Thinning Hair loss treatment, receding hairlines and bald spots: hair loss is annoying, but no one has to put up with it. These remedies and therapies slow down hair loss and stimulate growth.
Whether you realize it or not: you Hair loss treatment at any time and on all parts of your head. This is normal and nothing to worry about at first. After six years, every hair says goodbye. And a new one grows back. We lose around a hundred hairs a day. Temporarily there may be more. Typically, more hair falls out in spring or fall. Hormonal fluctuations can also temporarily clear the head.
However, if there is a lot of hair around the collar and pillow or if it hangs in clumps in the brush, then that is a bad sign. There are many reasons for the Hair loss treatment: In some people, the hair roots react particularly sensitively to hormones. Or they suffer from iron deficiency. Various medications can also affect the hair. of pathological hair loss if you lose more than a hundred hairs a day over a longer period of time. Experts only speak
Hair loss treatment is a matter for dermatologists
Experts differentiate between four different types of pathological hair loss. It can affect men and women alike: genetic hair loss usually appears in the form of a receding hairline, thinning hair on the back of the head or hair loss on the crown. Circular hair loss begins with coin-sized bald patches. With diffuse Hair loss treatment, too much hair comes out everywhere. Scarring hair loss leaves bald, scarred areas.
The earlier you go to the doctor, the greater the chance of successful treatment. Hair is a so-called skin appendage – which is why dermatologists are responsible for hair problems. It’s best to go to a hair specialist at the university clinic or in a specialist practice. Using various tests, he can determine fairly quickly what type of Hair loss treatment you have.
The doctor determines the disease precisely
The plucking test gives the doctor an initial indication of how severe your Hair loss treatment is. For the test, he grabs a tuft of hair between his thumb and index finger, gently pulls it and plucks the hair out. If this happens painlessly in different places, then it is a sign of hair loss.
In order to determine more precisely what your Hair loss treatment is like and how it is falling out, the doctor will do a so-called trichogram. He also plucks hair for this: he pulls out the first tuft where the hair is already thinning out. He takes the second sample – as a control – from a healthy area. He counts the hairs under the light microscope and calculates how many hairs are in the growth or resting phase. Normally around 85 to 90 percent of hair grows.
The doctor also uses the so-called Trichoscan to check how many hairs are in the growth phase and how quickly they are growing. To do this, he shaves a small area on your scalp. Three days later, he dyes the shaved hair and saves a video image of it at 20x magnification. Software helps the doctor calculate the total number of hairs and the ratio of hairs in the growing and resting phases.
For some types of Hair loss treatment, the doctor will recommend a biopsy. To do this, after a local anesthesia, he removes a small piece of tissue from your scalp, approximately four millimeters in size. He examines this tissue under the microscope and can then determine which disease you have.
Hereditary Hair loss treatment
Did you have a receding hairline as a young man? Or is the hair on the back of your head thinning? Maybe your grandfather, father and uncle also had thinning hair. Then you probably suffer from hereditary Hair loss treatment. He was born into you. Doctors also speak of androgenetic alopecia, which is caused by hormones. This means that the hair cells react more sensitively to the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). suffer as a result The hair roots . If they die off completely, the corresponding areas remain bare.
Hereditary Hair loss treatment is the most common reason for thinning hair in men and women. Men lose their hair on the forehead, parting and back of the head. Women lose their hair along the middle parting.
Countless products promise relief: biotin, panthenol, zinc, vitamins, algae, phytoflavonoids or grape seed oil. But it has only been proven that two preparations actually stop Hair loss treatment: tablets with the active ingredient finasteride and the minoxidil solution. However, as soon as you stop taking these medications, they no longer work.
This remedy only helps men
The prescription finasteride is only approved for men. It is ineffective in older women and dangerous in pregnant women: it damages male fetuses. The agent prevents the conversion of the hormone testosterone into the “hair-damaging” sex hormone DHT. The result: Testosterone no longer causes Hair loss treatment. Studies over a period of five years confirm the effect. Finasteride was able to stop hair loss in 90 percent of men. Every second man’s hair even visibly thickened within six to twelve months.
