You may have heard of telogen effluvium, in which emotional or physiological stress can cause the hair to rapidly thin or fall out completely, but you may not know be as familiar with the hair loss condition known as anagen effluvium.

Put simply, anagen effluvium is the rapid loss of anagen hair (hair follicles in the active growth phase) caused by cancer treatments such as systemic chemotherapy and radiation therapy (to the head).

This pathological hair loss is caused by the aggressive chemicals used to treat cancer, particularly treatments which use alkylating agents. The hair loss is often patchy at first, but becomes near total hair loss after numerous treatments. Many other drugs and medicines, often those used to treat common illnesses and diseases, can also cause anagen effluvium hair loss.

Hair regrowth

The good news for sufferers of anagen effluvium is that after the course of treatment is finished and chemicals are not introduced to the body any longer, the hair usually starts to grow back. It can take approximately six months for the first signs of hair regrowth to emerge, although this may of course vary from patient to patient.

Anagen effluvium is the pathologic loss of anagen hairs, classically caused by radiation therapy to the head and systemic chemotherapy, especially with alkylating agents.

We have already looked at alopecia areata and alopecia totalis, the two most common types of the hair loss condition known as alopecia, in which hair loss is restricted to the scalp or to small patches on the body. We now move on to the most dramatic and emotionally devastating variety of the hair loss condition – alopecia universalis.

Alopecia universalis is the most severe form of hair loss, involving the total loss of hair from all parts of the body, including the eyelashes and eyebrows. This onset of this condition often occurs rapidly, which can be very distressing for most sufferers.

The cause of alopecia universalis is believed to be an autoimmune disorder, in which the body attacks the hair follicles. The condition can afflict anyone of any age, and factors such as emotional stress and genetics are often named as triggers. This is the same way that researchers believe that alopecia areata and alopecia totalis are caused.

If you suffer from alopecia universalis – and an estimated 1 in 100,000 people do – you are not alone. There have been numerous well-known sufferers, such as the British comedian Matt Lucas, former Olympic swimmer Duncan Goodhew, NBA basketball player Charlie Villanueva and Australian racing driver Dean Canto.

As you may know, alopecia is a hair loss condition which can cause some or all of the hair to fall out on the scalp and all over the body. There are three main types – alopecia areata, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. No matter which of the three varieties of the condition a sufferer has, alopecia can be both frightening and debilitating.

After looking at the main points of alopecia areata, we will now focus our attention on the next most serious condition.

Alopecia totalis

Whilst alopecia areata involves the loss of hair in small patches, alopecia totalis is the term used to describe the total loss of hair on the scalp. This autoimmune condition – in which the body attacks the hair follicles and stops hair from growing – often also involves the sufferer losing all facial hair, eyelashes and eyebrows.

The most famous alopecia totalis sufferer at the moment is TV presenter Gail Porter, who lost her trademark blonde hair five years ago after going through a divorce and post-natal depression. Although she still occasionally experiences some setbacks, her hair is now in the process of growing back.

Alopecia is a hair loss condition which shows itself in varying degrees of seriousness. The most common forms of this hair loss condition are alopecia areata, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis.

Alopecia areata

This is where hair falls out in small patches at any part of the body, although it mainly occurs on the scalp. There are different classifications of alopecia areata, such as:

• Diffuse alopecia areata – where the hair falls out diffusely over the whole of the scalp
• Alopecia areata monolocularis – where baldness occurs in just one spot
• Alopecia areata multilocularis – where hair falls out in multiple areas on the scalp

The condition, like alopecia totalis and universalis, is believed to be a kind of auto-immune disease, where the body attacks the hair follicles and restricts the growth of hair. After this has happened, research suggests that T cell lymphocytes (white blood cells) gather around the damaged follicles and cause them to become inflamed. This unfortunately leads to further hair loss for the sufferer.

The onset of this kind of condition can often be triggered by environmental causes such as emotional stress or trauma, but hereditary factors can also play a part.

Whilst you can go to a doctor or a hair loss specialist for diagnosis and treatment for your condition, these places can’t help you deal with the emotional ramifications of losing your hair. This is why you need to find some kind of support system, to help you come to terms with your hair loss and how it makes you feel about yourself.

Friends and family can be a wonderful source of support during hair loss, but some people feel that those closest to them can’t always fully understand what you’re going through unless they have personally experienced it themselves.

Luckily, there is a whole community of women with hair loss out there, so you needn’t feel alone or that you have no one with whom to share your feelings and concerns. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of websites set up by hair loss sufferers. There are some to deal specifically with alopecia, hair loss caused by chemotherapy treatment for cancer, or pattern baldness, a condition that is often genetic.

Whilst talking to people who are going through the same as you won’t make your hair grow back; it does help you to cope with what’s happening to you a little better.