Improve Your Hair Growth Knowledge To Prevent Hair Loss
February 14, 2009 by Guest
Filed under Hair Loss Prevention
With regard to hair growth, it is important to know some information. The sebaceous glands reside below the skin and are responsible for hair follicle production. Hair follicles are parts of hair strands that lie beneath the skin and are instrumental in pushing hair up through the skin. Sebaceous glands are present all over the body, except on the lips, the soles of the feet, and on the palms of hands. A person with more sebaceous glands is likely to have more hair follicles, and hence more hair. How the hair grows depends on the health of sebaceous glands.
A healthy human head carries about 100,000 hairs and it is also normal to shed around 50-100 hairs in a day. This type of hairloss is absolutely normal. Hair follicles are capable of hair regrowth innumerable times, and on average, a human hair grows by .04 centimeters a day. Growth is affected by seasonal changes, dietary factors, stress and heredity. Hair loss and baldness happens when the follicles do not grow hair at the rate that they should, or stop growing hair altogether.
Hair growth is steady during the winter and shedding starts after winter, continues through the spring, and reaches its peak in the summer when a person may lose up to 100 hairs a day. Yet seasonal hair loss is natural and doesn’t lead to a problem. Hormonal imbalances cause hair loss. Imbalances in testosterone levels in males can cause baldness. Female pattern baldness is the result of an imbalance in hormone levels. Hormonal imbalances also cause thinning of the hair.
Experts make a two pronged approach in treating hair loss and stimulating hair growth. One targets the scalp because an inflamed scalp can cause hair loss. Hair loss treatments include applications of oils and creams, and even specially prepared chemical solutions. Secondly, another approach involves improving nutrition, improving blood circulation to the scalp, and purifying the blood etc. Both approaches have their place in promoting the growth of the hair. Both of the approaches are used simultaneously to achieve optimum results.
Clarifying The Term Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata (AA) is a very important issue today to many. Commonly known as balding, this hair loss condition basically affects your scalp; however, there may also be instances when other hair-bearing parts of the human body are affected as well, and both males and females can experience this type of hair loss. This medical concern is actually not similar to male-pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia, since the latter is a rather common condition caused by environmental and genetic factors.
Hair loss baldness is directly connected to the immune system and could lead to autoimmunity. When this happens, the immune system starts to attack specific tissues in the human body. For unknown reasons, AA occurs once the immune system of the human body attack the hair follicles, leading to the disruption of normal, healthy hair growth. There are different patterns associated with this problem, and the most common is spot balding. Alopecia totalis, on the other hand, is when the hair over the entire scalp is lost, while alopecia universalis is the name of the condition for the total loss of body hair.
Alopecia areata occurs mostly in children, young adults or teens. But this hair loss condition tends to affect toddlers as well. AA should not be confused with excessive hair shedding, since that only happens following the discontinuation of progesterone and hormonal estrogen therapies, or with the end of a pregnancy. So how is AA diagnosed? One is diagnosed with this medical condition when unusual spots of hair loss appear on the scalp, and simply tugging at the hair around the perimeter of the bald spot will tell the tale. However, for most people their hair will grow back. But for those with longer periods of time of suffering from hair loss, various treatments can be considered. Creams or shampoos, like fluocinonide or clobetasol, and steroid injections are the most common ones. There are also other medications, such as minoxidil and cyclosporine and other forms of topical immunotherapy.
It is very important to properly deal alopecia areata. The number of people suffering from hair loss is growing. And the best way to deal with AA or balding is to have the right thinning hair treatments so you can regain healthy hair. Today, different medications and treatments are available. But before considering such treatments, it is important to pay a visit to your dermatologist and learn more about important hair loss information.
