Hair loss is a warning sign of many dangerous diseases of the body. On the other hand, hair loss causes loss of aesthetics and affects your image.

What is hair loss?

Hair loss is a condition in which hair falls out more than the number of hairs growing every day. Hair loss can occur at any age. Most hairs will fall out 100 strands per day. This is part of the hair growth cycle, new hair will grow and replace the fallen strands. When hair falls out more than 100 strands and does not grow back, this condition is called alopecia.

The connection between hair loss and baldness

Hair loss affects only the scalp or the entire body. This condition can be temporary or permanent. The cause of hair loss is often due to genetics, hormonal changes, medical treatment or aging.

Baldness is the result of excessive hair loss. Hereditary hair loss is a common cause of baldness. Many people are self-conscious about their baldness, and choose to hide it by wearing wigs, hats or scarves. Others find baldness normal.

Distinguish between physiological hair loss and pathological hair loss

Physiological hair loss

Physiological hair loss is defined as hair loss according to the life cycle. Hair grows, then grows longer, then over time it gets old and falls out. After the hair falls out, a new layer of hair is born to replace the old layer of hair.

Every day, a hair will grow 0.35mm longer, which is about 1cm/1 month. On average, 30-100 hairs will fall out every day, and about the same number of hairs will grow. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about if you see a few dozen hairs falling out every day. Because that is normal physiological hair loss, there is nothing to worry about because about 100 hairs will grow every day.

Each hair will have a life cycle of 2-6 years (hair growth in women is often longer than in men). At any given time, 85-95% of hair is in the growing phase (anagen), 1-2% is in the resting phase (catagen) and 5-10% is in the resting phase, waiting to fall out (telogen). Because the hair growth and shedding process occur simultaneously, in normal physiological conditions, the amount of hair remains almost unchanged. Hair loss in general is caused by: External factors (environmental factors, diseases such as fungi, bacteria causing folliculitis), pathological hair loss and internal factors (pregnant women, postpartum, menopause, malaria, typhoid, dengue fever, syphilis), hair loss due to genetics, psychological impact, improper hair care (too much perming, dyeing, using improper hair care cosmetics).

Pathological hair loss

When you feel that the amount of hair loss is unusual, you need to monitor to see if it falls into the following cases of pathological hair loss.

Hair loss is more than 100 strands per day, hair loss is of unknown cause and continuous loss for a long time. An easy-to-recognize sign is that every time you wash or comb your hair, hair falls out in clumps. Or when your hair is dry, you run your hand through your hair and a lot of hair falls out and gets caught between your fingers.

Hair falls out but does not grow back. Whether your hair falls out a little or a lot, you feel like your hair is not growing back, the clearest evidence is that your hair is getting thinner and thinner. In particular, when you look at your scalp, you will see very few new hairs growing, even some areas with very thin hair.

Hair loss is concentrated in patches. Hair only falls out in a certain location and rarely grows back. If you experience this condition, after a short period of time, your scalp will be exposed at the location of hair loss.

The baby hair grows very weak and thin, sometimes curly. This shows that your body is lacking nutrients, so it cannot nourish healthy hair. To overcome this condition, you should see a doctor to know what nutrients are better for your hair.

Hair loss accompanied by flaky, itchy scalp or many red spots. This could be a condition of hair loss due to scalp fungus, so you should also see a dermatologist immediately to effectively prevent hair loss.

Hair loss is caused by the weakening of hair germ cells. In which, the factors that cause hair germ cells to weaken often originate from endocrine disorders (different in men and women), genetics, stress, unbalanced diet, inflammation… When hair germ cells are weakened, hair cannot function properly, leading to hair loss, slow growth and thinner hair strands than normal.

Therefore, to prevent hair loss from the root and comprehensively, it is necessary to find a solution to protect and promote hair germ cell growth with specialized nutrients for men and women.

Hair loss phase

Hair goes through 3 phases:

• Anagen phase (growth phase): can last from 2 to 8 years. This phase usually accounts for about 85% – 90% of the hair on the head.
• Catagen phase (transition phase): this is the time when the hair follicle shrinks, lasting 2 – 3 weeks.
• Telogen phase (resting phase): lasts 2 – 4 months. At the end of this phase, the hair will begin to fall out.

Eyelashes, arm hair, leg hair and eyebrows have a short Anagen phase, about 1 month. While hair on the scalp can last up to 6 years or even longer.

Hair loss treatment

There are many causes of hair loss, the doctor will base on each specific case to give the appropriate hair loss treatment method:

Treatment with medication

Use topical medications on the scalp, such as Minoxidil or Rogaine®. These two drugs are often used in the first course of treatment for thinning hair. In addition, patients can use prescription oral medications Finasteride or Propecia® (for men with baldness).

Use natural methods

Treat hair loss with grapefruit peel: essential oil from grapefruit peel stimulates growth, nourishes each hair follicle, helps hair grow long, beautiful and naturally strong. By cutting grapefruit peel into small pieces, put it in a pot of boiling water, let it cool and then use that water to wash your hair.

In addition, you can treat hair loss with coconut oil: this is an ingredient commonly found in shampoos or conditioners. With its moisturizing properties, coconut oil helps smooth hair, prevents tangles and breakage.

Use aloe vera to improve hair loss: aloe vera contains vitamins A, C and E. All three of these vitamins contribute to the process of cell regeneration, promote growth and make hair shiny. Vitamin B12 and folic acid in aloe vera also help reduce hair loss, soothe itchy scalp, and treat seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff).

Use hair transplant and laser methods

During hair transplant, the doctor will remove hair from areas with thick hair. Then, the hair will be transplanted to areas with thin or little hair.

In addition, low-level laser therapy (or red light therapy, cold laser therapy) is used to treat hair loss, by shining photons on scalp tissues. These photons are absorbed by cells to stimulate hair growth. Laser therapy is gradually becoming widely accepted because it is safer and less invasive than hair transplant.

Use products to support hair loss treatment and hair growth stimulation

Use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to support hair loss treatment, by taking blood and separating the plasma. The doctor will then inject the platelet-rich plasma into the scalp. PRP treatment helps slow down hair loss and encourage new hair growth. In addition, there are other hair loss treatments such as PRP microneedling and HA injections.