Know your Hair

Hair has two things, a root and a shaft. The root is below the skin and the shaft is above the skin. The root is sunk in a hair follicle. Except for a few growing cells at the base of the root, hair is a dead tissue. Hair is made from a protein called keratin. A rapid cell division occurs at the base of the follicle. As cells increase in number they are pushed out of the follicle. The cells pushed out of the follicle harden and gain pigmentation, that is, color. These pushed-out cells form a long strand, which we call hair.

At any given point of time, about ten percent of your hair strands are in resting phase and the rest are in growth phase, as hair growth occurs in cycles. After a time period of about 3 months, the resting hair falls off giving way to the new ones. This shedding is natural and healthy. A substantial quantity of hair fall other than this is referred to as thinning hair or hair loss or baldness.

Baldness occurs in different patterns. Reasons for baldness range from genetic disorders to life style. Genetic disorders, hormonal imbalance, stress, diet, poor health, medications, medical conditions and medical treatments are some of the prime reasons for baldness. In men, the major cause is androgenic alopecia – a genetic disorder and in women, the major cause is hormonal imbalance.

Hair Loss in Men

 

Hair loss is common in men than it is in women. In more than 90 out of 100 cases, the cause is androgenic alopecia. It is referred to as male pattern baldness when the subject is male and referred to as female pattern baldness when the subject is female. Many individuals are affected by androgenic alopecia at some point in life. Some are affected even in their early teens. It is a genetic disorder passed down the family tree.

This condition occurs when an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase converts the male hormone, testosterone, into dihydrotestosterone, DHT. This DHT has the tendency to shrink the hair follicle and disrupt the normal hair growth cycle. With age, this leads to a shorter hair growth cycle, longer resting phase and faster shedding of hair causing baldness. A definite pattern can be observed in the baldness caused by androgenic alopecia.

Hair Loss in Women

 

Hair loss is less common in women than in men. However, thinning of hair in women starts around mid-20s and becomes noticeable by the age of 40. By the age of 50, a 50% of women are affected either by female pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia) or other conditions such as diffuse hair loss or telogen effluvium.

Hair loss occurs all over the head but the hair line will not recede, and total baldness will not occur. Some women lose hair after menopause because of the imbalance in hormone levels. Hormonal changes cause hair loss in women. This is the reason why pregnant women experience more shedding of hair after giving birth to a baby. This is a temporary phenomenon. As soon as the hormonal levels reach the pre-pregnancy levels, which take about 6 months, excessive shedding ends.

If you are bald, experiencing hair fall or thinning of hair

 

Walk into our clinic where a highly professional team led by a doctor assesses you. A thorough analysis of your hair and scalp will be done to ascertain the cause for hair loss. Number of treatment sessions to attain the desired result will be calculated and you are treated accordingly. Almost all types of baldness are effectively treated using the Stem Cell Therapy. For details click here. You will be amazed how easy it is and how quickly it works.