But the undesirable effects of the drug are sometimes significant: the desire for sex can decrease and the number of sperm in the semen also decreases. If the drug is discontinued, the semen quality improves again, but the use of the drug is still controversial, especially for young men.
This solution stops Hair loss treatment and stimulates hair growth
The prescription and hormone-free minoxidil supports the growth of hair cells. It works on women and men. Women apply a two percent solution to the scalp twice a day, while men take a five percent mixture. Studies prove the effect: Afterwards, Hair loss treatment stopped in 80 percent of those involved. One in five women’s hair became visibly thicker.
Occasionally, however, the skin on the head reacts sensitively to the agent. It itches, reddens or has an allergic reaction. Rarely, increased hair growth occurs on the face. Pregnant and breastfeeding women must avoid minoxidil. People with cardiac arrhythmias, low blood pressure or migraines should also be careful.
So-called antiandrogens also help some women. They are intended to prevent active testosterone from working on the scalp. But there is no large scientific study that proves this. In addition, taking these pills increases the risk of gaining weight and having a thrombosis or embolism. This is especially true for smokers.
Circular Hair loss treatment (alopecia areata)
Circular Hair loss treatment is shocking: clumps of hair fall out for no apparent reason, often within a few days. What remains are bald circles on the scalp. They are lined with short hairs that become thinner towards the tip – the so-called exclamation point hairs.
It can even happen that all of your hair falls out – including your eyebrows, eyelashes and nose hairs. Rarely, however, those affected also lose their body hair. But the fingernails are as rough as sandpaper and riddled with grooves or dimples.
If you suddenly become bald, you don’t have to put up with it. Because there is hope for spontaneous healing: in every third sufferer, the bald spots grow back on their own within six months. After a year, one in two people forget about the matter. However, the hair can fall out again at any time.
A zinc treatment can help against bald spots
Experts estimate that around one to two percent of the population will experience patchy Hair loss treatment at some point in their lives, both men and women of all ages.
Experts disagree about the cause. It is almost certain that circular hair loss is an autoimmune disease: the immune system evaluates its own hair root cells as foreign. That’s why the immune cells defend themselves against the hair cells. The hair follicles become inflamed and the hair falls out.
Scientists have conducted many studies in recent years to test the effectiveness of immune-weakening substances such as tacrolimus and anti-inflammatory drugs such as sulfasalazine or cortisone. Treatment with different lasers was also examined. To date, however, there is no standard therapy for circular hair loss that has proven to be truly effective in scientific studies.
If you only have a few bald spots, a three-month zinc treatment may help. The trace element is said to stimulate the immune system. You can also coat the bald spots with corticosteroid solutions or creams prescribed by your doctor. However, this treatment should not be a permanent solution.
Circular hair loss: In severe cases, doctors trick the immune system
If none of the therapies work for you, your doctor will suggest a fairly aggressive but effective treatment: immunotherapy with the active ingredient diphenylcyclopropenone (DCP). He applies the product directly to the scalp. The chemical triggers allergic contact dermatitis . It attracts the immune cells away from the inflamed hair roots – towards the scalp. There they can no longer cause any damage. The therapy works for about every second person affected, even if the hair loss occurred years ago. However, DCP is not officially approved for circular hair loss. Therefore, only special treatment centers offer the therapy.
Diffuse hair loss
You are slowly but steadily losing your hair, everywhere on your head. You can already see your scalp. Then you may have diffuse hair loss. With a bit of luck it will pass. Because your hair is not destroyed. Their growth is simply hindered.
An illness can be to blame for this, but also a deficiency in iron or protein. A high fever can trigger hair loss, as can a serious operation or a so-called crash diet. Even for specialists, the cause is not easy to find. Also possible are:
- Infections such as flu or tuberculosis,
- a disturbed function of the thyroid gland,
- hormonal changes shortly after birth or after stopping the pill,
- Medication, such as after chemotherapy, or blood-thinning heparin injections,
- Poisoning or environmental influences.
