HAIR RAZING

Ashleigh Cometti speaks to the experts about female hair loss (and what to do about it).

IF YOU’VE EVER SEEN an advertisement for hair loss, chances are the person in question is a middle-aged white man attesting to the success of his treatment at refilling his bald spot with patches of luscious, dark hair.

But hair loss can affect people of all genders, ages and ethnicities, with the American Hair Loss Assocation saying up to 40 per cent of those who experience hair loss identify as female.

As prevalent as it may be, the taboos around female hair loss remain.

“Male hair loss is much more obvious and of course it’s widely accepted for older men to be bald,” says The Face Place advanced senior nurse Marjorie Dee. “Women’s hair loss is more of a taboo topic. This is why it’s framed more as achieving thicker, longer hair rather than directly addressing the topic of hair loss. The feminine ideal of having long, lush locks is still very strong in our culture.”

Award-winning hairstylist Sky Crippsjackson says the media also have a lot to answer for. “For example, Disney princesses all have full heads of long, thick hair.”

Societal pressure to maintain luscious tresses goes back to a long way, with Bible verses citing the glory of having long hair. This was reinforced in the Victorian era, when a healthy head of hair was linked to femininity, fertility, youth and beauty.

But female hair loss is nothing to feel embarrassed about, especially when it offers clues about what is happening

with our health behind-the-scenes.

Different types

Female hair loss comes in many forms but trichologist and Philip Kingsley brand ambassador Lisa Caddy says two are most common.

“Androgenetic alopecia (hair thinning, female pattern hair loss or reduced hair volume) and telogen effluvium (excessive daily shedding). They are caused by completely different things and require different treatments,” she says.

Androgenic alopecia is a slow and gradual progressive reduction in hair density, Lisa says, where follicles become smaller and hairs become finer with every growth cycle. “The reason why hair follicles miniaturise is down to genes — it occurs when follicles are genetically predisposed to be sensitive to normal levels of circulating androgens [sex hormones].”

Whereas Lisa says telogen effluvium (or TE) can happen to anyone and does not change the size of your follicles or hair diameter. “What TE does results in a sudden and large from the growth to the shedding phase of your hair cycle. It is a reactive loss caused by an internal imbalance or shift.”

Other types of female hair loss include traction alopecia (caused by tension from hair extensions or braids), anagen effluvium (caused by chemotherapy) and alopecia areata (an immune condition).

What causes it?

Getting to the root cause of hair loss can point to a host of other health-related issues, Lisa says, some of which are temporary, while others can be ongoing.

“Acute TE is usually caused by a one-off blip, like the flu, food poisoning or a high fever and doesn’t require any treatment.

This type of hair loss occurs 6-12 weeks after the event that caused it,” she explains.

On the flipside, recurrent hair loss should be investigated further by a trichologist, and can commonly be caused by: iron deficiency (particularly common in menstruating women, post-surgery or post-partum), vitamin B12 or D deficiency, hyperthyroidism, high-stress levels, calorie deficits, high mercury levels and PCOS.

Where androgenic alopecia is concerned, it all boils down to genes, Lisa says. “Specifically, having a genetic predisposition that causes hair follicles on your scalp to be sensitive to normal levels of androgens (male sex hormones),” she says.

“When you have this sensitivity, hair follicles on your scalp gradually miniaturise and produce finer and shorter strands.

While reduced hair volume usually isn’t the sign of the health condition, things like oral contraceptives like the pill or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can impact hormone levels and make androgenic alopecia worse.”

How to treat it

Before we start, it’s important to preface this by saying not everyone who experiences hair loss wants to regrow their hair, with many opting to embrace the beauty of being bald. One such actress is Jada Pinkett Smith, whose openness about her alopecia has encouraged countless other A-listers to step forward about their own experiences with hair loss.

Identifying the scalp microbiome as the next frontier of haircare points to a movement known as the “skinification” of the haircare category, which has seen a flurry of products promising to first nourish the skin on your scalp by using ingredients which commonly crop up in skincare.

Specially formulated styling products containing hair fortifying nutrients like

BEAUTY

keratin, collagen and biotin could be your secret weapons to longer, fuller and healthier hair. You need to select a shampoo and conditioner suited to your unique hair type and texture.

The right supplements can help address any vitamin or nutrient deficiencies, in conjunction with a healthy, balanced diet.

“Diet is incredibly important to hair health. Being a non-essential tissue, hair is the last part of us to benefit from nutrients we ingest, and the first to be withheld from. It’s common for poor nutrition to be the sole cause of hair loss,” Lisa says.

Consider incorporating a hair-skin-andnails supplement into your daily routine. For example, one product promotes the anchoring of follicles in the scalp.

Sky adds her clients have had positive results from taking prescription-only medications like Spironolactone and following a diet rich in omegas, iron and zinc to address stress-related hair loss.

“Massaging the scalp stimulates the scalp and encourages the follicles to promote healthy hair growth,” says Sky. Not only does it slough away dead skin cells and product build-up, but research suggests it rids the scalp of androgens and promotes the growth of new hair follicles.

“Hair grows best from a healthy scalp, so anything you do to improve the condition of your scalp will benefit your hair,” Lisa says.

Lisa recommends treating your scalp to a weekly intensive scalp mask to clear the scalp of flakes and stimulate hair growth. Or recruit a soft-tipped scalp tool to stimulate circulation and oxygenate hair follicles.

If no other medical conditions are present (like an autoimmune issue) Marjorie says she’s seen excellent results from plateletrich plasma injections during her five years at The Face Place.

“It involves concentrating the platelets taken from a small sample of your blood, and then injecting this solution into the scalp. This floods the scalp with growth factors, stops the hair from miniaturising (getting smaller and thinner) and helps to wake up existing hair follicles, reversing hair-thinning.”

The treatment involves about 20 tiny injections to the scalp, and can also be used preventatively to maintain thick, healthy hair even before thinning has occurred.

While PRP may sound gory, Marjorie says the treatment is extremely low risk. “As you are simply using your own blood, there is no risk of a reaction or side effects,” she says.

Avoid tension alopecia by being kinder to hair, Sky says, especially when it’s wet and at its most fragile. “Comb with a widetoothed comb, starting from the bottom of the hair and working your way up,” she says.

For more fashion & beauty news go to Viva.co.nz