Medical Solutions

Welcome to our Medical Patient Area. In this section of our site we will do our best to provide you with information that we have taken the time to research the Internet as well as educating ourselves in addressing some medical and hair issues. In addition we have made some suggestions for people who suffer from hair loss at the bottom of the page.







Alopecia Areata, Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis

It is important to be properly educated with all particulars related to hair loss; that’s the first step in the fight. Most people, however, get confused by the scientific jargons that accompany various sites offering information on hair loss and hair loss solutions. Let us discuss and try to simplify exotic sounding terms like alopecia, alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia.

The unusual sounding Alopecia is actually a scientific term for hair loss taken from the Latin language. The following are a few kinds of Alopecia:

Alopecia Areata

This is generally considered an autoimmune disorder. It causes small, patchy circular bald patches in several parts of the scalp.

Alopecia Totalis

This is total loss of scalp hair, a progressive form of Alopecia areata.

Alopecia Universalis

This is total loss of hair from the entire body, also a severe progressive form of Alopecia areata

Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia is hormone related. Androgens are any of the many hormones that shape and control a human chrematistic. A human body is programmed to produce an enzyme know as 5 alpha reductase. When the Androgen hormone in the scalp produces testosterone which mixes with 5 alpha reductase, it produces Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT is not well received by hair follicles, cutting off blood supply which is critical to growth of new hair. Thinning and or balding process begins when this occurs.

Another way in which hair loss (alopecia) can be classified is according to factors leading to it. There are two different types of hair loss, known medically as:
  • Anagen effluvium which is caused due to medications taken internally, such as chemotherapy representatives, excessive doses of vitamin A or hypertension medications that destroy the growing hair follicle.
  • Telogen effluvium this is caused due to an increased number of hair follicles entering the latent or rather dead stage. The most common causes of Telogen effluvium leading to alopecia could be: - Physical stress: medical surgery, serious illness, rapid weight change etc. - Emotional stress: death in family, mental disorder. - Thyroid irregularity. - Hormonal causes: pregnancy, birth control pills, menopause. Reversal or alteration of above causes of Telogen effluvium generally causes the return of normal hair growth.

THINNING HAIR AND FEMALE PATTERN BALDNESS

It is a common belief that baldness is a predominantly male problem. Not so. Hair loss doesn't spare anyone and female hair loss is as common as its male counterpart, although to a lesser extent. Androgenetic alopecia among women is known female pattern hair loss. It is visible as hair thinning predominantly over the top and sides of the head. Approximately one-third of all vulnerable women may suffer from female pattern hair loss. It can affect many as early as teenage years. But after menopause the risk of hair loss in women increases manifold.

Women lose approximately 100 - 125 individual hair strands per day, which is considered normal. Usually, these hairs are replaced within the normal hair growth cycle. True hair loss occurs when lost hairs are not re-grown or when daily hair fall exceeds 125 hairs. Hereditarily, hair loss can come from both parents side of the family.

The main causes of female baldness are:

  • Physical stress: medical surgery, serious illness, rapid weight change.
  • Emotional stress: death in family, mental disorder.
  • Thyroid irregularity.
  • Hormonal causes: pregnancy, birth control pills, menopause.
  • Medications: excessive doses of vitamin A, hypertension medications.
Reversal of these causes will lead to hair growth. The following brief facts further explain the causes of female pattern hair loss:

  • Physical - Emotional Stress

    • Surgeries, severe illnesses and emotional stress can cause hair loss in women. The body simply cannot cope with the pressure and shuts down production of hair during periods of stress since it is not life threatening. Instead, it redeploys its energies toward repair and rebuilding of vital body constitutions. There is usually about a three-month interval between the stressful event and the start of hair loss. Similarly, it may take about three month before hair re-growth is noticeable. This means that the total hair loss and re-growth cycle can last approximately 6 - 9 months or possibly longer when induced by physical or emotional stress. There are other less apparent health conditions which may go undetected that can contribute to hair loss. These include anemia or low blood count and thyroid abnormalities. These conditions can be detected by a simple, inexpensive blood test and are hence recommended to detect the exact cause of female pattern hair loss.

  • Diet Considerations

    • Women are more prone to dieting than men and some diets can lead to hair loss in women. Commercial diet programs, which are designed or administered under the direction of a physician with prescribed meals, dietary supplements and vitamin ingestion, are fashionable. Sometimes, dieters are advised to supplement certain vitamins to the program to prevent hair loss. Skin experts disagree, however, as most dermatologists believe vitamins cannot prevent hair loss associated with rapid, significant weight loss. Furthermore, many of these supplements are high in vitamin A, which can accelerate and magnify hair loss.

