causes of hair loss
Have you seen the Griffin Center featured in the December Men’s Book?
The Griffin Center for Hair Restoration and Research was recently featured in Men’s Book Atlanta magazine’s December issue to answer your frequently asked questions about men’s hair loss misconceptions and causes, as well as hair restoration surgery options. Make sure to get your copy today and check it out!
To keep up with the latest in hair loss and restoration news and updates, follow the Griffin Center on Facebook and Twitter!
The Stages of the Hair Growth Cycle Explained
Losing hair is a natural part of the hair growth cycle. We lose hair so that new hair can replace it. However, when hair does not grow back as it should, we start to notice thinning hair and a more visible scalp through the hair. In order to understand hair loss, one must understand normal hair growth and shedding cycles.
The hair growth cycle is ongoing, and on an average day, 90% of your hair is in the resting phase while the other 10% is either growing or shedding. Balding occurs when the hair sheds, and no hair re-grows to replace it. Hair is made of keratin, the same material that makes up your nails and the outer layer of your skin. Hair is really a dead structure while the follicular bulb is the growing center. Because the actual strand of hair is not alive, hot curlers, chemical processing, hard plastic combs can cause damage and lead to split ends and fracturing of the shafts.
The hair growth cycle begins with the anagen or growth phase. During this phase cells in the root of the hair divide to add to the hair shaft. Depending on your genetics, the growth phase can last anywhere from 2 to 6 years. As the anagen phase comes to an end, an unknown signal tells the hair to enter the next stage. The hair grows about a fourth of an inch each month, and though it is technically dead, a healthy hair care regimen can keep it looking beautiful while it’s in the anagen phase.
The catagen stage follows the anagen phase and is made up of a 2-3 week transitional period in which the hair is no longer growing. During this stage, a club hair is formed. A club hair occurs when the section of the hair follicle attaches to the hair shaft, cutting the follicle off from its blood supply and the cells that produce new hair. This club hair leads to the next stage of the hair growth and shedding cycle.
The final stage of the hair growth and shedding cycle is the telogen or resting phase. During this two to four month phase, the hair begins to shed at normal levels, and the anagen phase begins again producing new hair.
The average person sheds around 100 telogen-stage hairs a day between brushing the hair, showering, and other activities. High-stress and trauma like high fevers, nutritional deficiencies, pneumonia, and accidents can cause hair to shed in higher than normal amounts. Patterned baldness (androgenetic alopecia) occurs when hair production slows and beings to produce weak, shorter hairs, eventually ceasing to grow completely in some areas.
Men and women often lose hair for different reasons and should be properly diagnosed before beginning any hair restoration treatment. Depending on the cause of your hair loss, there are both surgical and non-surgical treatment options including hair restoration surgery and medications like Propecia®, Rogaine®, and Proscar®.
For more information on hair loss causes and hair restoration, contact the Griffin Center of Hair Restoration and Research. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter for more hair regrowth news and updates.
Do Women Lose More Hair During the Autumn Months?
A study published in the journal Dermatology shows that women lose more hair during autumn than they do in other seasons. Swedish researchers gathered a sample of 823 women and tracked their hair growth and shedding cycles.
Each person goes through the hair growth and shedding cycle. In the anagen phase also known as the growth phase of the hair follicle, new hair cells are produced. The catagen phase is where the hair is no longer growing but the follicle is shrinking. The final stage, the telogen phase, occurs when the hair is in a resting state, no longer growing, but on the verge of shedding. The hair stays in this resting state for about three months when it begins to shed, and the anagen phase begins gradually. Therefore, the average patient loses about 100 hairs per day. At the end of the telogen phase, the hair cycle of growth begins again, and if you could watch the follicular opening you would see a new hair emerge in a couple of weeks.
Though each individual’s hair growth and shedding cycle schedules will vary slightly, the researchers found that the women studied had the highest percentage of hair in the telogen stage at the end of summer. This means that after a period of time, these women will have some hair loss since the resting phase is always followed by a shedding. During this time, the patient may feel that his or her hair is thinning with the natural loss of hair that is occurring. The same sort of hair-loss phasing happens, though with a lower percentage of hair, in the spring as well. Researchers speculate that this extra amount of lost hair may be brought about by evolution, since the body seems to hold on to hair during the warmer months to protect the scalp from the summer sun.
