All posts by miriam

Losing your hair to any degree can have quite profound psychological effects. It can reduce your self confidence and give rise to anxiety and depression. Different people will respond in different ways and a lot will depend on the extent to which that person is losing hair.

Different degrees of hair loss also require different management options. Slight, patchy hair loss can often be camouflaged using scalp make-up for example or even by styling the hair in a certain way. However, when hair loss becomes greater, you need to look to other treatments. There are several options and what you choose will probably depend on how much hair you have lost.

A consultation is advisable to discuss different hair management options. Here are three recommendations:

• Medi Connections – this treatment is ideal for hair that is thinning or for milder cases of alopecia areata. Medi Connections are essentially an ultra fine version of hair extensions.
• Intralace System – this can be used for greater hair loss, such as that resulting from trichotillomania. It can be integrated with existing hair.
• Intralace Freewear – this is used for alopecia totalis (total hair loss).

When undergoing chemotherapy treatment, your hair enters its resting phase. This is a natural part of the growth cycle, but ordinarily only a small proportion of your hair is in the resting phase. When undergoing chemotherapy, it may all enter this phase simultaneously and this is why hair is lost.

The hair will remain dormant until the chemotherapy is completed. At this point, hair will once again begin to grow. Initially, it will be very fine ‘vellous’ hair, but within 4-6 weeks you will usually see thicker hair of your normal colour starting to develop. However, it will take around 12 months for hair to reach about six inches in length, so it may be necessary to use certain management techniques in the meantime.

Choosing a wig can take time as you will want to get your choice right. It is advisable to see a wig supplier before you have actually lost your hair, so that you are ready when the time comes. The NHS will provide wigs, but you can also have bespoke wigs made and this will often include a programme of fitting and cleaning each month.

Chemotherapy has a great impact on the body and one particularly noticeable effect is that people will often lose some or all of their hair.

When this occurs and the severity of the condition varies from patient to patient, depending on the drugs used and the person being treated. It is ordinarily diffuse hair loss, which is general, fairly even hair loss, not in patches or clumps. People may think that brushing their hair or handling it can exacerbate the problem, but this is not the case.

When hair is being shed, it is important to keep the scalp clean and this is done by shampooing as normal. As with brushing, shampooing does not increase hair loss, it is just more apparent at this time. Shampooing will also comfort the scalp and when hair regrows, it will be in the best condition. Shampooing is particularly important if you choose to wear a hat or wig to disguise your hair thinning or hair loss as your head will naturally perspire more.

In some cases, shed hairs can become entangled with hairs still in the follicles. This can occur when hair is not looked after properly and it can lead to pain. In this situation it is better to cut the hair and have a wig fitted.

A well-known effect of undergoing chemotherapy is that a person loses hair. It may be that they only experience a thinning of their hair, or it could be that they experience alopecia totalis, which is total hair loss.

In the majority of cases, the hair will regrow after the course of treatment, but it will take a while to do so and in the meantime the person in question may want to manage their condition. It may also be the case that hair transplantation is required to fully restore hair, although full regrowth will normally occur.

Different treatments affect a person in different ways. Some drugs lead to hair loss more frequently than others and it also depends on the person being treated.

If you have undergone chemotherapy and lost some or all of your hair, you have a number of options in terms of how you deal with this. The Intralace system is popular as a full head of hair can be created using only an inch and a half of regrowth. Intralace is integrated with a person’s hair and can be looked after as if it is the person’s actual hair.

People can experience hair loss at any time of their life. It is quite common for babies and pregnant women to experience hair loss to some degree, for example. In this instance, the hair loss is due to hormonal changes. When the hormones return to normal, the hair returns, although there will be a lag as hair takes a while to grow.

Both men and women tend to experience thinning of their hair as they get older as well. In women, it is more likely following the menopause. Around two-thirds of men are affected by bald patches or receding hairlines by the age of 60.

In addition to this, there are also lifestyle factors that can cause or exacerbate hair loss. Emotional or physical stress is a common cause, but malnutrition is less well-known. Certain hair styling treatments can also lead to hair loss, including hair extensions and chemical hair treatments.

If you do think that you are losing hair, go and see your GP who will either diagnose the problem or refer you to a dermatologist to do so. When you know the cause of your hair loss, you can then hopefully address the problem.

Perhaps because it is little-known, the figures for the numbers of people thought to be suffering from trichotillomania are surprisingly high.

Trichotillomania is the compulsion to pull out your own hair. It is more common in women than men, but it is thought that around two to four per cent of people suffer from it to some degree. It might be a mild compulsion or it could be more severe, with some sufferers unable to stop themselves and going so far as to pull out huge patches of hair or even plucking their entire scalp.

A trichotillomania sufferer will tend to suffer a mild endorphin rush when a hair is pulled. This is triggered by the slight sensation of pain and can effectively become addictive. Sufferers report feeling calmed by pulling out hairs. However, as hairs desensitise after several pluckings, the person is likely to expand the area they pluck in search of the same feeling as they no longer get the same feeling of relief.

Many people suffering from trichotillomania believe that they are alone, but the figure given above indicates that is far from the case.