All posts by miriam

The beauty pageant culture is huge in America, with thousands of young women competing every year to win be crowned their state’s beauty queen.

What you wouldn’t expect to see at these sort of competitions is a young woman who is completely bald, especially one who manages to win a state-wide competition. Breaking down all barriers when it comes to our modern perceptions of beauty, however, is 21-year-old Kayla Martell, who was recently crowned Miss Delaware.

Kayla has alopecia areata, an auto-immune condition where the immune system attacks the hair follicles and the hair falls out in patches. It does regrow in some sufferers after a year or so, but Kayla lost her hair as a teenager and it has not yet grown back.

Despite her condition, Kayla has competed in the Miss Delaware beauty pageant four times. She competed without her wig on three of the four occasions. After winning the competition thanks to her striking looks and inspiring attitude, Kayla is now on a mission to send other alopecia sufferers the message that “bald is beautiful”.

Speaking on US TV about removing her wig after the competition, Kayla said:

“I knew that I had to be on Miss America’s stage, and I had to get there somehow. I think I can be a better Miss Delaware and a better Miss America by taking the wig off.”

As with any medical condition, it is important to obtain an accurate diagnosis for hair loss before you can start any treatment. This is especially important with hair loss related conditions as the symptoms are often remarkably similar and the defining characteristics of a particular condition can be hard to spot.

For example, a child displaying symptoms of hair loss could have one of a number of different conditions. Alopecia areata is patchy hair loss where the skin remaining is perfectly smooth and without lesions, whereas Tinea Capitis (ringworm of the scalp) will cause bald patches where the skin may display scaling.

Both of these conditions cause hair loss, but the treatment for each is very different. There is no definitive cure for alopecia areata – although the hair is likely to grow back within a year or so if the patient is a child – whereas Tinea Capitis requires anti-fungal medicine to be ingested for effective treatment.

In adults, the causes and treatments for each type of hair loss can also be very different, so it is important to consult a GP for a proper diagnosis. Only then can you seek help from a hair loss treatment specialist for your particular condition.

Due to the numerous celebrity sufferers who have spoken out about their own personal battles with hair loss in the last few years, most people are familiar with alopecia areata as a common cause of female hair loss.

Alongside alopecia, there are many other potential causes and triggers for hair loss in women. If you are suffering from hair loss and believe any of the following causes may be to blame, consult your doctor to get a formal diagnosis.

Female hair loss may be caused by:

• Trichotillomania – This is otherwise known as compulsive hair pulling, where the sufferer has the overwhelming urge to pull out their own body hair, usually on the head.

• Telogen effluvium – This is the shedding or thinning of hair in response to emotional or physical trauma or excessive stress. It is where the growth cycle of the hair is interrupted. Telogen effluvium can be triggered by anything from childbirth (fairly common) and eating disorders to chronic illnesses, emotional disorders and major surgery.

• Androgenic alopecia – This is also known as female-pattern baldness, where the hair thins all over the head rather than recedes from the front. This is believed to be caused by an androgen hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

• Thyroid problems

• Anaemia

• Response to medication

Although men suffer from similar conditions, there is often more of a stigma surrounding hair loss in women. As such, female hair loss can be much more devastating and disruptive to the life of the sufferer, damaging their self-esteem and body confidence.

This is because in today’s image-conscious society, hair is commonly associated with beauty, femininity and sexuality. Losing it can make you feel as if these things are taken away.

So, how do sufferers of female hair loss cope? There are many temporary and more permanent solutions out there, specially developed to help you manage your condition. For example:

• Cosmetics, hats and human hair wigs – Many women are comfortable without these things when at home, but they prefer to wear human hair wigs and headbands when out in public. They serve as temporary confidence boosters, helping you to get on with your life whilst you look for a more long-term solution.

• Hair loss treatments – There are many new treatments available for women suffering from hair loss, including hair replacement techniques such as Medi Connections (for minor cases of alopecia or thinning hair) or the Intralace System (for larger areas of hair loss).

There are many, many myths and rumours surrounding the causes of and treatments for hair loss, but most of these aren’t to be believed. If you want information about hair loss or thinning hair, the best option is to talk to your doctor or hair loss treatment specialist instead.

The following are a few of the most prevalent (and ridiculous) myths about hair loss, and the real truths behind them.

Causes of hair loss

• Myth: Washing, brushing or using too many hair products causes hair loss
• Truth: None of these things will cause permanent hair loss, although extremes like bleach or peroxide may damage your hair to the extent that it falls out. However, it will grow back.

• Myth: Hats cause hair loss
• Truth: You could wear a hat all day, every day and it would make no difference to your hair, unless the hat is so incredibly tight that it cuts off the circulation to your head.

Cures for hair loss

• Myth: Washing in cold water cures hair loss
• Truth: Cold water boosts blood circulation, as does standing on your head (another hair myth). Unfortunately, increased blood circulation won’t make lost hair grow back.

• Myth: Hair loss comes from your mother’s genes
• Truth: Hair loss is often hereditary, but you can get the gene from either parent.

Trichotillomania is a compulsive disorder where the sufferer feels compelled to pull or pluck out their own hair, from the head, eyebrows, eyelashes or anywhere else on the body.

This cause of hair loss in children is possibly the most distressing for parents, as it is the child his or herself who is pulling out their own hair. However, as many parents don’t see the child practising this habit, they often find it hard to believe that their child has the condition.

Symptoms

If you see areas of hair loss on your child’s head (and it is on the left for right-handed children or the right for left-handed children), start to check on your child at bedtime or when he/she is watching the television. These are likely times for the habit to emerge.

Causes

Trichotillomania in children is often triggered by long-term stress or tension in your child’s life, such as bullying at school or a death in the family.

Treatment

The good news is that many pre-school age children outgrow trichotillomania without treatment, but counselling or Habit Reversal Training (HRT) can be very helpful for older children. Human hair wigs can be used to restore the child’s confidence until the hair grows back.