For those people who experience hair loss with no growth to follow it, The Griffin Center of Hair Restoration and Research offers both non-surgical and surgical treatment and prevention options for women’s hair loss. Most commonly this hair loss is the result of female patterned hair loss, and the minuturization of hairs which eventually do not return. This process can be slowed and even in some cases reversed with treatment.
Contact us for more information on hair loss or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Edmond Griffin, hair restoration specialist. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates.
Why Do More Men Have Hair Transplant Surgery Than Women? What Impedes Women With Hair Loss from Having a Hair Transplant, if Anything?
If you keep up with my blog, you know women’s hair loss is a very complex topic, and women’s hair transplant surgery is no less complex. However, hair transplantation for women is more than possible. In fact, I have performed hundreds of hair restoration surgeries on women. When I began transplant surgery in the 70s only 2% of my patients were women; this number has increased fivefold.
To answer your first question—While there are many causes for hair loss in men besides genetics, a majority of men facing hair loss have male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). Just as with women’s hair loss, men can also lose hair because of hormones, stress, and certain medications, among other causes. Men with pattern baldness are usually optimal candidates for hair restoration surgery because they have an adequate donor region for harvesting follicular grafts. Women’s expectations are generally much higher than men’s. Men approach hair transplant surgery wanting more hair, while women usually want a return to full thickness. Thinning hair is not acceptable for them, and oftentimes more than one session may be necessary.
Another reason you hear about more men undergoing hair restoration surgery is that there is a stronger social stigma tied to women discussing hair loss conditions. Remember the attention placed on Lady Gaga when she discussed using Rogaine® in interviews? While the pop superstar took advantage of topic treatments, it is becoming more acceptable for women to seek medical hair loss treatments beyond Rogaine®.
Also, women’s hair restoration surgery is more complex than men’s, and doctors are even sometimes reluctant to perform surgery on women because of the frequency of temporary hair loss amongst female patients. When female patients consider hair transplant surgery, the surgeon must diagnose the reason for loss making sure that it is not just a temporary loss where the hair will regrow with other medical treatments. For example, if hair loss is caused by scarring related to trauma or surgery, the transplanted hair may not grow in its new home.
I have been researching hair loss and hair restoration for 35 years. Therefore, after a thorough consultation which may include a scalp biopsy to confirm diagnosis, I am usually able to pinpoint the cause of a patient’s hair loss and suggest a suitable treatment plan, which may include surgery, hair loss prevention medication, or other therapies to regrow hair.
Now, for the second question—There are multiple variables that could prevent both men and women from having hair transplant surgery. In addition to an inadequate donor region or a larger than normal recipient area, hair loss caused by high fevers, trauma, or hormone fluctuation, such as women who lose hair during pregnancy, is often temporary. Likewise, men and women who lose their hair because of certain medications, especially after chemotherapy, can experience temporary hair loss. Usually once medications are discontinued the hair loss stops and hair recovers. Patients with temporary hair loss are not candidates for hair transplant surgery. However, these patients often need to seek the care of a hair restoration specialist to determine the cause of hair loss.
I have performed hundreds of hair restorations on women, and they have been equally as successful and grow as well as my male hair transplant procedures, as you can see in my women’s hair restoration before and after gallery. The “pattern” of female pattern hair loss is different from male pattern hair loss. Women, luckily, do not go totally bald like men. Men bald from the front backwards and lose hair in the temporal regions (around and above the ears) whereas only 12% of women lose hair near the ears. Women are most likely to begin balding near the front of the head and on the crown, leaving a rim of good hair around the head. Because men and women bald differently, I use specialized techniques to separate the donor and treatment regions during female hair transplant surgery to accommodate the distinct challenges presented by this procedure.
If you are a women experiencing hair loss and considering hair restoration, you need to first determine the cause of your hair loss. Schedule a consultation to learn more and to find out if you might be a candidate for surgery. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook.
Frequently Asked Questions about Women’s Hair Loss
Q.) I’ve heard of male patterned baldness. Is pattern baldness a hair loss condition that women can develop as well?
A.) Caused by genetic predisposition to the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the hair follicle, male patterned baldness (MPB) is the most common type of hair loss for men, and yes, women can have hereditary hair loss as well. However, the pattern in female pattern baldness (FPB) differs from MPB due to the fact that the areas of hair loss and rate at which hair is lost differ. The most significant difference between MPB and FPB is that women rarely progress to total baldness whereas men do frequently. Under the microscope, a biopsy of an MPB sample is indistinguishable from FPB.
