Women With Alopecia Month on July, 2024: Women's hair loss question?

July, 2024 is Women With Alopecia Month 2024. July Is International Alopecia In Women Awareness Month! traction alopecia treatment July is International Women with Alopecia Areata

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Women’s hair loss question?

Heredity, hormones, stress, diet, illness, poor hair care – all are factors in hair loss.

Stress, diet and illness are more temporary conditions and usually the hair loss is reversed when the anxiety-producing conditions dissipate, when the diet is improved, when hair care improves and when an illness is cured or gotten under control.

Heredity and hormones are different matters, however. Heredity is an irreversible condition. You are a product of your parents, and hair loss is often inherited. Hormones are tricky, hidden things, however, and they have different effects on an individual basis.

In a male, testosterone abides abundantly. There are also enzymes working on testosterone which product a substance called DHT. DHT is now known to circulate in the blood and cause other conditions, one of which is the shrinking of hair follicles. When hair follicles shrink enough, they are unable to produce and push a new hair through. As old hair dies, it is then not replaced.

In women, hormonal imbalances can also cause hair loss. Pregnancy, childbirth and menopause all cause significant hormonal change and imbalances with both physical and mental effects. These changes can also cause hair loss, both temporary and permanent.

Hair loss and re-growth products have been around for centuries. In ancient times, a variety of herbal and oil-based remedies were concocted and used by Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans, and American Indians, all with some degree of effectiveness for some people. Modern medical research has focused on ways to re-open and stimulate “dead” hair follicles, so that hair growth can re-occur naturally, as well as keep the healthy follicles healthy. Thus, a number of products have become available, both by prescription and over-the-counter. They are advertised on radio and television and all over the Internet. One need only do a “google” search on hair loss, and there are literally thousands of sites and products for investigation.

One ingredient in many hair loss products is minoxidil. Research studies have shown that in about 80% of the participants, products containing this ingredient are effective in slowing hair loss and, in some, causing re-growth to occur.

Probably the most well known is Rogaine, available at any drug store, in varieties for both men and women. Most scientifically-produced products do have separate products for males and females, because, of course, hormones in each are different and of different levels.

An additional product containing minoxidil is Provillus, and, again, studies have shown it to be effective. The difference between Provillus and other similar products is that the makes have added Azelaic Acid, an additional ingredient which appears to enhance the follicle repair in both men and women. Provillus has been the subject of many studies, just as the other products, and level of effectiveness may be higher.

Provillus is available for both men and women, and the treatment is a combination of a topical liquid applied to the balding areas, as well as a pill or capsule to be taken in conjunction with the liquid. The critical key to effectiveness, according to its makers, is the addition of the azelaic acid, however, the correct amount of this acid is most important piece of this treatment.

As with most hair loss products, the makers recommend patience. It may take from 3-6 months for improvement to occur, however, there is a money-back guarantee up to 180 days if one is not satisfied that it is working for him/her.

Medical research is far from finished in its exploration of products which will stop hair loss and promote re-growth of “permanent” loss. As this research continues, existing producers will undoubtedly alter their products accordingly.

Fortunately, a lot of money is being poured into the research, so hair loss sufferers, take heart!

Any women with alopecia areata?

Any women with alopecia areata?

I don't know of anyone with alopecia areata but I have telogen effluvium that was induced by medication. I have been shedding for about 6 months. Hair is really thin all over but the doctor says it should return. It just takes a long time. IT IS SOOO FRUSTRATING!!!!!! and depressing.

Is there any cure for Alopecia?

Is there any cure for Alopecia?

Alopecia may arise from numerous causes, including stress reactions, hypothyroidism, exposure of the hair follicles to topically-applied chemicals, therapies used for cancer, and genetic male-pattern balding. The disorder is often classified by its specific manifestation, such as patchy balding (alopecia areata), total loss of head hair (alopecia totalis), or total loss of body hair (alopecia universalis). Alopecia areata and alopecia totalis frequently affect women, and the disorder may persist for several months to about a year, sometimes longer.