  • Hormonal Considerations

    • Hormonal changes are a common cause of female hair loss. Many women do not realize that hair loss can occur after pregnancy or following discontinuation of birth control pills. It is important to remember that hair loss may be delayed by three months following the hormonal change and another three months will be required for new growth to be fully achieved.
Lets discuss the main causes of hair loss, because once cause of hair loss is identified, one is better equipped to make an informed decision and take reasonable steps to stop and reverse the process. When this happens, one cause of hair loss is resolved: stress.

Hair loss is a natural daily phenomenon, re-growth is generally a given. But this shedding of hair cannot be the main cause of hair loss. Every strand of hair on a human head is genetically programmed to a cycle that includes growth, stabilization, aging and shedding. On the average, a human head sheds about 50 – 125 (depending on gender) but most of them will come back after the resting stage as the follicle itself is not destroyed. Trouble begins when the loss exceeds re-growth, or the re-growth is weak and unhealthy. These are the main causes of hair loss.

Other causes of hair loss are as follows:

  • Genes

    • Genes can give you stunning looks but may also be a cause of hair loss for you. In a vast majority of cases, hair loss is hereditary, passed down the genes from either side of parentage. Some studies indicate that baldness from the maternal side has a greater chance of it being passed along.

    Here is the most common explanation how genes can be a cause of hair loss:

    During the fetus formation stage, some hair genes make hair follicles susceptible to a hormone called Dihydrotestosterone, more commonly referred to as simply DHT. When this link is established, the follicle starts to shrink, sprouting thinner and weaker hair at every cycle. Eventually, the follicle or root dies and baldness is complete.

  • Stress, Trauma, Diet

    • Other causes of hair loss could be surgery, medication, high level of work or family related stress and diet or nutrition changes all these can contribute to hair loss. These causes of hair loss are generally short lived and hair growth is restored once the situation normalizes. In any case, the above mentioned causes of hair loss rarely contribute to baldness.

THINNING HAIR AND MALE PATTERN BALDNESS

Baldness in men (Androgenetic alopecia) is very common and is also known as male pattern hair loss or baldness. A human body is programmed to produce an enzyme know as 5 alpha reductase. When the Androgen hormone in the scalp produces testosterone which mixes with 5 alpha reductase, it produces Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT is not well received by male (and female) hair follicles, cutting off blood supply, which is critical to growth of new hair. Thinning hair and or balding process begins when this occurs. Male pattern hair loss is more common as male bodies produce a higher quantity of testosterone.

Hair loss in men can be seen as thinning hair at the crown as well as the front of the scalp. It involves approximately an overwhelming 90% of susceptible men, and is noticeable in middle age, although it affects many in their twenties.

Men lose approximately 100 individual hair strands per day, which is considered normal. Usually, these hairs are replaced within the normal hair growth cycle. True hair loss occurs when lost hairs are not re-grown or when daily hair fall exceeds 100 hairs. Hereditarily, hair loss can come from both parents side of the family.

The main causes of hair loss in men are:

  • Physical stress: medical surgery, serious illness, rapid weight change.
  • Emotional stress: death in family, mental disorder.
  • Thyroid irregularity.
  • Hormonal causes: high levels of testosterone
  • Medications: excessive doses of vitamin A, hypertension medications.

    • Reversal of these causes will lead to hair growth





COSMETIC SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR HAIR LOSS:


Custom Net Base Prosthesis


Custom vacuum fit. Our custom co-polyester foundation provides a terse, vacuum fit- or you may select a soft base for superior comfort. Both models area precision made from a plaster mold of your hair loss area. Our unique multi-layered prosthetic skin of surgical silicone duplicates the look & feel of the human scalp.

Recommended for clients with alopecia totalis.
Custom Full Head: Designed especially for women who have very thin hair.

Recommended for clients with alopecia areata, those undergoing chemo or radiation therapy & burn victims.

Integration System


Our integration hairpieces are designed especially
For individuals with thinning hair who want to enhance their existing hair.
We recommend this system for clients experiencing male or female pattern baldness.

Partial Prothesis


Our hand-tied, synthetic or human hair partial prosthesis is custom designed for clients with permanent partial hair loss.
Recommended for clients with permanent or partial hair loss due to chemo or radiation therapy, burn victims & male or femail pattern baldness.