Alopecia is a strange word. But for some people afflicted by it, alopecia is a serious matter that should be addressed purposely and with determination. In layman's terms, it means hair loss. Alopecia has many causes, mostly genetics and environment. Alopecia refers to any kind of hair loss, although there are variants depending on conditions and specific diagnosis.
Under normal conditions, hair growth is a cyclical process. The first phase is the anagen growth phase when hair follicles actively grow until it reaches the catagen stage in which follicles slow down their growth.
At the telogen phase, follicles rest before the start of a new anagen phase or the beginning of a new hair shaft, pushing old hairs to give way to new ones. When your scalp is healthy and not affected by any condition causing hair loss, 10 percent of hair follicles are ordinarily in telogen stage at any time.
Androgenetic alopecia or AGA is the most common condition of hair loss caused, as the name implies, by genetics. It is popularly known as male pattern baldness, although this condition also affects women.
Men afflicted with AGA lose their hair in a well-defined pattern that begins above both temples. The hair at the crown of the head becomes thinner, while that around the sides and back of the head recedes towards the center. This leads to an unsightly horseshoe pattern. While males with AGA could lose their hair completely, women with the same condition suffer only from thinning hair all over the head, which does not lead to total baldness. Unlike men, women do not experience receding hairlines.
Another kind of hair loss problem that afflicts five million people in the United States is Alopecia areata. It manifests itself through the loss of hair in the scalp and elsewhere in the body. According to the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, our bodies produce an arsenal of antibodies to deter malevolent bacteria and viruses. Unfortunately, this immune system sometimes mistakes the hair follicles as targets of attack, resulting in the disruption of hair growth. Dermatologists consider Alopecia areata a type of skin disease because it occurs on the skin of the hair or the scalp.
While Alopecia areata is characterized by random patches of hair, there are two other types of alopecia considered more serious - Alopecia totalis involving total head hair loss and Alopecia universalis relating to total body hair loss. Unlike Androgenetic aloprecia, the hair follicles in Alopecia areata remain active and alive and are ready to resume normal hair growth at certain points, sometime after many years, without treatment.
There are many other causes of hair loss. Aside from Alopecia areata, the most common non-AGA alopecias are Telogen effluvium, ringworm, scarring alopecia, and hair loss due to too much cosmetic procedures and application. Telogen effluvium is marked by massive hair shedding as a result of early entry of hairs into the telogen phase due to emotionally stressful events, including childbirth, major surgery, severe emotional disorders, and drug use.
There are other causes of hair loss, some of them rare and difficult to diagnose. Unfortunately, even with a correct diagnosis, there is very little that your skin doctor can offer if the cause is genetic.
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Richard likes to write about various interesting topics and has been doing so for years. His latest website is http://zebrablanket.org which provides information on what to look for in a zebra blanket .
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