Hair grows in almost every part of the skin. From head to toe, you can see hair everywhere except, the soles, palms, eyelids, and belly buttons. In most of the parts, hairs are very fine and small. Your hairs are made of a protein known as keratin that is produced in hair follicles. When a follicle produces new hair cells, old cells get pushed out from the skin surface. The average rate of hair growth is about six inches a year. The hairs on your skin are the string of dead keratin cells. A person has about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs on his head. Losing about 100 hairs a day is common and normal. Near hairs replace the lost hairs in days. If you are losing more hair but the hair growth rate is slow; that can be a problem. Your hair loss problem can be temporary or permanent.
Common symptoms of hair loss
The most common symptom is losing lots of hair every day. But there are more symptoms of hair loss.
Receding hairline: When you see in a mirror, your forehead will start looking bigger because the hairline will look higher than usual. This occurs due to thinning hair.
Widening part: When a person parts the hairs, he will note that the parts are getting wider.
Bald patches: You may notice bald patches on the head. These patches can range in different sizes.
Loose hair: While brushing or combing the hairs, you will see lots of hairs on the brush/comb.
Itching: Some people also face itching due to the underlying condition behind hair loss. But if the scalp is itchy, the person is not necessarily facing hair loss problems.
Clogged drains: After washing hair, you will notice lots of hair in the shower drains.
What are the types of hair loss?
Androgenic alopecia
This is a type of genetic disorder and can occur in both men and women. In men, this condition is known as male pattern baldness. When a person is suffering from androgenic alopecia, he will start losing his hair in his early teens or early twenties. He will start noticing receding hairlines from the crown and frontal scalp. In women, androgenic alopecia is known as female pattern baldness and it appears in their 40s or later.
Involutional alopecia
This is a natural condition where the hair starts thinning with age. The hair follicles go to the resting phase and the number of hairs starts reducing.
Alopecia areata
A person can face this hair condition all of a sudden that causes patchy hair loss. This hair problem usually appears in teens and young adults. Sometimes the condition may lead to complete baldness.
Alopecia Universalis
In this disorder, a person can face hair loss in his entire body including eyelashes, eyebrows, and pubic hairs.
Telogen effluvium
It is a temporary hair thinning problem that mainly occurs due to changes in the hair growth cycle. Lots of hairs go to the resting phase at the same time. Due to this, hair gets thin and starts shedding.
Trichotillomania
This is a mental disorder that usually occurs in kids where they start pulling out their hairs.
Scarring alopecias
This problem leads to permanent hair loss. It occurs due to any type of skin condition like folliculitis, cellulitis, etc. A person gets the scars and loses the ability to regenerate the hair at that portion.
Common causes behind hair loss
A person can lose his hair due to various reasons. However, there is no exact factor that leads to hair loss. There are a few common causes that can cause hair loss and thinning.
Hormones
The imbalance of androgens hormone can cause hair loss
Genes
A child can get hair loss problems from any of his parents.
Stress or illness
Any type of stress can cause temporary hair loss. Certain illnesses can also lead to hair loss. Some females also face hair thinning problems after childbirth.
Drugs
Certain drugs like chemotherapy drugs, beta-adrenergic blockers, blood thinners, birth control pills, etc can cause temporary hair loss.
Burns and injuries
Burns and injuries can cause temporary hair loss. But if the injury is severe then the hair may not regrow ever.
Treatment options for hair loss
Lots of treatments are available for hair loss. The treatment depends on the causes of hair loss.
Medication
Your doctor will prescribe OTC medications for your hair loss. These medications are available in gels, creams, etc that you can apply to the skin directly. For males, doctors often prescribe finasteride to reduce baldness. Some other medicines for hair loss are anti-inflammatory drugs like corticosteroids.
Natural medicines
If you are suspecting hair loss problems, you can try natural medicines. Search for a homeopathic specialist near me and get proper treatment. Natural medicines help in reducing hair loss problems and increase the hair growth rate. These medicines make the hair healthy without causing any side effects.
Some medical procedures are also available for treating hair loss. In hair transplant surgery, small plugs of the skin with hairs are moved to the bald part of the scalp. Another treatment is scalp reduction where the scalp that lacks hair is removed and closes the area with hairy scalp. You can also reduce hair loss problems with a change in diet and home remedies.