All You Need To Know About Hair Loss Treatment
Hair loss is a problem that can leave you scratching your head for solutions. But nowadays, there are several treatments available that one can use to curb hair loss effectively.
Having all the essential information at your disposal about hair loss and its treatments can help you make an informed decision about the type of treatment that you should pursue to cure your hair fall. This is a brief description of the different stages of hair growth, causes of hair fall, and some of the prominent treatments accessible right now.
Cycle of Hair Growth
To better treat hair loss, it is important to first understand the cycle of hair growth. There are four unique stages:
-
1. Anagen: The Growth Stage
At any given point in time, nearly 80-90% of all your head hair is in the growth stage. Generally, it takes anywhere between 3 to 5 years for the head hair to grow.
-
2. Catagen: The Transition Stage
Merely 5% of your head hair is at the Catagen stage at any given point. It usually lingers on for only 10 days or a little more than that. During this phase, hair growth gradually decelerates. The hair detaches itself from the base of the hair follicle, however, it still keeps dangling till the end of its growth..
-
3. Telogen: The Resting Stage
About 10 to 15% of your head hair is at the Telogen stage at any given point. Hair stops growing at this stage, and generally, this phase lingers on for 3 months. Even though the hair hasn't fallen yet, at the telogen stage, the follicles start generating new hair in place of the hair that was detached from follicles during the catagen stage.
-
4. Exogen: The Shedding Stage
At this stage, hair falls from the scalp. When the Exogen phase is ongoing, normally, 50 to 100 hairs fall every day, usually during washing. The stage can go on for 2 to 5 months.
Causes of Hair Loss
There are several reasons that can trigger hair loss. Below are some of the prominent causes of hair loss:-
- Hereditary:
- This is one of the most prevalent cause of hair loss. Also known as androgenic alopecia, this condition is ordinarily referred to as male/female-pattern baldness. Common symptoms in men include a receding hairline and bald spots. In women, thinning of hair around the crown area of the head is indicative of androgenic alopecia.
- Hormone-related:
- Hormonal imbalances may cause hair fall. Certain hormonal conditions that may trigger hair fall such as:
- Pregnancy & Childbirth
- Menopause
- Thyroid Disease
- Medical condition:
- Some medical conditions may also result in hair loss. Some examples of such conditions are:
- Alopecia Areata. This is an immune disorder that results in bald patches.
- Infections like ringworm in the scalp
- Eczema or psoriasis
- Trichotillomania: hair-pulling disorder
- Illness or major surgery
- Hairstyles and Hair Treatment:
- Excessive colouring of hair and frequent hairstyling that puts intense pressure on roots are also two major reasons that may result in hair fall.
Treatments of Hair Loss
There are numerous treatments out there for tackling the problem of hair loss. Below are a few of the most prominent treatments:-
1. Topical Spray (minoxidil)
In different forms such as spray, solution, and foam, Minoxidil is used for treating male and female pattern baldness. Minoxidil is proven to prevent hair loss after 3 months of daily use.
-
2. Oral supplement (Floxia)
Apart from applying pigments or solutions, oral supplements are another way in which many try to curb, or in some cases, cure hair loss. For example, Biotin or Vitamin B7 is a crucial vitamin, lack of which can lead to hair loss. Hence, providing vitamin B7 to the body by consuming oral supplements like Floxia may help you treat hair loss.
-
3. Regenera Activa
One of the most potent treatments providing hair regrowth is Regenera Activa. This treatment involves activation of hair growth with the help of hair stem cell matrix extracted from the back of your scalp. Before you learn more about the treatment procedure, below are few things to keep in mind about Regenera Activa:
- It can only be performed by certified doctor
- It needs to be repeated once a year for optimal result
- Suitable for male and female pattern hair loss
- Not suggested for treating late-stage androgenic alopecia, which may not have good result
- This method is 100% safe, with no chemical or enzyme added
Regenera Active Treatment Procedure
This treatment is undertaken in a few straightforward steps:- The doctor performs a comprehensive examination of the hair condition.
- Decide on the donor areas on the patients’ scalp. Usually at the back of scalp, for hair stem cell extraction.
- Donor area is shaved to small rectangular shape 5x2cm.
- Local anaesthesia is administered to donor area and tissue samples are extracted.
- The tissue samples are processed and filtered through the regenera device. Stem cell matrix solution is formulated.
- The matrix solution is administered to the hair loss area, which results in the activation of blood vessels and regenerative activity within the hair follicles.
Advantages of Regenera Activa
- There is no downtime, which is a huge advantage over other treatment methods such as hair transplant, that have considerable downtime.
- The procedure is quick. It only takes about 30min.
- Results are natural, visible after 3 months.
There are two principal methodologies used for hair transplants:
- FUT (follicular unit transplantation)
- FUE (follicular unit extraction)
In FUT, the doctor takes out a strip of scalp skin from the donor area with a deep incision, followed by detaches it into several smaller sections that are then implanted to the hair loss area.
In FUE, the hair follicles are directly extracted from the donor area with the help of thousands of small incisions, followed by implantation of the hair graft to the hair loss area.
Both the donor and recipient areas will be numbed with adequate local anaesthesia, hence the procedure is tolerable although the patient is awake throughout the 8-10 hours of procedure. The wound will dry up within a day but generally the scalp will look raw and mild swollen for about 3 days. Generally, one should estimate a downtime of 5 days for hair transplantation.
Conclusion
You may be asking, am I too young for hair transplant or Regenera Activa? Well, hair loss treatments including hair transplant are designed for young people with hair loss. What is the point to wait and suffer baldness during your peak moment in life? Start hair loss treatment early and regain your confidence again!