What Causes Hair Loss and How to Treat it

Are you suffering from unexplained hair loss? If yes, you are far from alone. It is thought that as many as 8 million women in the UK suffer from hair loss, also known as alopecia.

With the ability to completely destroy your self-confidence, hair loss can affect just your scalp or your entire body.

Whether you have only recently started to experience hair loss or you have been searching for an effective remedy for some time, the below blog will tell you everything you need to know about what causes hair loss and how to treat it.

What causes hair loss?

There are many different causes of hair loss in women, with some being more easily identifiable than others. The most common causes of hair loss include:

·       Hormonal imbalance

·       Stress

·       Iron deficiency

·       Thyroid imbalance

·       Vitamin B12 deficiency

·       Significant weight loss

·       Age

·       Traction alopecia

·       Cancer

How to treat hair loss

Depending on the severity of your hair loss, there are several treatment options available to you.

PRP Therapy

PRP therapy, platelet rich plasma therapy, is a treatment that is used to accelerate healing in various parts of the body, including the scalp. Known for its ability to restore hair growth, PRP is typically used to treat hair loss that is caused by androgenetic alopecia. This common hormone-related condition causes your hair follicle to shrink.

The treatment works by injecting platelets deep into the scalp to reach the hair follicle’s bottom to stimulate cells responsible for hair growth. PRP injections are suitable for everyone and are considered 100% safe when carried out by a trained medical professional.

Medication

One of the most commonly used treatments for female-pattern baldness is a hair lotion that contains minoxidil. After using this lotion, many women see an improvement in their condition with either a slowing down or stopping altogether of balding. Some also experience thicker hair.

If you would like to try this hair loss treatment, make sure that you speak to your GP or a dermatologist first.

Hair transplant

If your hair loss is severe and you have tried other treatments with little success, you may want to consider hair transplant surgery. There are two main types of hair transplants: follicular unit strip surgery (FUSS) and follicular unit extraction (FUE). Both can be highly effective but can achieve different results.

Each procedure takes several hours, involves a local anaesthetic, and the patient can typically go home the same day as the surgery.

Wigs

Wigs have come a long way in recent years, with both synthetic and real-hair wigs looking much more natural than they used to. Some wigs are available on the NHS, but you may have to pay unless you qualify for financial help.

When it comes to synthetic vs. human hair wigs, there are benefits on both sides. Synthetic wigs tend to be cheaper and are easier to look after, whereas human hair wigs look more natural and last much longer.

As well as treatment plans, it can also be a good idea to seek out emotional help if you are suffering from hair loss. Your GP may be able to point you in the direction of a counsellor, or you could join a support group or online forum for people with alopecia.