Generally, alopecia is interpreted by Chinese doctors as the result of a deficiency syndrome, specifically involving blood deficiency, with generation of internal wind or invasion of external wind that affects the head; the situation is sometimes complicated by blood stasis and/or blood heat. The belief that there is an influence of wind in the etiology of the hair loss is reflected in the Chinese name for the disease, which is youfeng, literally oil-wind. The reference to oil, which can also mean glossy, is an expression characterizing the smooth, shiny scalp appearance where the hair has been lost. The Chinese name has led to some humorous translations; in the package insert for Alopecia Areata Pills, the primary indication is for "grease hair dropping."

The underlying pathological processes cause the hair follicles to be undernourished. Blood deficiency can arise from poor diet, excessive use of drugs, the aging process, stress reaction (worry, anxiety, depression, which impairs spleen function and thereby reduces nurturing of blood), and debilitating diseases. Sudden hair loss, like other sudden health changes, is interpreted as a consequence of "wind;" in this case it is invading the channels that traverse the scalp.

A typical description of the cause of alopecia is presented in Practical Traditional Chinese Dermatology (1):

The hairs are the extension of blood, and the normal growth and development of long, pliable, and tough hairs depends on the sufficient supply of nourishment from ying and blood. If the supply of nutrients is reduced, the wind may be produced in the body to cause loss of hairs. Nervousness, depression, and mental instability may cause production of internal heat, and the excessive heat in the blood may produce wind and cause loss of hairs due to reduced nutrition supply, and such patients may show clinical manifestation of wind syndrome due to blood heat. In patients with chronic diseases and exhaustion of essence and blood, the deficiency of blood may also produce wind to cause loss of hairs, and such patients may show the clinical manifestation of wind syndrome due to deficiency of blood. In patients with their diseases wrongly treated or refractory to any treatment, the fresh blood can not be produced to nourish the hairs because of the stagnation of blood and obstruction of meridians, and such patients may show clinical manifestations of wind syndrome owing to blood stagnation.

According to the English-Chinese Encyclopedia of Practical Traditional Chinese Medicine (2),

Alopecia is mostly caused by deficiency of liver and kidney with subsequent failure of [blood to go up and nourish] the hair. The hair pores are open when the hair is poorly nourished, and wind invades the pores on the occasion. Therefore, deficient blood with wind [invasion] leads to hair loss. However, stagnation of liver qi and impaired qi mechanism will also result in hair loss because of the malnutrition of hair due to stagnation of qi and stasis of blood.

The same encyclopedia has an elaboration of the etiology of alopecia in the volume of dermatology (16):

This disease is often caused by deficiency of blood, which fails to cooperate with qi in nourishing the skin. The striae of skin and muscles in turn become loose, and the opening of the sweat glands is loose, hence, pathogenic wind intrudes from outside, causing blood-dryness and malnutrition of the hair. Besides, the mood of depression, stagnation of liver qi, and overwork may impair the heart qi and cause stagnation of qi and blood stasis so that qi and blood cannot nourish the hair, hence the occurrence of the disease; deficiency of the liver qi and kidney qi may also cause this disease, because the liver stores the blood whose state can be manifested by the hair, while the kidneys produce bone marrow which is also responsible for the growth of hair.

RECOMMENDED PRESCRIPTIONS

In Practical Traditional Chinese Dermatology, three basic formulas are recommended:

Wind Due to Blood Heat

Wind Due to Blood Deficiency

Wind Due to Blood Stagnation

Rehmannia, raw

Rehmannia, cooked

Tang-kuei, tails

Moutan

Tang-kuei

Red peony

Scrophularia

Peony

Cnidium

Biota leaf

Cnidium

Persica

Morus leaf

Lycium

Carthamus

Anemarrhena

Ligustrum

Biota leaf

Vitex

Cuscuta

Angelica

Tang-kuei

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