During the interview, the doctor will therefore ask you whether you are taking medication and, if so, which one. He will take your blood and, depending on suspicion, have your iron or thyroid levels determined in the laboratory. A trichogram is also helpful when looking for the causes: With this light microscopic examination, the doctor can determine how much of your hair is currently growing and how much is in the resting phase. He can see the extent of the hair loss from the result.
Once the reason for the hair loss has been found, it is easy to treat. If it is due to one medicine, the doctor will recommend another one. If you have iron deficiency, he will suggest an iron supplement. If you have thyroid disease, he will prescribe appropriate medication. Basically, if the underlying disease is treated or the deficiency is corrected, the hair usually grows back completely within three to six months.
Scarring hair loss
If your doctor speaks of cicatricial hair loss, unfortunately for you that means: The hair will not grow back. form where your hair has fallen out Scars, pustules, scales or hairless patches . The scars, which are usually round, can appear pale on the inside. It is surrounded on the outside by an inflammatory, red-colored border.
The scars occur because the hair stem cells become inflamed before the hair falls out. They are located in the hair root at the bottom of a narrow hair tunnel, which doctors call the hair follicle . Hair stem cells control hair growth. If the hair follicles are destroyed by the inflammation, they die completely. What remains is the scarred scalp.
These inflammations are a result of
- skin damage, injuries ,
- Burns , scalds or chemical burns,
- Autoimmune diseases such as lupus erythematosus,
- Infections caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi,
- Tumor-related hair loss, for example in the case of basal cell carcinomas and secondary tumors.
In some cases it is possible to stop the inflammation in time. The doctor then tries to calm the immune system: with antibiotics, virus-inhibiting agents or preparations such as cortisone ointments . Only in very severe cases will he recommend taking cortisone tablets , as these have too many side effects if taken over a longer period of time. The treatment is intended to prevent the hair follicles from completely disappearing and only scars remaining.
It is important that the doctor gets an exact picture of the disease before treatment. A tissue sample from the scalp can help. He will also thoroughly examine the remaining skin, the oral mucosa and the nails. In order to be able to observe further developments, he measures the size of the affected area and possibly also photographs it.
Expert advice
Hans Wolff, hair expert at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, answers your questions:
I have circular hair loss. Do I have to have it treated or can I wait until the hair comes back?
One to two percent of people are affected by circular hair loss at some point in their lives. The area is often limited, is the size of a two-euro piece and often grows back over after three to six months. Fortunately, with this type of Hair loss treatment, the hair roots do not break. So first you can wait. Then we’ll try a three-month zinc treatment in Munich. If that doesn’t help, we move on to immunotherapy with diphenylcyclopropenone, or DCP for short. Occasionally we also inject the scalp with cortisone crystals. Cortisone pills or infusions leave traces throughout the body. They sometimes cause severe side effects such as weight gain, bone loss and skin changes. This treatment is therefore usually not justified.
How quickly does treatment for hereditary hair loss work?
Medications and other therapies can only affect the hair during the growth phase. If they are already in the resting phase, they will definitely fail – with or without treatment. Only when the hair grows back can the medication work again and cause less hair to fall out. Whether the remedies help can only be assessed after three to six months at the earliest.
Can alternative methods such as acupuncture or Chinese medicine also help?
Alternative procedures and acupuncture do not work at all in treating Hair loss treatment. I also advise against having an expensive hair analysis done to check for missing minerals. Such an analysis has no significance – neither for detecting nor treating the disease.
I don’t lose a lot of hair, but my hair is still thinning. Why is that?
In some people the hair on their head thins out, although the hair falls out barely noticeably; Others lose more than a hundred hairs a day and still don’t go bald. Hereditary Hair loss treatment often develops gradually over years without any noticeable hair loss becoming noticeable.
Does your hair thin out due to frequent washing?
It doesn’t matter how often you wash your hair when it comes to the progression of Hair loss treatment. Only the hair that is already in the resting phase falls out.