Causes of baldness, types of alopecia
There are a thousand and one reasons for complete or partial hair loss and, of course, as many ways of
treatment.
Needless to say, any treatment is prescribed solely on the basis of diagnosis? Determining the cause begins with
full-fledged large-scale studies:
- general condition of the body;
- hormonal background;
- skin biopsies;
- microscopic and spectral examination of the hair.
Alopecia (lat. Alopecia, baldness, baldness) is a partial or complete loss of hair on the head and body
caused by
pathological processes occurring in the body.
Androgenic (androgenetic) alopecia
The most common baldness of the frontal and /or parietal area. Often such alopecia is called the "male type of
baldness". The process is laid down at the genetic level and is associated with an increased amount of androgen
hormones produced - masculinizing steroids over the age of 35. This baldness manifests itself first by thinning
the
hair, gradually turning it into a fluffy one, and then by the complete cessation of hair growth in the forehead
and
crown in men and in the crown in women. In fairness, it should be noted that complete baldness in women is much
less
common than in men.
Experts offer two ways to treat androgenic alopecia.
The first is conservative means for the first or second degree of baldness on the Hamilton-Norwood scale. It
will
not be possible to achieve a complete cure, but it is possible to suspend the process. For this, physiotherapy
procedures that stimulate hair follicles, such as Darsonval or electrophoresis, are most often prescribed.
Minoxidil
(Rogaine) gives excellent results in the fight against baldness. It is available in the form of foam or
solution,
easily applied to the scalp. Another remedy for baldness is Finasteride, a hormonal drug that converts
testosterone
into androgen dihydrotestosterone.
The second method is hair transplantation. It is used in the later stages of baldness, when the desired result
cannot be achieved by conservative means. There are several methods of operative correction of alopecia, we will
tell you about them a little below, but here we will only mention that the prices hair transplant
Turkey are the
most humane, compared with similar offers in other parts of the world.
Diffuse alopecia
It is the result of a failure of the entire system of the body and is characterized by a sharp and massive hair
loss
on the entire surface of the body. Sometimes such baldness is called symptomatic. Diffuse alopecia is the second
most common after androgenic alopecia. Women suffer most often from this form of baldness.
There are anagen (follicle growth phase) and telogen (follicle resting phase) forms of diffuse alopecia.
The cause of anagenosis most often lies outside the body – radiation, chemotherapy, poisoning with poisons.
Telogen is provoked by stress, thyroid disorders, taking inappropriate contraceptives, pregnancy, deficiency of
certain trace elements due to unbalanced diets and even excessive beer consumption.
With diffuse alopecia, the hair follicle does not die and most often, 3 to 9 months after the cause of the loss
is
eliminated, the hair begins to recover. To stimulate growth, physiotherapy and stimulants are used, for example,
minoxidil.
Scarring alopecia
The cause of scar alopecia is viral, fungal or bacterial lesions of the hair follicles. Such baldness can be
stopped
if treatment is started in time. But if the time is lost or the lesion of the hair bulb was the result of a
serious
injury, chemical or thermal burn, then connective scar tissue appears in place of the lost hair bulb, which can
only
be removed by transplanting a fragment of skin with healthy hair follicles.
Related Post: Scar transplantation: how to grow hair on a scar?
Nest alopecia
"Nest" or "focal" alopecia (lat. alopecia areata) is characterized by one or more foci of baldness both in the
scalp
and locally on any part of the body. Moreover, the hair follicles are not subject to scarring. The cause of this
form of baldness is damage to the immune system of the hair root. Nest alopecia has several stages of
development:
- focal;
- multi - stage;
- subtotal;
- total;
- universal.
The first three stages are characterized by constant expansion. The hair follicles weaken around the
circumference,
the hair can simply be pulled out of them. The last two stages, in their logical conclusion, are accompanied by
the
destruction of the nail plate, i.e. we can talk about the systemic degradation of keratin bonds characteristic
of
complex dermatoses.
There is an opinion among dermatologists that such symptoms indicate the formation of specific proteins that
trigger
the system of autoimmune transformations. Viral diseases, antibiotic therapy, anesthesia, and even stress can
trigger these degradation processes. After some time, hair growth in the area of the affected foci can recover.