Q.) What causes a woman’s hair to fall out?
A.) There are numerous possible causes of women’s hair loss as you can read in our previous blog series on women’s hair loss. By far the most common cause of hair loss in women is female patterned baldness. Other causes of hair loss in women include hormonal changes (e.g. menopause, birth control, and thyroid conditions), childbirth, surgery, chemotherapy, stress, ongoing illness, anemia, rapid weight loss, and certain medications.
Q.) How is the type of women’s hair loss determined?
A.) The first step in determining the cause of hair loss is finding the right doctor. With experience treating conditions of the skin, hair, and nails, a dermatologist is a good place to start. Dedicating his life to researching hair loss and hair restoration, Dr. Edmond Griffin can usually determine the cause of hair loss after a thorough consultation with examination of the scalp. Dermatology Associates of Atlanta’s Dr. Ashley R. Curtis specializes in women’s hair loss specifically, and works with Dr. Griffin to effectively diagnosis and treat female hair loss patients. Many clues become obvious to their experienced eyes. Occasionally, additional tests like a skin biopsy may be needed to make an accurate diagnosis. Part 2 of our women’s hair loss series highlights the components of tests that determine hair loss.
Q.) Can women undergo hair restoration surgery?
A.) As long as there is an adequate donor region from which follicular grafts can be harvested, women can benefit from hair restoration surgery. Women experiencing androgenetic alopecia or hair loss caused by scars from accidents, burns or cosmetic procedures often make good candidates for hair transplant surgery as long as they have an ample donor region.
Q.) Is there any way to prevent women’s hair loss?
A.) Yes, although there are many hair loss medications on the market that promise to prevent further loss and regrow hair, oral Propecia® (finasteride) and topical Rogaine® (minoxidil) are the two main proven hair loss prevention medications. Women who are pregnant or are trying to become pregnant should not take or even handle oral Propecia®, but may use topical custom prescriptions. In Dr. Griffin’s experience, 80-90% of those patients who combine both topical and oral medications see a halt in hair loss with 25% showing substantial hair regrowth. Your hair loss specialist my also suggest certain shampoos, vitamins, or the use of anti-androgens such as Flutamide, Spironalactone, estrogens or birth control pills to prevent further loss.
If you are interested in hair restoration options or are looking for your hair loss cause, take a look at our website or schedule a consultation today. Be sure to find the Griffin Center on Facebook.
Answers to Common Questions about Hair Loss Causes
Q.) What causes hair loss?
A.)Although genetic predisposition is the most common cause of hair loss in both men and women, there are numerous other factors to consider such as medical conditions, hormonal imbalances, medications, excessive weight loss, chemotherapy, radiation, and traumatic injuries (including burns to the scalp) that can also cause hair loss.
Q.) How is the cause of my hair loss determined?
A.) As highlighted in our previous women’s hair loss series, a dermatologist can help you identify the cause of your hair loss. The single most important thing when determining hair loss is the doctor’s experience. First, he or she will start by asking a round of questions to better understand your condition. Then he/she can order or perform tests which may include hair pull test, hair shed/pull collection, scalp biopsy, and blood tests.
Q.) Isn’t male patterned baldness the same thing as female patterned baldness?
A.) Both male and female patterned baldness(androgenetic alopecia) are caused by a predisposition to the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the hair follicles due to an inherited gene. However, the pattern in female pattern baldness is different than that of male pattern baldness, meaning though the causes of these types of hair loss are similar, the rate and areas in which patients of opposite genders notice hair loss are still very different. › Continue reading
Women’s Hair Loss Part 3: What Type of Hair Loss Do I Have?
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Women’s hair loss is a complex condition with numerous causes. The intricate nature of women’s hair loss further emphasizes the need for a hair loss specialist with specialized knowledge. Dr. Edmond Griffin can help you determine what type of hair loss you are experiencing and suggest a proper treatment plan based on your symptoms. In previous blog posts, we’ve explained who to turn to when hair begins to thin and tests that determine your hair loss cause. There may be a combination of variables contributing to your specific hair loss condition; therefore, it may be helpful to have a basic understanding of most common types/causes of hair loss:
• Androgenetic Alopecia: Androgenetic alopecia, also called female patterned baldness, is by far the most common cause of hair loss seen at the Griffin Center. This hereditary alopecia is caused by a predisposition to the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the hair follicles due to an inherited gene. A positive family history of baldness in either males or females is common. Occurring over a period of several years, this type of hair loss is gradual.
