Causes of Hair fall and Growth Cycle

Causes of hair fall

•  Hormonal changes associated with pregnancy, childbirth.
• An autoimmune disease that attacks hair follicles.
• Scalp  fungal infections .
• Physical stress can cause hair loss .
• Zinc and Iron deficiency are the most common nutritional which lead to hair loss 

Hair Growth Cycle
•The follicular life cycle can be divided into 3 phases:
–Anagen Phase-The phase of active growth
–Catagen Phase
•Marks follicular regression
•Club hair transitions upwards toward skin pore and dermal papilla begins to separate from follicle
–Telogen Phase
•Represents a resting period
•Dermal papilla fully separates from follicle. 

 

84% of scalp hairs are in the anagen phase, 1-2% are in the catagen phase, and 10-15% are in the telogen phase.

Types of Hair Loss

Androgenetic Alopecia

•Slow growth of hair as well as weaker stands of hair
•Cause could be hereditary

 Cicatricial Alopecia

•Also called ‘scarring alopecia’
•Caused by inflammation

Alopecia Areata

•Is an autoimmune disease
•Body's own immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles
•hair falls out in small, round patches

Treatment Options

•Lifestyle Modification

•Prescription 1st line drugs

–Minoxidil
–Finasteride

•Hair transplantation

–Involves using small grafts of naturally-occurring units of one to four hairs, called follicular units, to move hair-producing follicles to balding areas of the hair restoration patient's scalp

•Laser therapy

Characteristics of Human Hair

•Stratum corneum of the skin is composed of pliable soft keratin
•Hair and nails are composed of hard keratin
–Toughened by disulfide bridges between molecules
•Hair found almost everywhere on the body
–Differences between sexes or individuals is really difference in texture and color of hair

Structure of Hair and Follicle

•Cross section of hair has 3 parts:
oMedulla
oCortex – Inner side of hair
»The cortex is filled with strands of keratin protein
»Keratin form long stretchy rubber band like strands
»These strands give hair it's strength and help support waves and curls
oCuticle layers
»Closed cuticle keeps the proper balance of moisture and protein inside the cortex
Hair color is due to pigment in cells of cortex