Are you aware of the fact that hair loss can suddenly become more than a purely appearance disorder?

Whatever they say, we all live in a cruel society having very strict standards of attractiveness. Every individual does his or her best to fit into this limited beauty span and look the way we are supposed to look. Do you really consider it is purely teenager behavior? Sorry to disappoint you, but cosmetic surgeries, beauty saloons and fitness centers are full of mature men and women who forget themselves and spend insane sums of money to look the way fashionable stars and public people do!

To cut the long story short, our appearance matters a lot in the contemporary society! Some thing like stylish clothes and chic accessories can be easily purchased, others are part of our looks, that is why it is rather hard to put them straight. You are expected to have huge clear eyes, thick shiny hair, brilliant teeth and perfect skin to become fascinating and attractive for your vis-à-vis! Recent research demonstrate that good-looking men and women find jobs and make friends easier than plain ones. They have twice or thrice as much sexual partners, are always trusted and are rarely suspected in committing different crimes. Do you still believe we all are equal?

As you might guess, alopecia is one of the esthetic problem making individuals feel totally uneasy. It is advisable to know some facts about your hair and find the best way out in case of necessity or to help your close people face this disappointing situation.

As you might remember, your hair has a normal cycle of life. The period of 2-3 years is considered right for your hair to grow and stay on your head. Each tiny hair grows approximately 1 centimeter a month. Scientists say that about 90% of the hair on the scalp is in the phase of growing. The rest of the hair (about 10%) is in its resting phase. This means that 1/10 of your hair is rather old and after 3-4 months the resting part of your chevelure is going to fall out just to give way to young hairs! As a result you can spot a few hairs on you comb, bed, clothes and in the shower - it is a part of usual process. The trouble is when your hair loss becomes excessive.

It is generally considered that hair loss is a purely male disorder. In fact it is not so - males, females and even children can suffer from this esthetic matter for a number of reasons.

To avoid a certain misunderstanding of terms, let us find out what common baldness is. Generally this word-combination is used to describe a permanent-pattern baldness characteristic for many men over 30. The medical term for this sort of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia. It is generally believed that kind of baldness is an inherited trait. It is marked by receding hair line and complete baldness on the top of the head. As numerous cases demonstrate, males who start losing their hair rather early (when they are under 30) in the course of time develop extensive baldness while men who revealed no early signs of androgenetic alopecia can enjoy their thick chevelure for the rest of their lives.

Unlike men, women can partially lose their hair over the entire scalp getting no bald spots. Thinner hair without any changes in hair line forms so-called female-pattern baldness.

People can notice they lose hair excessively after some disease or a major surgery. As a rule it happens 3-4 months afterwards. In this case we speak about the stress caused by the illness and have nothing serious to worry about - this hair loss is temporary, the amount of dead hairs will become less with every week.

Hormonal problems are also often responsible for hair loss. Number one trouble here is your thyroid gland - if it is overactive or underactive, your hair will fall out excessively. As soon as you start handling you thyroid disease, your hair will be fine again. Male and female hormones (androgens and estrogens) can also cause excessive hair loss if they are out of balance in the body. See your MD and take a course of treatment for correcting the hormone imbalance and soon you will notice your hair stopped falling out!

The majority of women having a 3 months old baby state they lose hair excessively. There is nothing to worry about here! The point is certain hormones during the pregnancy keep all your hair from falling out. As soon as your hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, your body restores the usual cycle of hair growth and right hair loss starts anew!

If you take certain medicines for a long period of time, be aware of the fact they can affect your hair! Anticoagulants (or so called blood thinners), anti-gout medicines, medicines for hypertension or heart problems, birth control pills, antidepressants and vitamin A in big doses can influence your scalp in a bad way causing excessive hair loss. As soon as you stop taking the drugs in question, the right cycle of hair growth and hair loss will recommence.

Never forget that fungal infections of the scalp cause excessive hair loss, too. The majority of cases of that kind are associated with kids. The good news is that this kind of infections can be easily and swiftly treated with special antifungal medicines.

A chronic disease, especially one connected with your immune system, such as lupus or diabetes, can affect the state and thickness of your hair as well. What is more, hair loss can become one of the early symptoms of a starting disease and if you tell your physician about it in time you can start your treatment as soon as possible and expect a complete recovery or at least a long-term remission.

Medical practice demonstrates that some hairstyles or treatments cause hair loss, too! If you are a fan of pigtails, ponytails, cornrows and extremely tight hair rollers and you keep wearing them day by day, you can end up losing a part of your hair! Eventually, you will get so-called traction alopecia. The pleasant fact is that if you give your hair more freedom and stop torturing it, your chevelure will grow back normally, unless you have already developed scars on your scalp. Sorry to say, scarring causes irreparable hair loss. Remember that you can get scalp scars in the process of hot oil hair treatments and when you have your permanents (usually called “perms”) done. The trouble is that the chemicals used in permanents are ruinous for your hair follicles; they may cause inflammation and swelling which results in scarring and excessive hair loss.

The question if your doc can do something about your hair loss is quite usual. The answer is “yes”! Be ready to give you physician some information about your way of life and bad habits, about your diet and medications you’re taking, about your chronic and recent health disorders etc. Female questionnaire includes questions about menstrual cycle, pregnancies and menopause. Later you doc will want to give you a physical exam and make several tests like blood test, biopsy etc. This will help you MD find out what exactly causes your extensive hair loss.

As a rule, examining and diagnosing is followed by a special kind of treatment. What is the treatment for hair loss like? If you trouble is caused by the drugs you take regularly, your physician can prescribe you a different one. If you lose your hair because of some infection, it will be recognized and cured, and you will soon grow your chevelure back. If you happen to have a certain hormone imbalance certain pill treatment will soon allow you to enjoy your shaggy mane again!

What is more, up-to-date pharmaceutical industry works miracles. This means you can get a wide range of medicines preventing the development of common baldness! Please, keep in mind that some meds like Rogaine (generic name Minoxidil) are available in any no prescription drugstore and can be used by both genders. Other meds like Finasteride are meant for men only! Keep them away from females, children and pets!

If you made up your mind to grow your hair back and get drugs online, be prepared to take your medications regularly for a considerable period of time. Usually it takes you up to 6 months to see the results with your own eyes.

Even if no medical handling is available for you, do not despair! Firstly, you can try alternative medicine. Secondly, your cosmetic problem can be solved with the help of different hairstyles, as well as cosmetic hair transplantation.

Anyway, growing your hair back is a slow process taking a lot of time! Do not become isolated in you own house! If you are a female, top-quality wigs and hairpieces will help you out any time - believe it or not, a lot of celebs wear them! If you are a man, consider shaving off all your hair - it is fairly considered cool and sex appealing! Give it a proper thought and you will doubtlessly find the best way out!

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