TRICHOLOGY CENTRE | TORONTO | MARCH 2020

There are many reasons for hair loss in women. The average scalp contains approximately 100,000 hairs.  On a typical day, women can lose around 50 to 100 hairs. But if more hairs are shed each day, thinning hair becomes more and more noticeable. Fortunately there are womens hair loss treatment available for most female hair loss problems. Some hair loss in women are only temporary and the hairs will normally grow back on it’s own once the issue has been resolved.  Other hair loss conditions, such as female pattern baldness, may require treatment to help maintain and stimulate hair growth.

FEMALE PATTERN HAIR LOSS / FEMALE PATTERN HAIR BALDNESS

Female pattern hair loss, also known as FPHL, female pattern baldness, or female pattern alopecia, is a type of androgenetic alopecia or hair loss in women.  Andogenetic alopecia is a genetic condition that affects both men and women.  For hair loss in women, the pattern of hair loss is different than that of men.  Male pattern hair loss pattern looks like a horseshoe, with the frontal hairline receding into the back of the scalp.  For most men, the side and back of the hairs remain intact.  For female pattern hair loss, the pattern is different.  Women experience a diffused hair loss all over the scalp, starting from the top of the scalp and progressively thinning throughout the entire scalp region.  Androgenetic alopcia causes miniaturization of the hair. Over time, these hairs look so small that you think they are gone. For men, the miniaturization affects all the affected hairs in the horseshoe pattern. For women though, the miniaturization doesn’t affect all the hairs. So even though hair thinning is apparent, most women still maintains their frontal hair line unlike male pattern hair loss.

Androgenetic hair loss is cause by hormones in both men and women.  For both men and women, the specific hormone that causes hair loss is called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT.  This is a hormone that your body produces as a byproduct of testosterone. For women, besides hereditary, imbalance of hormones caused by ovarian cysts, pregnancy, taking high androgen index birth control pills, and menopause can also cause androgenetic hair loss.

In order to determine  womens hair loss treatment, it is important do have a Trichologist determine the nature of your hair loss.

A proper assessment is needed to determine that that the hair loss is not due to another issue besides female pattern hair loss.  Women can lose their hair in many other ways besides FPHL.

OTHER HAIR LOSS CONDITIONS THAT RESEMBLE FEMALE PATTERN HAIR LOSS

Hair loss in women that resemble FPHL with the diffused hair loss all over the scalp, but is actually another hair loss condition.

EFFLUVIUM ALOPECIA

Effluvium Alopecia is a temporary condition that can affect hair loss in women. Effluvium alopecia looks very similar to female pattern hair loss in that they both have hair thinning throughout the scalp area.  Your hair grows in cycles. When your body goes through something traumatic, it can change the growth cycles of the hair.  About 90% of your hairs are in the anagen phase (growth phase) or transitional phase (catagen), but any trauma to your body could cause it all to shift to the resting phase (telogen).

Effluvium alopecia can be triggered by many traumatic things to your body such as a poor diet (lacking certain vitamins or minerals), sudden weight loss due to dieting, surgery, certain drugs, extreme stress, metal toxicity, pregnancy, menopause, and other underlying health conditions.  So, it is important for a Trichologist to ask you questions about these issues to determine what other things could be contributing to your hair loss.  Effluvium is a temporary hair loss condition and once the underlying issue is resolved, your hair should start growing back in three to six months.

ANAGEN EFFLUVIUM

Anagen effluvium is also a temporary hair loss condition caused by the cellular-level mitotic or metabolic activities impairment of the hair follicles.  The most common cause of anagen effluvium is chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Right after chemotherapy, approximately 90% or more of hairs in the anagen phase can fall out.    Like Effluvium alopecia, the condition usually reverses itself once the underlying issue is resolved.

TRACTION ALOPECIA

Traction alopecia hair loss is due to trauma to the actual hair follicles. This can be caused by many hairdressing issues such as over processing of your hair from chemicals, dyeing, bleaching, over brushing, and using a hot hair dryer on a regular basis. Poor hair styling habits also contribute to trauma to the hair follicles. This can include wearing your hair in a tight ponytail, braiding, and adding hair extensions. Once you stop and correct your hairdressing issues, your hair should start growing back.

TRICHOTILLOMANIA

Trichotillomania is a hair pulling disorder that causes hair loss mainly in younger girls. Hair pulling can occur in any region of the body, but the primary affected area is the scalp.  Trichotillomania may be difficult to assess as many people with this disorder deny that they are actually doing it. The urge to pull hair is a mental disorder and the best treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy.  Once the behaviour stops, the hair should grow back. (hairlossclinic.ca has a device that can help to change the persons hair pulling behaviour, please contact us for more information about trichotillomania)

ALOPECIA AREATA

Alopecia areata is one type of hair loss that doesn’t look like the typical diffused pattern seen in other forms of female hair loss.  With alopecia areata, bald patches of your scalp are visible where the hairs have fallen out. The size of the hair loss usually looks like small coin size, round patches, but in more severe causes, it can affect the whole scalp and body. It is an auto-immune disorder that can affect both men and women at any age. Hair loss that causes total hair loss to the scalp is called alopecia totalis. Total hair loss to your whole body is called alopecia universalis. The most common form of alopecia areata treatment is the use of corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory drugs that can suppress the immune system. These are commonly administered through local injections, topical ointment application, or orally.

