Fantasia Salon / Spa and Wig Specialists

Thinning hair is only a problem for older women, right? Absolutely and positively NOT! Many women in their late teens and early twenties experience thinning hair and hair loss. Contrary to popular belief, hair loss in women is not always associated with menopause.

There are numerous causes for hair loss including cystic ovaries, hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, psychological or physical stress and dietary deficiencies. Chemotherapy, birth control pills, beta-blockers, coumadin, anti-depressants and others can cause thinning hair in women. It’s always wise for a woman to visit the doctor to determine the underlying cause for her hair loss problem.

The loss of hair can be an emotionally devasting experience for any woman. And to make matters even worse, those around her don’t understand how she feels which only exacerbates the problem. Unless you work in the industry like we do at Fantasia, there’s not a lot of sympathy for women dealing with thinning hair and hair loss.

For women, hair loss can lead to serious emotional and psychological problems. Granted, there are many emotional issues for men who are losing their hair, but, as a whole, men tend to get a lot more support from their family members, their friends and society as a whole.

Women typically do not actually develop bald spots like men do. In women, when hair regrows as part of the normal hair life-cycle, it may grow back thinner and shorter than it used to be. Hair loss in women results in thinning and sparsely growing hair. Eventually a woman’s hair may look like “peach fuzz”.

Because thinning hair in women is not as obvious as bald spots, people in a woman’s life tend to not take it so seriously. A woman may become very self-conscious about her appearance. She may be too embarrassed to even mention it to her doctor. And we’ve even heard stories of women mentioning it to the doctor and the doctor has the attitude that since this isn’t a life-threatening condition, she should just “live with it”.

But, when a woman’s family and friends don’t understand how devasting the problem is for her, and she feels there is no one to turn to for help, her self-esteem can plummet and she can experience anxiety and depression.

This is what we do at Fantasia, we are here to help these women. If you or a loved one can relate to any of this, please call and schedule a consultation with one of our Hair Support Specialist. We understand what you are going through and can help you find a solution.

We have talked about Alopecia. The word means “loss of hair” or “hair loss” or “baldness”. There are several different causes and patterns of alopecia. The exact number of people affected by alopecia areata is unknown, but estimates are between 1 in 1000 to 2 in 100 people being affected at some point in their life. Alopecia can occur at any age but most cases develop first in teens and children. In about 6 in 10 cases the first patch of hair loss develops before the age of 20. Males and females are equally affected.

The symptoms typically start with one or more bald patches appearing to the scalp. Usually they are round in shape and about the size of a large coin. They develop quite quickly. Sometimes a relative, friend or hairstylist may be the first person to notice. Other than the bald patch or patches, the scalp usually looks healthy and there is no scarring. Sometimes there is mild redness, mild scaling, mild burning or a slight itchy feeling on the bald patches. When a patch first develops, it’s difficult to predict how it’s going to progress. The following are the ain ways it may progress.

Very often the bald patch or patches re-grow hair within a few months. If the hair grows back it may not have its normal color at first and can look grey or white for a while. Eventually the normal color will return after several months.

Sometimes one or more bald patches develop a few weeks after the first one. Sometimes the first bald patch is re-growing hair while a new patch is developing. It then appears as if small bald patches rotate around different areas of the scalp over time.

Sometimes several small bald patches develop and merge into a larger bad area.

Patches of body hair, beard, eyebrows or eyelashes may be affected in some cases.

Large bald patches develop in some people, some lose all their scalp hair. This is called alopecia totalis.

In some cases, all scalp hair, body hair, beard, eyebrows and eyelashes are lost. This is called alopecia universalis.

In about 1 in 5 cases, the fingernails can become ridged or pitted.

If you have alopecia areata, you also have a slightly higher than average chance of developing other auto-immune diseases such as thyroid disorders, pernicious anemia and vitiligo. However, it is important to stress that most people with alopecia do not develop any of these other conditions, so don’t panic. In our next visit, we’ll talk about some of the treatments for alopecia.