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What Causes Hair Loss & What Can Be Done to Prevent It?

Hair Loss

 

Hair loss, as the name suggests, is a condition whereby hair on one’s body falls out. There are numerous factors that cause this condition, and it can be both temporary or permanent.

 

What causes hair loss?

Hair loss is caused by several factors, including:

  • Heritage (hereditary factors)
  • Age
  • Presence of an autoimmune disease (Alopecia areata)
  • Cancer (hair fall after chemotherapy)
  • Stressors
  • Hormonal imbalance
  • Thyroid diseases
  • Scalp infection

 

What are the symptoms of hair loss?

Some symptoms of hair loss include the following:

  • Progressive thinning on the top of the head
  • Bald spots
  • Sudden loosening of hair

 

What are the available treatments for hair loss?

Over-the-counter medication such as topical creams that are applied directly on the scalp will usually be the first line of defense for hair loss. Otherwise, the doctor may also prescribe you medication such as Propecia to treat male-pattern baldness. Propecia helps to slow down hair loss, while Finasteride encourages new hair growth.

If the patient has alopecia areata (autoimmune disease), the doctor may prescribe corticosteroids such as prednisone to reduce inflammation at the site and suppress the immune system to prevent the antibodies from further attacking the hair follicles.

In certain cases however, creams may not be enough to stop hair loss, with some requiring surgical procedures.

 

Hair Transplant Surgery

During a hair transplant surgery, small plugs of skin with intact hair follicles are surgically removed and transplanted to the bald parts of the scalp. As this hair loss is progressive, the patient may require several surgeries over time to maintain a full head of hair.

 

Scalp Reduction

Apart from that, a surgeon can also perform another surgery known as scalp reduction, where the scalp that lacks hair is removed and the scalp that has hair is folded onto the bald patch.

 

Tissue Expansion Surgery

In tissue expansion surgery, a surgeon would first place a tissue expander under a portion of the scalp that has hair and is next to a bald spot, stretching the scalp that has hair. Once the scalp is stretched out, the surgeon then removes the expander and pulls the stretched portion over the bald spot to cover it.

In most cases, such remedies are often costly and carry some risk, including patchy hair growth, bleeding, wide scars, or infections.

Before performing such procedures, it is best to consult with a doctor on what treatment is best for you.

 

What are some ways to prevent hair loss?

While nothing can be done for permanent hair loss (hereditary), it is always good to practice the following to reduce the occurrences of temporary hair loss:

  • Stop pulling your hair
  • Avoid wearing tight headbands
  • Eat a balanced diet that contains good amounts of iron and protein
  • Avoid rubbing the hair and pat it dry after showering

 

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Hair Loss Treatment in Singapore

Hair Loss is an common problem that affects almost everyone. But, its common nature belies how deeply it can affect a person’s confidence and sense of self-worth. A full head of hair is viewed as a marker of vitality and youth, which is why losing that can be embarrassing and cause people to withdraw socially.

Why do we lose hair?

Before we go into hair loss and hair growth treatment, let us look at the science of hair.
We all grow our hair in cycles and each hair growth cycle goes through 3 stages:

  • Growing phase
  • Resting phase
  • Falling phase

The fact is, we lose as many as 50 to 100 strands of hair every day. It is normal for hair to fall off our heads as part of a hair growth cycle. You can see this on your comb, on the floor next to your dressing table, on your bed and on the shower floor.

When does it become abnormal?

However, things start to become less normal when you start to lose more than 100 strands of hair a day. This is where you can say that you are facing a hair loss problem. Most people will agree that it is impossible to count or even estimate the number of strands of hair loss every day. However, it is time to worry about hair loss when you start to observe more hair than usual on your comb and in your home.

More commonly, people start noticing hair loss by noticing that their shower drain gets clogged up by hair quicker than usual. The other aspect of hair loss that you would notice is a direct observation of your scalp. Your hair parting that becomes wider and your hairline looks increasingly receded.

Different types and causes of hair loss

Androgenetic Alopecia

The most common cause of hair loss and hair thinning is androgenetic alopecia (male pattern hair loss). Male Pattern Hair Loss affects both genders, approximately 70% of men and 40% of women. It is usually hereditary and is caused by male hormones.

Telogen Effluvium

This is usually linked to physical and emotional stress and is more common in women. Common causes are childbirth, major illness and sudden change in diet and lifestyle.

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata leads to patches of baldness on the scalp. The exact cause is unknown. It usually happens spontaneously without any identified trigger.

Skin Disease

Skin disease such as eczema, fungal infection and skin bacteria infection can lead to hair loss.

Chronic Medical Conditions

Hair loss can be an indicator of another underlying health issue such as iron deficiency, thyroid disease and connective tissue disease.

Medication-related

Some medication such as hormonal pills, cancer drugs and anticoagulants can lead to hair loss.

What should I do if I have hair loss?

If you are experiencing hair loss or thinning, it is important to consult as an accurate diagnosis is important to help determine suitable treatments for you.

Often, treatment of underlying conditions is required in order to treat hair loss. For example, if hair loss is due to skin conditions such as eczema and fungal skin infections, you will require topical and/or oral prescribed medication to treat the skin condition before the hair loss condition can improve.

If hair loss is found to be due to medication conditions such as thyroid disease, a referral to a medical specialist may be required to treat the medical condition in order to improve hair loss.

What are some treatments available for hair loss or hair thinning?

If you have already seen a doctor and get the underlying skin or health condition sorted out, you can then consider other forms of hair growth treatment to treat your hair loss.
It is important to understand that all hair loss treatment needs at least 3 months to see improvement. It also requires ongoing maintenance treatment.

