If you are experiencing hair loss, it is likely that you want to learn everything you can about it. This can be difficult, however, because even many doctors don’t understand this condition fully and few of then have much experience treating it. It’s likely that you are going to have to do a lot of your own research and legwork. The best place to start with this is by understanding the various types of loss and how your body is affected by them.
There are three types of hair loss, including male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness, and scarring alopecia. Male pattern baldness, which can begin as early as the teens for some men, is identified by a receding hairline combined with a bald patch on the top of the head. It can conclude with either partial or complete baldness. Female pattern baldness, on the other hand, rarely results in baldness. Instead, those who are afflicted with it experience a significant thinning of their hair in the front, on the sides, or at the top.
Scarring alopecia, the third type of baldness, is relatively rare. It is caused by an inflammatory condition which scars the hair follicles, resulting in irreversible hair loss. Other types of baldness, by contrast, are only temporary. They can be stopped or reversed using medication or lifestyle changes. However, they can still be scary if you do not understand them. These types include alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, and traction alopecia.
The first type, because it involves some baldness, can be particularly frightening. But unlike pattern baldness, which occurs in large, expanding areas, alopecia areata involves several smaller bald patches no bigger than a quarter. They are usually round and smooth, and the condition rarely involves more than a few patches on the head. However, it is possible for it to include any place that has hair, including the eyebrows, beard, or even the entire body. Telogen effluvium, on the other hand, involves handfuls of hair falling out suddenly. Rather than causing bald spots, it usually only results in thinning of the hair.
And finally, traction alopecia is hair loss caused by hairstyles that pull on the hair. Hair loss of any type is unnerving. However, if you understand the type that you have you are less likely to panic and more likely to understand the best way to treat it. So if you are experiencing this condition, talk to your doctor about the various types and the symptoms you are experiencing. He will thank you for being a part of your own care, and he will be able to treat you much more effectively.
