Blog

This September, let's increase awareness of a specific type of alopecia, Trichotillomania. Trichotillomania is an obsessive compulsive disorder that causes people to pull out their own hair.  At the root of an obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions) and behaviors that drive them to do something over and over (compulsions).  Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts. This disorder often begins in childhood, commonly affects women more than men, and is estimated to affect 1 - 4% of the population. It is also estimated that as many as 2.5 million Americans experience trichotillomania at some point in their lifetimes.

September brings us Alopecia Areata Awareness Month.  In the large family of alopecia and its causes, the focus this month is on Alopecia Areata. This is an autoimmune disease affects as many as 6.8 million people in America and causes hair loss that can range from patches of hair, typically circular and coin-size, to complete hair loss, otherwise known as alopecia totalis.

Hair infection from fungal agents, also called trichomycoses, is one of the common concerns in humans. Fungi or fungus are single celled or multinucleate organisms that decay and absorb the organic material in which they grow (including yeasts, mushrooms, molds, smuts, rusts and mildews). There are three common agents causing hair infections:

Male pattern hair loss is something a majority of men could experience at some point in time. Even though the severity of hair loss may vary person to person, it still begs the question why? Genetics (which controls ethnicity) is the primary cause of hair loss, and interestingly enough, specific races have higher rates of hair loss than other groups. Let’s take a look at different races and the varying likelihoods of baldness.

Men’s hair loss is caused by different factors—but statistically, the most common factor by far is genetics. In fact, more than two-thirds of all men will deal with the symptoms of male pattern hair loss at some point in their lives. Recognizing this is critical: When you identify the markings of male pattern hair loss you can seek treatment, and the earlier you do so, the more likely it is that the treatment will have an effect. In this post, we’ll point out some of the common signs of male pattern hair loss, and also recommend the next steps you should take after you identify it.

Hair loss can be caused by many different conditions—and some of them are better known than others. In this post, we’re going to offer some details about trichotillomania—a hair loss condition that isn’t often discussed, but is surprisingly common and potentially very serious. We’ll identify some of the key signs and symptoms of trichotillomania, discuss its causes, and end with some notes about possible treatment.

You cannot have healthy hair without also having a healthy scalp. The scalp is where hair growth starts—and it is imperative that your scalp present a healthy environment for that growth to take place. So if you want to do everything in your power to maintain healthy hair growth, taking care of your scalp is key.

Some hair shedding is a natural and healthy part of life; in fact, daily shedding is a key step in the hair growth process. After a period of time in the growing phase, your follicles go into a resting phase and shed. This is followed by a new hair follicle growing in its place. Problems arise when this natural process of shedding and regrowth is disrupted—and in many cases, cancer treatment can expedite this process. In this post, we’re going to take a look at the ways in which cancer treatment can lead to hair loss, setting some clear expectations about what cancer patients can expect.

In 1966, Hungarian physician Endre Mester first published an experiment in which he observed accelerated hair growth in rats treated with laser therapy, making alopecia the first legitimate therapeutic indication for laser therapy. Encouraging patient cases and evidence from clinical trials have helped LLLT (low-level laser treatment) gain more acceptance in treating hair loss. In June of 2017, the Dermatologic Surgery Journal published a new double blinded study using the Capillus low-level laser cap with clinical results showing a very promising treatment outlook.

At some time in their lives; about one-third of women experience hair loss (alopecia), and amongst postmenopausal women, as many as two-thirds experience hair thinning or bald spots. In this post, we’ll take a look at the science behind this phenomenon, and inform women what they might expect in the way of menopausal hair loss. We’ll also share some potential treatments —some ways to minimize the effects of menopausal hair loss.