Fantasia Salon / Spa and Wig Specialists

 A couple weeks ago I wrote “Bald is Beautiful” about a “guy” organization touting the virtues of the bald head.  Now I’ve come across one for the gals.  Cute title for their organization, it’s “Bald Girls Do Lunch” and is based out of New York.

Bald Girls Do Lunch is a non-profit organization, bring women with alopecia together.  According to the founder, Thea Chassin, women yearn to get together and say “I have alopecia -so what!”  The key to living happily is talking openly and feeling in control.  Family and friends mean well, but it’s a relief to talk to someone like yourself who understands the challenges.

According to Chassin, when everyone at the table shares the same condition, strong bonds and self-esteem are built.  The lively discussions cover situations as wide ranging as dating, business meetings, alternatives to wigs and physical activities.  But, the overall goal of the group is promoting individual choice and comfort.  Women of all ages adorned with wigs and hats come to the events and some even debut their bald look.

Bald Girl events are gaining momentum nationwide.  In 28 cities and 14 states, women have gotten together for support by breaking down the taboos surrounding female baldness.  Meeting in public helps counter the belief that every bald woman has cancer, Chassin believes.

Although unable to grow or sustain hair on their scalps and sometimes even eye brows  and eyelashes, people with alopecia areata are actually in good health.

Alopecia areata affects men, women and children of all ages.

Approximately 5 million people in the US are affected.  Characterized by smooth, round bald patches, it can progress to complete hair loss that includes all body hair.  Some treatments work for some people, but there is no cure.  Alopecia areata is highly unpredictable and may have a genetic predisposition.  It can appear at any time of life.

When Thea Chassin, the founder of Bald Girls Do Lunch, saw that women crave fun and stimulating chats over coffee or lunch to share information, she created the uplifting, women-only format for conquering feelings of alone-ness.  For more information about the disease or the organization, visit  www.baldgirlsdolunch.org

From Lady Godiva to the Breck Girl, from Farah Fawcett to Jennifer Anniston, hair is often a defining point in personal style. This is why so many women panic at even the thought of losing a few hairs with each shampoo.

Those fears are not unfounded. Each year more women are forced to deal with the possibility of serious hair loss. In the United States today, over 30 million women suffer with some form of loss occurring at earlier ages. Today, doctors are seeing women as young as 15 or 16 develop hair loss.

The term androgenic alopecia was formerly used to refer to balding women. Today it is being referred to as female pattern hair loss because this encompasses the many possible causes. Some are linked to an excess of testosterone (birth control) and some are not.

Female balding is still largely misunderstood. There is evidence that many other types of enzymes as well as hormone receptors and blockers may be at work in women.

Once clue that there is a difference between male and femald balding is the pattern in which the hair loss occurs. Female pattern balding goes around the whole top of the head - it is diffuse. Most men lose hair on the temple, the crown or the bald spot in the back. Not coincidentally, the hormone and enzyme receptor sites are also different in varying areas of the scalp - another reason doctors believe the loss patterns are caused by different factors.

Another important difference is that while balding in men is almost always the result of a genetic predisposition coupled with age, in women it can happen at any time. In addition, underlying medical conditions can also be the cause of hair loss, even when true androgenic alopecia is the diagnosis.

The most common cause for balding in women is medically related. Often they may be suffering with polycystic ovary syndrome and sometimes their hair loss is the only sign of this. Autoimmune disorders result in a different and often less dramatic hair loss problem known as alopecia areata, an inflammatory condition that causes hair to come out in clumps or patches. Telogen effluvium, a change in the natural hair growth system that often follows childbirth, crash dieting, surgery or emotional trauma can cause temporary hair shedding problems.

Thyroid disorders, anemia, chronic illness or the use of certain medications can cause hair loss in women.

The number one rule of treating female hair loss is in getting the correct diagnois. If there is an underlying physical problem, it has to be corrected first. Women should see a doctor who specializes in female pattern balding and be checked for possible underlying medical conditions via blood tests, and if need be, a scalp biopsy. Often times the diagnosis is made by excluding what problems they don’t have. But, it’s still essential to to the complete workup. If it turns out the problem is irreversable, there are salons such as Fantasia that can help with female hairloss solutions. Today there are many solutions which will allow you to continue living life to the fullest!

In many cases, because alopecia areata is so unpredictable, many allow the bald patches to re-grow by themselves without treatment. Typically, if it’s just one or two small bald patches, doctors advise that you leave it alone. Sometimes this is referred to as watchful waiting. If the hair loss is not too bad, there is a good chance that it will re-grow after several months. Sometimes a simple change in the hairstyle will conceal one or two bald patches. If the hair loss becomes more extreme, a decision will probably be made as to whether treatment should be considered.

Something to note; alopecia areata won’t damage your general health so not treating will not lead to any general health problems. You need to be aware of possible side - effects that some of the treatments may have. Also, treatments promoting hair re-growth do not affect or “cure” the underlying cause of alopecia.

One treatment would be steroid injections. The theory here is that injecting steriods into the bald patches of the scalp supresses the local immune reaction that occurs in the alopecia areata. This can then allow the hair follicles to function normally again and for the hair to re-grow. A word of caution about this treatment. First of all, it does not work for everyone, and secondly, I am aware of a couple of people that had these injections for years and today have digestive/internal issues as a result.

Another treatment is topical or rub on steroid cream or gel. It does not work as well as the injections but it could certainly be worth a try.

Another treatment is topical immunotherapy which seems to be the most effective option for people with extensive alopecia areata. This treatment is only done by some skin specialist to you will need a referral from a doctor. With topical immunotherapy a substance is put on the affected skin to make the skin react like an allergy. Increasing strengths of this substance are placed on the affected skin once a week over several weeks until the skin looks like it has a mild case of eczema. The skin reaction seems to affect the process involved in causing alopecia areata in some way to allow hair to re-grow. Side effects from this treatment can be troublesome. For example, some people develop severe skin reactions. Treating children with topical immunotherapy is controversial. In a large study done with people having this treatment, 3 in 10 cases had good hair growth after six months. In 32 months, 8 in 10 cases has good regrowth. Regular maintenance treatment is needed to keep the hair loss from returning.

There is another treatment with a drug, Dithranol. It is thought to be less effective than topical immunotherapy but works in some cases. It is applied daily to the whold scalp and left for 20-60 minutes before it is washed off. One study showed that it helps hair re-growth in about 1 in 4 cases. Again, there are side effects such as itchiness, redness and scaling are the most common. Dithranol is not widely used for alopecia because it is so messy to use.

Other treatments may include:

• Special light therapy or phototherapy.
• Immunosuppressant medicine called ciclosporin. Again, side effects are an issue and hair loss often recurs when the medication is stopped.
• Dermatography (tattooing) is used to simulate eyebrows that have fallen out.
• Counselling is sometimes helpful for people who find coping with the disease difficult.
• Sun block or a hat should be worn to protect bald patches when out in the sun.
• There are complementary treatments such as acupuncture and aromatherapy but not enough evidence exists to determine how effective these treatments are in treating alopecia.

Wigs are probably the most common treatment choice for people with alopecia areata. Sometimes this is just easier than dealing with drugs and side effects.