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.

Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center in New York have reportedly identified eight genes which cause the hair loss condition alopecia areata, in a discovery which may pave the way for new, more effective treatments.

Alopecia areata affects both men and women, and has a surprisingly large number of sufferers throughout the world. It causes small patches of hair to fall out, often taking years to grow back. The condition sometimes develops into alopecia totalis (total scalp hair loss) and even alopecia universalis (full body hair loss).

The latest breakthrough by biomedical researchers at Columbia have linked the condition to eight genes, finding that they are the same as those associated with other autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.

Doctor Angela Christiano, the senior researcher on the new study and also an alopecia areata sufferer, studied the genes of over 1,000 people with the condition, comparing their genetic makeup to that of over 3,200 non-sufferers. As well as identifying the eight genes, she also found that the more genes each sufferer carried, the more serious their condition was likely to be.

Implications

Speaking of the implications of the study’s findings, Dr Christiano explained how treatments that are already being developed for other auto-immune diseases could be used as a hair loss treatment. She said:

“Finally, we have the possibility of developing drugs that specifically target the mechanism behind the disease.”

Alopecia areata is a condition which causes hair to fall out in patches or spots on the scalp, sometimes developing into total hair loss on the head (called alopecia totalis) or the whole body (alopecia universalis).

This condition is particularly distressing for sufferers because it happens so suddenly, seemingly unprompted. Unfortunately, alopecia areata can also affect children, leaving many parents worried and unsure what to do.

The good news for parents is that although there is no outright cure for this condition, there is treatment available to control it. What’s more, a large number of child sufferers recover and get their hair back within approximately twelve months. Only a small number go on to develop alopecia totalis; in this case, it is recommended to seek treatment with a specialist.

Symptoms

The symptoms to look out for with alopecia areata in children include:

• The sudden appearance of oval or round bald patches
• Smooth skin where the hair has fallen out, with no scaling or broken hairs
• Occasionally, children with alopecia areata also experience ridging and pitting of the nails

Causes

Alopecia is thought to be an auto-immune disease where the immune system attacks the hair follicles, and it has often been found to run in families. There are other environmental triggers too, such as excessive emotional stress.

Treatment

Doctors may prescribe corticosteroid creams or ointments for children with alopecia, which are applied to the bald patches. Whilst waiting for the hair to eventually grow back, a temporary option is specially made human hair wigs for children.

Hair loss in children can be extremely frightening and frustrating for parents, resulting in many panicked trips to the family doctor. But why does it happen?

As with hair loss in adults, are many potential causes for thinning hair and bald patches in children. The first and most common of these is Tinea Capitis or ringworm of the scalp.

Tinea Capitis is a fungal infection or dermatophytosis affecting the scalp. It often causes round or oval scaly patches of hair loss on the child’s head, where the hair breaks off at the surface leaving what looks like black dots in the skin.

Diagnosis

After inspecting the appearance of the child’s scalp, a doctor suspecting Tinea Capitis can use a microbial culture or Wood’s lamp test (using ultraviolet light to identify infected hairs) to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment

Treatment generally involves the child taking an antifungal medicine for approximately eight weeks, whilst also using an anti-fungal shampoo two to three times a week.

Other information

Tinea Capitis is contagious, so you should ensure your child doesn’t share things like hats, hairbrushes or pillows with anyone else until the treatment is finished.

Read Part 2 of this guide for information about another cause of children’s hair loss, Alopecia Areata.

Hair loss in women can have a devastating effect, both psychologically and emotionally. The condition is more readily accepted in men as they get older but there is unfortunately a stigma attached to hair loss in women.

Why does hair loss happen?

There are many ways women who experiencing hair loss can manage the hair loss effectively, but it’s important to understand the underlying causes of the condition first. Contrary to some misinformed myths, hair loss in women is not caused by over-brushing or washing hair, nor is it caused by hair dye or bleach (at least, not permanently).

The most common causes of female hair loss include:

  • Chemotherapy

Hair loss is a temporary side-effect of this treatment.

  • Telogen effluvium

This condition generally occurs a few months after a major shock or trauma, such as childbirth, excessive stress, an operation, sudden weight loss or even as a reaction to particular medication.  Women with this condition usually experience thinning or shedding of the hair, but it is not normally permanent.

  • Androgenetic alopecia (female-pattern baldness)

This is where the hair thins or sheds with age, usually after the menopause. This condition also tends to run in families.

  • Alopecia areata

This condition mostly occurs in young adults or teenagers, its effects are sometimes temporary.  Caused by problems with the immune system, symptoms include patchy hair loss.