Before solving a problem one must understand the problem.
Hair loss is the most common medical problem. Millions of people all over the
world are struggling in the endless battle to stop their hair loss. However,
most of them did not spend a couple of minutes learning what exactly the
meaning of hair loss is. Read the following lines to learn the basics about
hair, hair loss and hair loss treatments.
Did you know that an average scalp has about 150,000 hair
follicles and hair – more than 90% of them are continuously growing.
What is hair?
Hair is the fastest growing tissue of the body. It is made
of keratins which are a type of proteins. Each hair strand includes three
layers: the medulla (the inner layer), the cortex and the cuticle. Hair grows
from roots – Those roots get the vital ingredients to the hair growth by the
blood. The roots are a living tissue but the visible hair strand is dead
tissue. Therefore, any hair loss treatment should take care of the scalp and
roots and not of the hair strands.
How does the hair grow?
It is natural to lose hair. Actually, we all lose about 100
hairs a day. We start noticing that we suffer from hair loss only after losing
more than 50% of our hair.
The phases of the life cycle of hair are:
Anagen – In this phase, the hair is actively growing. This
phase lasts about 5 years.
Catagen – In this phase the hair falls out. It lasts about 3
weeks.
Telogen – In this phase, the hair is resting. It lasts about
12 weeks.
What are the causes of hair loss?
There are various conditions that may cause hair loss from
heritage to stress. For each cause one may find different hair loss treatments.
Hair loss treatments include anything from the FDA approved hair loss drug
called Propecia or Rogaine to natural hair loss treatments as Rogaine to hair
transplant surgeries.
Comments