• Telogen Effluvium: In this condition, an increased number of hairs enter the resting phase (telogen phase) of the hair growth cycle so that hair does not grow at a normal rate. This hair loss is most apparent as hair just falls out by the roots in handfuls. Dieting, severe infection, high fever, surgery, stress, and especially childbirth shifts the growing hair into a resting phase resulting in sudden onset of hair loss.
• Anagen Effluvium: This hair loss condition is most commonly associated with cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation, and causes hair to fall out during the anagen, or growing, phase of the hair growth cycle. While most patients re-grow their hair after chemo and radiation are completed, some patients do not completely re-grow due to certain cancer chemo agents.
• Traction Alopecia: Traction alopecia, most often seen in black patients, is caused by excessive, ongoing tension placed on the scalp. Tight hairstyles such as braids, weaves, and ponytails can eventually pull hair out and permanently scar the scalp. Some patients have sensitive follicles that are easily traumatized, resulting in this loss of hair.
• Alopecia Areata: This hair loss condition, most common in children and young adults, is a disease in which the body forms antibodies against its own hair follicles due to stress, genetics, or immunity. Often developed suddenly, alopecia areata results in smooth, circular patches on the scalp, eyebrows, or beard. Aggressive treatment with injections and topical medications frequently results in the hair returning within a short time. A positive family history of this condition is common.
• Scarring Alopecia: This condition is a chronic inflammation of the scalp which gradually damages the hair follicles. This permanent condition may appear as localized or wide-spread patchy hair loss, and should be treated as soon as possible to prevent widespread baldness.
• Lichen Planopilaris (LPP): Scarring hair loss condition in which follicle inflammation causes gradual permanent alopecia.
• Tinea Capitis: Tinea capitis is a fungal infection that causes patchiness and breakage due to inflammation, usually seen in young children. If treated early, the hair re-grows but can result in permanent loss if the inflammation is long lasting or severe enough.
Listed above are some of the more common hair loss conditions. It’s important to understand that each hair loss case is specific to each man, woman, or child it affects. Dr. Griffin and his team of trained hair restoration technicians are more than happy to help you find a customized solution for hair loss. For more information on The Griffin Center of Hair Restoration and Research visit our website, and continue to read the blog for more news on hair loss conditions and prevention.
Original Herbal Compound Promising for Hair Re-growth In Women
Dr. Edmond Griffin, the founder of The Griffin Center of Hair Restoration and Research, devotes much of his time to researching non-surgical options for hair restoration treatments. Women’s hair-loss, like hair loss in men and hair loss in children, has numerous causes; women’s hair-loss is often the result of genetics (Androgenetic Alopecia), stress resulting from injury or illness, or hormonal imbalances. Recent case studies with his patients have led Dr. Griffin to develop a topical compound that has proven effective in re-growing the hair of women in which many other non-surgical treatments were unsuccessful.
As Dr.Griffin detailed in a previous blog on topical botanical Alopecia treatments, scientists are recognizing the powerful promise of several compounds in treating hair-loss. Among the effective ingredients in Griffin’s compound is melatonin: the hormone secreted by the brain’s pineal gland that is most widely known to control an individual’s sleeping cycles (circadian rhythms.) Not so well known is the fact that melatonin is also largely responsible for cycling reproductive hormones in females.
As previously noted, one of the causes of hair-loss in women is hormone fluctuation or imbalance. While melatonin consumption does not directly address the causes of hormonal problems, it (along with the oral compound’s other four ingredients) does seem to positively affect the hair-growth cycle in some females and re-grow some of their lost hair. It’s important to note however, that Dr. Griffin’s compound is produced exclusively by reputable compounding pharmacies. Even though the positive results and potential of hair-loss compounds are exciting, it takes qualified physicians working with qualified pharmacists to produce a safe, effective product.
If you are interested in learning more about the hair-loss treatments and hair restoration procedures Dr. Griffin provides, contact his office, visit his website, or subscribe to his blog. For up-to-the –minute news on hair restoration research and treatment you can also join Dr. Griffin on Facebook and Twitter.
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