Swedish actress Malin Akerman has shaved her eyebrows and part of her head to play a character with alopecia universalis in new film happythankyoumoreplease, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year.

The film is directed by and stars Josh Radnor, who is most famous for his leading role in TV series How I Met Your Mother. In an interview with Filmmaker, Radnor explains how Akerman shaved off her eyebrows and the sides of her head to play Annie, a character with alopecia universalis. This is a hair loss condition which causes the total loss of hair all over the body.

In the film, Annie is a strong, intelligent woman trying to come to terms with her female hair loss condition and overcome her problems with commitment and self-image. Radnor says he based this character on a real-life friend of his who has alopecia, describing her as “hilarious and wise and wonderful, so I wanted to base a character on her”.

Explaining what it was like to play an alopecia sufferer on camera, Akerman said:

“Shaving off the eyebrows and wearing a bald cap was kind of freeing. It was the first time I looked in the mirror and saw somebody else. I felt like Annie became more of an interesting person because of her alopecia. It was more about finding that character than even the lack of hair”.

After getting a formal diagnosis of your hair loss condition from your doctor, you may be recommended treatment such as medication.

However, with some conditions, treatment of a medical kind is not needed and you simply need to wait for the hair to grow back. For example, hair that falls out after childbirth – the trauma on the body causes hair loss – will generally grow again between six months and two years later.

Regrowth is also expected when hair is lost due to illness, fever, radiation therapy or major surgery, starting when the illness or therapy ends.

It can be a comfort to some people with hair loss to know that their hair will eventually grow back on its own, but what about while you are waiting for it to happen? Hair loss can seriously damage your self-esteem and confidence in your appearance, negatively affecting the way you interact with the world and your home and work life.

Many female hair loss sufferers choose to wear human hair wigs, hats or scarves to disguise their hair loss whilst waiting for the hair to grow. If you have been told by your doctor that your hair may take a long time to return, you could also consider hair replacement treatments which use natural hair extensions to cover bald patches and thinning hair.

The hair loss condition often referred to as ‘common baldness’ is androgenic alopecia, or pattern baldness. It occurs most frequently in men, and is the most common cause of male baldness. However, the condition does affect a surprisingly large number of women too.

Androgenic alopecia (also known as androgenetic alopecia) is thought to be a hereditary condition, triggered in people with genetic sensitivity to an androgen hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is believed that DHT causes hair follicles to miniaturise or shrink, therefore shortening their lifespan and interrupting hair growth.

In men, pattern baldness generally occurs in a well-defined pattern starting at the temples and also occurring at the crown of the head. It causes the hairline to recede and a bald spot to appear at the crown. This rarely leads to total baldness, however.

This type of hair loss in women is different to classic male pattern baldness, as it causes hair to thin all over the head. The hairline does not generally recede and again, the condition does not usually cause total baldness.

Treatment

There are numerous treatments for hair loss of this kind – including medication, hair transplants, creams and lotions – but none are guaranteed to work. See your doctor and then a hair loss specialist to find out more about baldness treatment.

A lot of female hair conditions are caused by factors beyond your control, so you can’t do much to prevent them. These include alopecia, female pattern baldness and telogen effluvium, which are conditions caused by either genetics, illness stress.

With these conditions, all you can do is to find ways to manage your hair loss and help it grow back gradually – you can’t predict or prevent them.

There are hair loss conditions you can do something about, however. The first of these is traction alopecia, caused by excessive pulling on the scalp.

This condition is often seen in models, actors and anyone else required or desiring to change their hairstyle on virtually an everyday basis. Weaves, hair extensions and over-tight ponytails can put too much tension on the scalp, causing the follicles to become damaged and hair to fall out.

To prevent this kind of hair loss, you need to be kinder to your hair and scalp. If you regularly wear any of the above styles, make sure to give your hair a rest from them every once in a while. Along with avoiding hair treatments involving chemicals (i.e. bleaching), this is good for your general hair health too.

Due to a number of high profile cases in the media, such as that of TV presenter Gail Porter, most people have heard of the hair loss condition called alopecia. Along with telogen effluvium and pattern baldness, alopecia is one of the most common causes of hair loss.

However, hair loss has many potential causes, one of which could be affecting you. Other lesser-known causes include:

• Thyroid disorders such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). Once the thyroid problem is treated, hair growth will usually return to normal.

• Major illness or surgery. Following a physically traumatic operation or a major illness, you may suffer from increased yet temporary hair loss.

• Nutritional deficiency. If you are on a crash diet, have an eating disorder or aren’t getting enough of the nutrients (i.e. zinc, iron) your hair needs, it can cause thinning hair and stunted hair growth.

• Psoriasis. You may experience thinning of hair for a short period if psoriasis flares up.

• Discoid Lupus Erythematosus. This is a chronic skin condition which presents with sores, inflammation and scarring, mainly on the face and scalp. Hair loss is often a side effect of this skin condition.

Eating healthily and getting the right nutrients is good for your general health, as well as for the health of your nails, hair and skin.

However, if you don’t get enough of certain vitamins and minerals in your diet or you are following an extreme weight loss plan, these things could suffer. In extreme cases, a poor diet can cause thinning hair, brittleness and breakage, and even hair loss.

Vitamins and minerals

In order to be glossy and healthy, your hair needs enough:

• Protein
• Iron
• B-vitamins
• Zinc
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Vitamin A

Without enough of these essential vitamins and minerals in your diet, the health and appearance of your hair may suffer. With this in mind, adjust your diet to include the nutrients you need, or consider taking a supplement.

Extreme weight loss

If you go on a crash diet, in which you consume very few calories, you could risk losing your hair. Low calorie diets lack the nutrients your hair needs, thereby stunting its growth. In very extreme cases, such as in people with eating disorders, the nutritional deficiency can cause hair to fall out altogether.