years there's been a big increase in new American procedures making their way to Britain - Plasma/platelet injections, lasers treatments, infra-red light helmets, and increasingly the idea of transplants which were previously more common for men, whose hair loss is often quite different from women. None of these have scientific studies backing their use, and particularly with Alopecia Areata any apparent successes are usually down to the variable nature of the condition.

Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia is one of the few types where doctors may be able to help - if it is caught early enough. Drugs such as corticosteroids can reduce the inflammation which seems to cause it and can slow it down considerably in the early stages. So if you think you may have this then getting an early diagnosis is important.

What do we offer?

Needless to say we don't use any of the dubious techniques mentioned above, and we aren't doctors so we don't attempt to treat the source of these conditions. What we do, at Manchester as at our other studios, is effectively disguise hair loss so no-one can tell that you have it. More than that, we can often give you the sort of hair that you've dreamed about, while still looking completely natural and allowing you to feel like it's all your own. No more removing wigs at night (or worrying about them coming off during the day) or special cleaning arrangements - you wash and brush it as normal.

Depending on your condition and how much loss you have we'll often suggest options of our Intralace Systems - a mesh-based system which we invented where your own remaining hair is integrated with an ultra-light mesh to which more hair is attached. For milder cases our ultra-fine Medi Connections extensions may give you sufficient volume.

Come and speak to us

If you live in the Greater Manchester and surrounding area then you're in easy reach of our studio. Come and see us and we'll advise you on your Alopecia problems - always honest, always sympathetic, and always constructive.

The first consultation is free and if you prefer you can have a video consultation instead.

To contact us about an appointment or get more information see the Manchester Contact page where you can send us an enquiry or give us a call.

For details of our location and directions for getting there see our Manchester Directions page.

For further information on Alopecia visit our Alopecia pages or our FFA pages and our various galleries including the Intralace Gallery.