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Hair Transplant

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Facts - Why we lose hair & look bald?

Hair Loss (Alpecia) and Baldness come in 3 Forms: Pattern, Patchy and Diffuse

	Pattern (Particular Shape) Most Common type.	Patchy (Localized, Focal)	Diffuse
Characteristics	You lose hair in front and on the top but a horseshoe shaped area at the back and on the sides is un affected.	You lose hair only in patches on the scalp and rest of the area hair growth is normal	You lose hair on entire scalp and not on just a particular area leading to generalized thinning or generalized baldness
Appearance or Form
Common causes	Male pattern Baldness (MPD or AHA Androgenetic Alopecia) or Common Baldness) or FPB (Female Pattern Baldness)	1. Alopecia Areata, 2. Scarring Alopecia, 3. Trichotelomania 4. Traction Alopecia Alopecia due to various skin problems like Lupus, Scleroderma, Pseudopalade, Tinea capitis etc.	1. Telogen Effluvium 2. Anagen Effluvium 3. Rare Hair shaft disorders
Brief Description	Common Baldness (MPB or AHA) and FPB Androgenetic Alopecia (AHA) is by far the most common cause of hair loss. This is due to 2 reasons 1. Genes 2. Hormones	Alopecia Areata: This as a common Autoimmune disease where the body ‘s immune system perceives the hair as its own enemy and start attacking and destroying them. This is treatable only in early stage but recurrence may not be prevented. It may recur in other part of scalp, beard or other part of scalp. Chronic disease is difficult to cure when many roots are destroyed. Hair Transplant is usually not done. Scarring or Cicatricle Alopecia After burns or other injuries to the scalp there can be permanent damage to the hair roots and in that patch hair do not grow. Usually due to scarring the blood supply in that area is poor. Traction alopecia and Trichotelomania: Due to the tight hair style in women or in Sikhs like braiding or the use of weave or pins of wig continually pulls on the hair and the roots may get damaged in long run and can cause hair loss. In Obsessive psychiatric disorder called Trichotellomania the patient is in a habit of pulling the hair in one area and ends up in a patchy hair loss in that area	Telogen Effluvium: A period of Physical or mental stress, delivery of a baby in females etc. can lead to generalized loss of hair from scalp within few weeks due to shortening of Growth cycle and entering of hair in Telogen phase. This is temporary because after 6 months of relief in stress period the hair starts regrowing. Telogen effluvium can precipitate or even aggravate pattern baldness if one is genetically susceptible to develop MPB or FPB Anagen Effluvium: Chemotherapy or certain Toxins can stop further growth of the growing hair and the already grown hair brakes and sheds over few days

If u have Androgenetic Alopecia, like many other people, you were destined to lose hair from the time you were conceived. You have a group of genes that act together to make your hair Susceptible to natural hormones in the body. You inherited these genes from either side of the family or from both sides and these genes may affect you more or less than other members of the family. Androgens, the so-called male hormones, are produced by both men and women, in the testicles, ovaries, and adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small glands above the kidneys. Testosterone is the most well-known androgen. At puberty, testosterone levels rise and, among other effects, cause the fine, short, “velus” or baby hair in the pubic areas and in the armpits to become coarser hair. In the scalp, testosterone is converted, by an enzyme called “5-alpha reductase”, to a different androgen called “dihydrotestosterone (DHT).” DHT, more than any other androgen, causes genetically sensitive hair to be lost. In genetically sensitive hair, DHT causes each generation of hair to become progressively smaller. This process is called miniaturization. DHT causes each generation of hair to become more narrow, short and lighter in color. Eventually the root stops producing hairs altogether. There are two medications that have been proven to slow down Androgenetic Alopecia. Finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) blocks a type of five alpha reductase to decrease the amount of DHT. Minoxidil (Rogaine) seems to work directly on the hair cells and prolongs the growing phase. Medications can slow down the process on a temporary basis but they cannot stop it. Follicular unit hair transplantation, however, can provide a lasting improvement.

Some hairstyles, like braiding can cause hair loss

Styles that pull or put tension on the hairs - such as tight ponytails or cornrows - can cause hair loss.

Hair loss can be aggravated by other conditions.

Iron deficiency can make hair loss worse and is fairly common in vegetarians and women. Iron deficiency is not a diagnosis by itself and the cause must be found. Correcting iron deficiency can slow down the progression of hair loss but is not likely to cause a major improvement in your hair.
Severe malnutrition and protein deficiency can also contribute to hair loss but hair loss would be the least of your worries.
Thyroid disease can aggravate hair loss. Hair loss can occur with either an under active thyroid or an overactive thyroid.
Elevated Hormones can speed up hair loss. Men (or women) who take anabolic steroids for bodybuilding often notice accelerated hair loss.

Does stress contribute to hair loss?

Both psychological and physical stress, especially if they are intense and prolonged, can contribute to temporary hair loss. They do this by perhaps altering the hair cycle: shortening the growing stage or lengthening the resting stage. Stress may also have a negative impact on the immune system leading to a more severe type of hair loss called alopecia areata. When the stressful situation is over or the body adjusts to it, the hair usually grows back.