06 Jun 2016

We have heard so many stories surrounding hair loss or baldness so much that sometimes one  ends up not knowing what to believe.

Driven by curiosity and eagerness to be more informed, BOPA reporter, Gomolemo Gaedupi set out to interview director of Dermatology at Princess Marina Hospital, Ms Victoria Williams to shed light on hair loss which in some cases often lead to baldness.

Ms Victoria Williams explained that it was normal to shed hair every day. However baldness occurred when there was greater than the normal amount of hair loss taking place.

She said the scientific term of baldness is alopecia and it could be understood as loss of hair where hair should normally grow. “Around 100 hairs are shed but they are constantly in a phase of regrowth,” she said.

Ms Williams went on to say that hair loss could also be caused by underlying medical disorders and could be caused by numerous medications. “Just because one person experiences hair loss with a certain medication, it does not mean others will have the same reaction,” she said.

She said a very common cause of hair loss was the chronic autoimmune condition of Lupus and a very common medication that causes hair loss is Roaccutane which is used to treat severe acne; acne is the condition of having pimples.

She added that there were numerous different kinds of alopecia and each type had its own set of different characteristics. Major causes of hair loss can be classified under three categories, thus;

Androgenetic (hormonal related), Autoimmune (meaning your own immune system attacks your hair follicles to cause hair loss) and Scaring alopecia (an inflammatory process leads to scarring of the hair follicle and permanent loss of hair).

Shedding more light on Androgenetic alopecia, she described it as the type that occurred more in in older males and females. “However it is possible for it to occur in younger men and women. People who have a strong genetic predisposition (a strong family history) can start having this type of hair loss as early at their 20s and 30s,” she said.

She further stated that Autoimmune and scarring types of hair loss could happen at any age. Autoimmune hair loss is termed Alopecia Areata and this type actually happens mostly in children.

Further, scarring types of alopecia could occur randomly or be triggered by an external exposure like chronic use of a heat comb or chemicals for straightening the hair and this can also happen at any age.

However all is not lost for hair losers. 

She said there was treatment for alopecia and the treatment used depended on the type of hair loss. “Autoimmune causes of hair loss are the easiest to treat and often get better while Scarring and Androgenetic causes of hair loss are difficult and tend to be irreversible,” she explained.

She stated that medication called Minoxidil which is either a solution or foam applied to the scalp could be helpful for all type of hair loss as it stimulates growth of hair follicles but it is especially and mostly useful for Androgenetic alopecia.

“Further, hair transplant therapy can also be done,” Ms Williams said as she outlined that transplant therapy entailed healthy hair follicles being taken from the back of the scalp (which is least likely to be affected by hair loss), then implanted into the areas that are bald. 

“Though the resort is tedious, time consuming and expensive, I recommend that alopecia victims should opt for hair transplant if all treatments fail since 60 per cent of hair typically survive and continue to grow,” she said

She concluded said people should not be amazed when they bump into young ones with alopecia as it is medically proven that it is normal for anyone at any age to experience it.  BOKHUTLO