Showing posts with label traction alopecia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traction alopecia. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2009

Hair Loss: "A" is for Alopecia (Post 4)

Traction Alopecia: Hair loss which occurs from traction or "pulling"
on hair. A large section of African American women suffer from
this form of alopecia.

Traction alopecia is commonly seen with braids (notice hair line in
picture, alopecia resulted from too tight or tension at hair line from braids), pony tails and other hairstyles which create traction on the scalp.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Hair Loss: "A" is for Alopecia (Post 2)

Alopecia Totalis is the total loss of hair on the entire head. Different from Alopecia Areata which is characterized in patchy, bald spots on the scalp; Alopecia Totalis covers the "total" area of the scalp for which its name implies.

Its causes are not clear, it is considered to be an autoimmune disorder. Stress is sometimes believed to be a contributing factor to the loss of hair caused by alopecia; however, there are many people who lead relatively stress-free lives who have experienced the symptoms of alopecia.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Hair Loss: "A" is for Alopecia ( Post 1)


There are many different forms of hair loss. The term alopecia simply means "hair loss". It can affect both men and women, children too.


Different Types of Alopecia


Alopecia Areata: Hair loss which occurs in patchy areas on the scalp.

Alopecia Totalis: Hair loss present over the entire scalp.

Alopecia Universalis: Hair loss which occurs over the entire body, including the scalp, eyebrows, etc.

Androgenetic Alopecia: Normal genetic hair loss caused by (DHT) Dihydrotestosterone in men and hormonal factors in women.

Traction Alopecia: This refers to hair loss which occurs due to traction (stress) placed on hair. Traction Alopecia is commonly seen with pony tails, braids, and other styles that produce (pressure, tightness) traction on the scalp.

Today...let's discuss Alopecia Areata-

Alopecia Areata is the name for a condition in which round patches of hair loss appear suddenly. The hair-growing tissue is attacked by the patient's own immune cells for unknown reasons. There are commonly three (3) stages: first, there is sudden hair loss, then the patches of hair loss enlarges , lastly new hair grows back. This process may take months, sometimes more than a year . Rarely, does the hair never grow back.