Once the Trichologist has assessed your hair condition and have determined it’s female pattern hair loss, and not effluvium alopecia or some other hair loss condition, then the hair specialist can recommend the correct treatment for it.

RECOMMENDED TREATMENTS FOR FEMALE HAIR LOSS

AAPE® is a stem cell technology that promote hair follicles regeneration and prompt restoration.  AAPE® is mixture of refined growth factors extracted from human adipose-derived stem cells conditioned media and induces proliferation of dermal papilla cells of human hair follicles to to increase total hair count and make hair regrow twice faster.  AAPE® has:

• US FDA, CFDA Approval
• PCPC US registration
• 15 International SCI journals
• 28 Patents registration worldwide

The use of AAPE®, “fat” or adipose-derived stem cells conditioned media has been used successfully in the treatment of female hair loss. The non-invasive treatment is described in the following journal article, including a new study and scientific analysis of hair growth measurements as well as photos of the results, as published in the International Journal of Dermatology.  This advanced stem cell-derived protein extract called AAPE can now be applied in a clinical setting without discomfort or downtime as a lunch-hour session at the Toronto and Richmond Hill Trichology Centre | Hair Loss Clinic.

PHARMA HERMETIC HAIR RECOVERY PROGRAM®

Pharma Hermetic Hair Recovery Program® works at revitalizing the hair bulb and obtaining a greater thickness and strength. It helps strengthen the anchorage of the root, and rebalance the scalp.

In addition, the Hair Recovery Program® SP55, enhance the growth of new hair and activates dormant follicles thanks to its effective active ingredients. Providing all the necessary nutrients to repair the weakened and brittle hair. After the treatment, the hair becomes thicker and more voluminous.

We rely on ingredients suitable to penetrate the scalp and stop hair loss.

• Thicker hair.
• More density.
• No side effect.
• Topical application.
• Lasting results.

NOURKRIN® WOMAN, FOR FEMALE HAIR LOSS

If you’re worried about certain hair loss medications that contain ingredients that may cause some side affects such as Minoxidil, we offer a hair loss treatment called Nourkrin®.  Nourkrin® contains natural ingredients and has been clinically proven to help thinning hair. The key active ingredients are marine-based extracts of proteins and polysaccharides that have been combined with silica, vitamin C, and horsetail extract. Developed by scientists in Finland, Nourkrin® has been the subject of many double blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies, the latest of which showed that 77% of all participants reported a positive effect during a six-month treatment period and their hair count increased by an average of 35.7%.  Nourkrin® Woman with the unique Marilex® helps support, normalize and maintain the Hair Growth Cycle by carefully providing the correct nutrients to the hair follicles. Nourkrin® is the only product worldwide containing Marilex® (which has a unique and protected composition structure), and consumers should therefore beware of imitation products that claim to deliver similar effects with so-called ‘marine proteins’ or ‘marine extracts’ – as these are not the original, scientifically tested Marilex®.  Today, the award-winning Nourkrin® Woman is appreciated by women around the world. Nourkrin® Woman is completely safe and 100% drug-free.  You can get the Nourkrin® Woman hair loss treatment at the Toronto and Richmond Hill Trichology Centre | Hair Loss Clinic.

THERADOME® LASER HAIR THERAPY

The Theradome® brings you the world’s most advanced laser hair growth treatment to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Unlike Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) devices, our laser light targets the stem cells at the base of hair follicles. This allows the formation of a new photonic pathway that can restore hair to a healthy state. Theradome® one-of-a-kind laser hair helmet was engineered based on four crucial scientific criteria, which together provide the most powerful and efficacious laser hair growth treatment available.

Only lasers produce coherent light, meaning their light waves are aligned and traveling in synchronicity. Laser light is needed to penetrate the scalp at a depth of 3 – 5 mm and reach the base of a hair follicle. No other light source (i.e. – LEDs) can achieve this. By treating the base of hair follicles, our proprietary cold laser hair growth treatment ensures the mitochondria of hair cells is stimulated. The mitochondria then produces cell energy that is harnessed by hair follicles. You can purchase the Theradome® hair loss laser therapy device at the Toronto and Richmond Hill Trichology Centre | Hair Loss Clinic.

SMP® SCALP MICROPIGMENTATION

If you suffer from a scarring alopecia (no hair growth in the bald areas), or just want to have a thicker looking hair, there is another option called SMP® scalp micropigmentation.  It is a technique in which pigment is deposited into the dermal layer of the skin on the scalp replicating the look of hair follicles.  When viewed from close, the pigment dots appear like real hair follicles. With female hair loss, SMP® can be done in between the existing hair follicles to add thickness and reduce areas where more scalp is showing. SMP® works best for women with dark brown or black hair.

If you’d like to schedule a consultation with a certified Trichologist or would like more information about the available hair loss treatments, please visit the Toronto TRICHOLOGY CENTRE | hairlossclinic.ca | laserhairtherapy.ca | hairtattoo.ca, or call 647-492-9093.