Seborrheic alopecia
The external manifestations of this alopecia are extremely unpleasant. The hair becomes greasy within a short
time
after washing, the scalp becomes covered with yellowish scales. All this is accompanied by itching and most
often
reaches severe seborrheic eczema. The focus of baldness begins with the crown of the head and is constantly
expanding. The border of alopecia is pronounced, healthy hair sits tightly around the circumference, and those
that
fall into the seborrhea zone gradually thin out and fall out.
Treatment of such baldness is most often conservative, associated with the stabilization of the hormonal
background
and minimizing the consequences of seborrhea: drying masks, scrubs, special shampoos.
Hamilton-Norwood scale
A kind of classifier of the level of baldness is considered to be a scale developed in the 50s of the last
century
by the American anatomist James Hamilton. The classification is based on the analysis of the dependence of hair
loss
in men of different ages on genetic predisposition and hormonal activity. The doctor studied castration cases
and
its effect on the body. Twenty years later, the systematization was supplemented and expanded by O`tar Norwood,
a
dermatologist from Oklahoma, a researcher and a pioneer in the field of hair transplantation.
Today, the table according to which all specialists in this field work is as follows:
1st degree. Thinning |
Slight displacement of the hairline from the forehead to the crown |
2nd degree. Усиленное поредение |
Hair loss over the forehead, the formation of bald spots (up to 2 cm above the previous hairline). |
3rd degree. Serious thinning on the top of the head |
The growth and design of a receding hairline in the frontotemporal part and the first loss of hair on
the crown |
4th degree. Expanded initial receding hairline |
Hair loss on the crown, general thinning of the hair becomes noticeable |
5th degree. The expansion of the bald spot + thinning of the hair on the top of the head |
Complete loss of hair in the front and in the temporal area. The appearance of a semicircular bald spot
on the back of the head |
6th degree. Extensive baldness |
Complete disappearance of hair in the forehead and crown. Increased hair loss in the temporal part |
7th degree. Severe baldness |
A small area of hair at the back is our neck between the ears |
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Comparative analysis of hair transplant techniques
When all methods of conservative hair restoration are exhausted, the patient faces the question of which of the
methods of hair transplantation to use. "The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery" (ISHRS) has
recognized and recommended only two methods for use:
|
STRIP-METHOD
Hair grafting with a flap
|
FUE-METHOD
Seamless graft transplantation (microscopic fragments of skin with a hair bulb)
|
Procedure time |
3–4 WEEK |
8–10 hours
Often with a lunch break
|
Donor material |
A thin strip of skin is taken from the occipital part of the head, grafts are formed from it for
transplantation. On
the back of the head
|
Fragments are extracted from the donor area (nape, temples, chin) with a special device (punch), the
needle diameter
of which is up to 1 mm.
They are implanted with tweezers into the prepared channel. In fact, the procedure resembles the
planting of an
onion, only it is carried out under a microscope.
|
Anesthesia |
Local
You can read, work on a computer, watch TV
|
Local
You can read, work on a computer, watch TV
|
Consequences for the donor zone |
A thin, barely noticeable seam |
Practically no consequences |
Survival rate |
100% |
98% |
In fairness, we should mention another popular method of hair transplantation HFE (Hand Follicle Extraction),
literally translated - manual extraction of follicles. The technique of implementation, as in fue, consists in
extracting the smallest fragments from donor zones and implanting them on hair-free areas. But, as the name
implies,
each fragment is literally extracted and inserted into a new place manually, which significantly affects the
time of
the operation, especially with large volumes of transplantation.
Hair transplant in Turkey, prices
The most well-known, long-practiced and widely replicated method of transplantation is, of course, the STRIP
technique. Millions of men and women have gained self-confidence and improved the quality of life for quite
reasonable money. In Turkey, it is not difficult to find a clinic that will perform such an operation for an
amount
not exceeding one hundred thousand rubles.
As for the fue hair transplant prices for it are slightly higher than for the patchwork
technique. This is due to
the complexity of the process. But it is obvious that the cost is always calculated individually, based on the
characteristics of the body and the wishes of the patient.