Losing hair to alopecia can distress you and undermine your confidence. This article takes a look at the condition and how to correct it.
Your hair is (literally) your crowning glory. You take care to ensure that your hair is healthy, that it shines with health. But lately, you have been noting a rather distressing phenomenon – you are losing hair in clumps, and also developing spots of baldness on your scalp. The spots are visible and growing in size steadily.
You are at your wit’s end, wondering at the sudden hair loss and whether you will become bald permanently. The hair fall is most likely caused by alopecia, a condition which causes consistent and massive hair loss.
What causes alopecia?
Doctors believe that alopecia is the result of an autoimmune failure. Scientifically known as Alopecia Areata, it is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly starts attacking healthy cells in the hair and skin. The reason for it is not yet known, however there are certain factors that may accelerate it. These factors include stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, exposure to pollution, prolonged exposure to strong sunlight, etc.
When alopecia strikes, it takes away clumps of hair at a time. This results in visible bald patches spanning half a centimetre or more in size. The hair may fall out and regrow later. In severe cases, the hair does not regrow at all, or comes back in a scanty growth.
If you suffer from alopecia, you will notice that hair falls out the most when you are sleeping, when you are taking a shower, or when you are stressed. You might have Alopecia Totalis, which causes hair fall from the scalp. The other type is Alopecia Universalis, which causes loss of hair all over the body.
Treating alopecia
Traditional hair loss treatments using herbal ingredients may not always work for alopecia. In any case, you will need to get a scalp analysis done by an experienced dermatologist. Once the extent of the problem has been determined, you will be given medication and a treatment plan to follow.
The condition may be genetic in some cases. If the hair loss is permanent, one may need to undergo a hair graft or transplant to hide the patches of visible scalp. However, in most cases the hair loss treatment involves undergoing a lifestyle change, correcting the diet, using special scalp potions and serums and also taking medication for a few months.
You can supplement the hair loss treatment by adopting a healthy lifestyle, including exercise, healthy home cooked meals and limited exposure to pollution. It is also a good idea to protect the head when outdoors, using a hat or scarf so that sunlight does not hit the scalp directly. Meanwhile, drinking a lot of water, applying herbal hair oil and massaging the scalp every day may also stimulate the weakened roots and promote better blood circulation.
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