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Most people
routinely lose between 70 and 150 hairs from their scalp each
day, mainly through washing, brushing, and combing.
Scalp hair starts to thin when more hairs are lost through
normal shedding than the scalp is able to renew. About 40
percent of density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning
of the hair becomes noticeable.
Hair loss can be caused by:
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Heredity: Most
balding is caused by a genetic predisposition-in other words; it
is part of a person’s genetic makeup. This is called male
pattern baldness, or hereditary balding or thinning. It is the
most common cause of thinning hair.
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Illness, certain
physical condition, or their treatments: This can include high
fever, thyroid disease, childbirth, inadequate protein in the
diet, iron deficiency, cancer treatments, the use of certain
medications, and other causes.
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Hair may lose in
two ways:
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In patchy hair loss,
well-defined areas of hair are lost while the remaining scalp
retains a good covering of hair. |
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In generalized hair
loss, there is a uniform thinning over the entire scalp with no
areas of normal hair growth. |
The medical term
for hair loss is alopecia. There are different classifications
of alopecia:
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Alopecia areata is a
disease in which well-defined bald patches occur. It usually clears
completely with in 6 to 12 months without treatment. |
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Alopecia totalis is an
uncommon condition in which all hair on the scalp is lost. The cause
is unknown, and the baldness is usually permanent. |
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Alopecia universalis is
a total loss of hair on all parts o the body. |
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Androgenetic alopecia is
balding caused by heredity. It can affect both men and women,
although women with this inherited tendency do not become totally
bald. The condition can start in a person’s teens, twenties, or
thirties. |
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The structure of
hair: |
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Every hair grows within
a hair follicle, which is a tiny tube of cells close to the surface
of the skin. Each hair has a root and a shaft within this follicle.
If u pluck a hair and hold it up to the light, the root will appear
as a bulbous white swelling at the deep end. The root lies between 2
and 4 millimeters (about a tenth of an inch) under the skin surface.
Its purpose is to produce the actual hair, which is known
technically as the hair shaft.
The hair shaft contains no living tissue. It consists of protein
material twisted into a very fine rope-like arrangement. It is this
part of the structure that we think of in every day terms as “hair”.
Each hair has: |
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A sebaceous gland, which
provides fats and greases to the hair |
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An erector muscle, which
is responsible for lifting the hair off the surface of the skin at
time of stress or to conserve warmth.
The hair root does not grow continuously, but rather in a cycle of
stops and starts. |
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There is an initial
period of active growth that lasts about three years. |
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As the period of growth
ends, the deepest part of the hair follicle wastes away. |
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The hair root then
enters a resting period of about 90 days, during which the resting
root produces no further hair. |
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At the end of this
phase, the hair falls out and a new hair is produced.
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Human hairs are randomly
distributed all over the scalp in terms of their growth pattern, so
that at any one time, some hairs will be actively growing while
others are resting. Only those hairs ending their resting phase are
lost each day.
There is tremendous variation in the numbers of hairs that people
shed each day, depending on the number of scalp hairs and the length
of the growth cycle. As people age, their rate of new hair growth
slows down, resulting in a gradual thinning. |
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What should I do
if I think I am losing more hair than normal ? |
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If you notice you
shedding hair excessively after combing or brushing, or if your hair
is becoming thinner, you should consult with your primary care
provider or a dermatologist (a physician who specializes in treating
skin and hair problems). Is present and whether are not the hair
loss will respond to medical treatment. |
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Facts about hair
and hair loss |
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The average human scalp
has about 100,000 hairs. |
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Nearly two out of every
three men develop some from of balding, while a higher percent age
of men and women have some form of hair loss during their lives. |
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About 90 percent of a
person’s scalp hair is in a continual growth phase that lasts two to
six years. |
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The other 10 percent of
scalp hair is in a resting phase that lasts between two or three
months. |
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Between 70 and 150 hairs
are regularly lost form the scalp each day. |
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People with blond hair
typically have more hair (average 140,000 hairs) than the average
brunette (105,000 hairs) or redhead (90,000). |
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About 40 percent of the
density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning of the hair
becomes noticeable. |
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Shaving hair does not
stimulate hair growth. |
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Hair plucking does not
stop hair growth. |
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Hair growth faster in
warm weather than in cold. |
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Hair grows at an average
rate of 1centimenter (around half an inch) per month. |
