After seeing more and more young women suffering from female pattern hair loss, it made me start stressing out how important prevention could be for women prone to suffer from this condition.
Female pattern hair loss is a very common condition that used to affect women in their late 40s and 50s and would become worse after menopause. It used to be called “aging baldness” and women would not do much about it. Most often, they would cut their hair short trying to hide their lack of hair, or wear a hair piece.
Nowadays, this condition is not only reserved for this age. Patients that come to our practice are more often than not adolescents, and they are facing a condition that is affecting their youth, their beauty and their self-esteem. They are losing hair. It is becoming thin and fragile, density is reduced, and as a result it is limiting the range of hair styles that can have in that delicate age. And they are coming for help.
If you look into the members of your family, not exclusively your mom and grandmoms but others as well, and you find that there is someone who already suffered from hair loss, there is a high risk that you might experience some degree of hair loss as well. Medicine has improved somewhat and fortunately today we have different treatments for female pattern hair loss- Rogaine 5%, which is a lotion, is the most common and the only FDA approved medications for hair loss. Furthermore, as doctors we have witnessed good results with laser therapy and growth factor treatments for hair loss. The potential of hair cloning and growth factor therapy should be here one day, we hope. But more importantly, our female patients should be educated how to prevent or postpone hair loss that runs in their family.
Let’s begin with your general health and living a stress free life.
- Is that just a concept or it could really work?
- What do you do for your health every day?
- Do you think that is enough?
- Are you controlling the level of the stress that you are facing?
- Are you eating healthy and more importantly, are you controlling what is “eating” you?
- What is your concept of a “balanced” diet?
Hair loves vitamins B, A, C, D, iron, zinc and proteins. Rapid weight loss and weight gain might result in hair loss. Hair loves balance.
The next important thing is how you treat your hair. Bleaching, dying, straightening, and hair extensions are all very fashionable but should be done in some rational frequency. That is why someone once said: ”Hair is like a woman, it remembers everything and rarely forgives”. If you have a family history of hair loss, we believe those hair treatments should be done rarely and with lots of caution. Make sure you always use a professional hairdresser so you avoid home accidents made by an amateur like yourself. Hair likes hats too and the scalp should be sun protected as with any other area of the face and body. Massages of the scalp are always welcome especially when coconut, olive, almond or lavender oils are added. Try to release tension of your hair as often as you can- no tight pony tails, or braids. If there is an infection on the scalp, it must be treated by a physician and not persist for prolonged periods of time. Treat your hair with respect and she will know how to appreciate that.
As doctors, we strongly believe that prevention is so important for any medical condition and it can play a significant role in hair loss in women. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to find the time and ways to help your hair fight your genes. Maybe it is impossible, but be of those who are going to say – I did my best. And if once start to experience hair loss, we will be there to do our best by and to treat you properly. It’s a team effort.
