Perhaps because it is little-known, the figures for the numbers of people thought to be suffering from trichotillomania are surprisingly high.

Trichotillomania is the compulsion to pull out your own hair. It is more common in women than men, but it is thought that around two to four per cent of people suffer from it to some degree. It might be a mild compulsion or it could be more severe, with some sufferers unable to stop themselves and going so far as to pull out huge patches of hair or even plucking their entire scalp.

A trichotillomania sufferer will tend to suffer a mild endorphin rush when a hair is pulled. This is triggered by the slight sensation of pain and can effectively become addictive. Sufferers report feeling calmed by pulling out hairs. However, as hairs desensitise after several pluckings, the person is likely to expand the area they pluck in search of the same feeling as they no longer get the same feeling of relief.

Many people suffering from trichotillomania believe that they are alone, but the figure given above indicates that is far from the case.

Perhaps the most famous sufferer of alopecia areata, Gail Porter, recently appeared on British TV sporting a full head of her own hair. This is despite having spent five years with no hair whatsoever, to the extent that at one point, she lost her eyebrows and eyelashes.

This goes to show that it is quite possible that alopecia areata sufferers will recover. Although the effects of the disorder are devastating, all that is actually happening is that the hairs are entering the rest phase of their growth cycle, something which all hairs enter intermittently anyway. The effect is created by the fact that all hairs enter this phase simultaneously and remain in it, meaning no new hair grows.

However, as the hair follicles remain undamaged, it is quite possible that they can grow hairs again. Porter initially started seeing new hair growth as long ago as 2006, but it has taken until now for her to fully recover as the progress of alopecia areata is unpredictable. She believes that recent improvements have been down to a reduction in stress through finding love.

If you experience hair loss, do not assume that is alopecia areata. Pay a visit to your doctor or a dermatologist who can correctly diagnose you.

Alopecia causes hair loss in different parts of the body and it does so in different ways. Here we explain the difference between alopecia androgenetic and alopecia areata.

Alopecia androgenetic
This is a relatively common condition in both men and women, often referred to as ‘pattern baldness’. It can lead to complete baldness in men, but this is much less likely in women who will ordinarily experience general hair thinning over their entire head.

Alopecia androgenetic in men can be caused by coronary heart disease or enlargement of the prostate, while in women, a hormonal imbalance known as polycystic ovary syndrome is often the cause.

Alopecia areata
This condition tends to manifest itself in patches of hair loss. They are generally round and ordinarily on the head, although they can appear in other parts of the body.

Alopecia areata is an auto-immune disorder, which means that your body’s immune system is treating your hair follicles as if they are foreign bodies, attacking them. It does not kill the hair follicles however, merely hampering hair growth, so hair can grow back eventually.