Saturday, July 4, 2009

LETS FACE BALDNESS

CONTROL – YES, CURE – NO

HAIR LOSS AND BALDNESS IS AFFECTING BOTH MEN AND WOMEN TODAY. FIND OUT THE REASONS BEHIND THIS AND WHETHER YOU CAN REALLY GET YOUR LOST HAIR BACK

The primary function of hair is protection and hence if we see pictures of our ancestors, you'll always find men covered with thick bushy hair as a protection against the vagaries of nature, but today we are living in the world of diminishing returns as far as the hair is concerned, both men and women are facing the harshness and reality of scanty hair and baldness.
    Hair in today's world is not only your crowning glory but a measure of ones self image, prestige and confidence. A person's body language has a lot to do with the way a person perceives himself or herself to look and hair plays a great role in this perception.
    Baldness can lead to body dismorphic
disorder, which is characterised by the patient being preoccupied by a perceived flaw in the appearance of the hair specially thinning and balding.The patient may spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the mirror or may refuse himself / herself to look in the mirror. He / she may avoid social contact, refuse to have photograph taken and experience extreme self-consciousness eventually leading to depression.
    Trichology, the science of hair and scalp care, offers hope to millions of people suffering from baldness and its associated health problems through,
1. Proper diagnosis 2. Correct counselling 3. Treatment process
THE TREATMENT PROCESS
Baldness is broadly classified into:
1. Androgenetic alopecia 2. Non-Scarring alopecia 3. Scarring alopecia
ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA
As the name suggests, androgenetic alopecia is a baldness triggered off by the action of the male hormone on a weak gene.
ACTION PROCESS:
The male hormone, androgen is to blame. Androgen starts flowing freely in the body in the post-pubescence stage. Ironically, it is the same hormone, which causes the destruction of the hair follicles in those who are genetically predisposed to baldness.The hair follicles are attacked; the hair begins to fall off.The person begins to go bald and is diagnosed to be suffering from Male Pattern Thinning (MPT) or androgenetic alopecia. Unfortunately, one cannot tamper with one's genes and taking anti-male hormones to destroy the male hormones could have potential side effects like sexual dysfunction and depression.
    Women have both androgen (which is responsible for hair growth all over the body) and the female hormone oestrogen. In men, androgen ironically causes the destruction of the hair follicles in those who are genetically predisposed to this kind of baldness. Fortunately for women, the hormone oestrogen counteracts and stops this negative action of androgen. However, in periods when the oestrogen level falls, androgen starts attacking the hair follicles and as the hair follicles are destroyed, hair starts to thin.
    For example, before menopause, the production of oestrogen is high.This acts as protection against the small amount of androgen that women produce. After menopause, when the production of the oestrogen slows down dramatically or stops altogether, Female Pattern Thinning (FPT) in women begins.This thinning may also be triggered off by stress, the consumption of oral contraceptives, after hysterectomy, childbirth, or hormonereplacement therapy.
BALDING PATTERN:
Male pattern thinning usually begins during the late teens and early 20's and affected men are well on the way to baldness at early 30's. Male pattern thinning is easily recognised by its location on the scalp and by the manner in which it occurs.The thinning of the hair occurs at the temples and / or the thinning of the hair occurs in the front crown areas of the scalp.The final stage of such a loss leaves a band of hair around and back and the sides of scalp and baldness over the rest of the scalp.The diagrammatic representation of the stages of baldness to the extreme left shows us the progress of this disorder.
    In women, androgenetic alopecia appears as diffuse hair loss or thinning in the fronto-vortex region (i.e. - on top of the frontal region) and the frontal region is
spared in most cases (Above graphic).This hair loss happens at a slower rate than in men and it happens at a much later time in life. But age does not make it less traumatic for a woman, especially if she has had luxuriant hair before.
STAGES IMAGE MALE AND FEMALE
How to face baldness:
In their anxiety to look good and feel better, people leave no stone unturned right from applying snake oil to elephant teeth to standing on ones head or applying the so called magical lotions for re-growth of hair.
    Re-growth is possible only in nonscarring alopecia's and is never possible in androgenetic alopecia or scarring baldness like pseudopalade. Ninety per cent of all baldness in the world are of Androgenetic type and science today has progressed so far as to control the balding process i.e. to keep you where you are for a longer period of time. It is important to understand that male pattern thinning is a progressive disorder and hence the earlier the diagnosis, the better and longer the
chances of controlling the problem.
THE DISCOVERY OF NATURAL DHT BLOCKERS
It was found that nature had some natural DHT blockers, which could control the action of the male hormone on the hair. Green tea and a berry seed called saw palmetto, which grows in North America and Australia were the two most prominent DHT blockers found. Saw palmetto and green tea processed as a food supplement called Serenoa Complex has turned out to be one of the most potent treatments for controlling male pattern thinning.
The monitoring of male pattern thinning:
The follicular count method is used by trichologists all over the world to help patients monitor the control of male pattern thinning.The process involves counting of the number of hair follicles in the fronto-vertex area and monitoring the count every three months.
    Hair camouflage techniques like single hair follicular grafting (surgical), carefree systems (non surgical) and hair fibres (temporary) have been developed to help you regain your lost hair.
    With proper care, which includes proper diet, healthy lifestyle, adequate sleep, early diagnosis and proper treatment by your trichologist, Baldness can be faced by one and all. Have a Great Hair Day!