Topical and oral hair growth medication and supplement

Topical hair growth spray such as Minoxidil is useful in treating hair loss.
Oral medication such as Finasteride and oral supplement rich in biotin is often prescribed as part of the treatment for hair loss especially for male pattern hair loss.

AnteAge MD Hair Growth Treatment

This is a non-invasive hair growth treatment that involves application of AnteAge Hair Growth Factor on the scalp to promote hair growth. AnteAge Hair Growth Factor is a hair growth solution that contains 12 types of growth factors and cytosignals that can effectively stimulate the growth of hair follicles. Some ingredients include recombinant insulin-like growth factor 1 and 2 (IGF-1 and IGF-2), hyaluronic acid and stem cell factor (SCF) which are proven to stimulate hair growth.

Scalp skin is treated with micro-needles prior to the application of AnteAge Hair Growth Factor to maximise the absorption of the solution into the right depth of the scalp skin. This treatment continuously improves hair growth over a series of treatments (once every 2 to 3 weeks). It is often done in combination with low level light therapy to optimise the results of hair follicle activation.

Regenera Activa Hair Loss Treatment

Regenera Activa is a treatment designed to combat hair loss and hair thinning in men and women. It uses capillary regenerative technology targeted at male pattern hair loss. Regenera Activa treatment uses your own hair which contains cells that help activate the follicles around the hair thinning and hair loss area. In other words, it uses your own body’s ability to produce new hair by stimulating a hair regenerative process.

Hair Transplant

Hair transplantation is the last resort when it comes to hair loss. It is a complex procedure and requires a skilled doctor to perform. Even after hair transplant, treatment such as topical spray, oral medication and AnteAge treatment will still be required to maintain the hair condition.

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Battling Hair Loss in Singapore

You are not alone. Here is how to deal with hair loss
Perhaps you have noticed that the baffling number of baldness centers in Singapore? Yup, hair fall here’s a thing that is true. And while stress, hormones, diet, health or hereditary conditions might be the cause, we also hear complains (particularly from our expat friends) that there is simply something in the Singapore water which makes crowning glories excessively shed. While we are no hair specialists, there could be some truth to this: the local water is processed and filtered, with tap water containing an average of 2.45 mg per litre of chlorine. Other reasons cited are the shift in climate (humidity does no favours), in addition to city pollution. Ahead, we have the scoop on how to handle baldness in Singapore…

Use a chlorine-filtering shower head
Fact of the day: Your body absorbs around eight glasses of water with each shower. Showering in chlorine strips away the protective bum, which coats your hair, resulting in hair and breakage fall. The best course of action is a shower head that is chlorine-filtering to prevent this. VitaC’s one-size-fits-all showerhead filters 99.9% chlorine and chloramines in each shower to decrease hairfall and damage. These are simple to install, and are available in forms such as misty shower and shower rain. Shop VitaC showerheads in Sonaki Singapore online.

…or shower in cool water
Yes, it requires an additional step, but using boiled water is believed to assist chlorine and other processed minerals evaporate. Showering in hot water is thought to harm the scalp, resulting in narrowing of follicles decreasing of strands, and resulting in hair thinning and loss. Since it is not gentler on your hair you are better off taking a shower in cooler water — it’s gentler on your skin.

Let us discuss your diet…and vitamins
You know what they say: too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Just as we love living in this food heaven, the access to hawker food may have been one fast spiral diet of grease, sodium, MSG and sugar. These not only damage your body but your mane; ingesting a lot of such foods may lead to clogging up your pores and resulting in a decrease in hair follicle size.

Daily shedding of hair might be ordinary — you lose 100 to 150 strands of hair per day; it’s normal, however if you see your hair out more than normal then it’s time to seek help. Besides altering your diet, consider taking vitamin supplements — the ones recommended for hair growth include Biotin, Niacin (Vitamin B3) and Vitamin C, and minerals for hair loss like Zinc and Iron.

Use the Perfect shampoo
Before you grab the hair loss shampoo off the shelves, get to know your hair. When it comes to treating your hair, your health, genes, hair history and response to Singapore’s climate and water need to be taken into consideration. Be ready for a little trial and error…but , arm yourself with the correct knowledge.

Also, know the components that make up your shampoo. These may include ketoconaketoconazolet that improves hair density and dimensions, caffeine biotin to fortify and saw palmetto. Understand that shampoos are by no means a miracle hair growth solution; they do remain after all on hair only temporarily. They merely emphasize the improvement of scalp and hair health and baldness problems.

Engage a hair loss expert
If your hair is severely shedding, the hair physician is your best friend. A tricologist can do a check on your medical history and conduct scalp examinations to reach the root of the issue. What triggers baldness may be drugs, imbalanced hormones or nourishment and a tricologist can guide you in the right tonics or remedies.

Tag: hair loss treatment singapore, hair loss singapore

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Types of hair loss treatment available

As they say, that hair makes the beauty of a person. What if someone lacks this essential part of the body, or what if a person doesn’t have the volume of hair needed to cover the scalp? Balanced hair with a beautiful hairstyle is often enough to describe your beauty and style. Unfortunately, not everyone is provided with this gift and many people face hair loss. Hair loss can occur from any age, usually, it is connected with genetics but ageing and not taking care of hair also leads to the appearance of bald spots and ultimately hair loss. There are many hair loss treatments Singapore that you can consider to bring back the hair you dream of.
Most men lose hair due to the genetic factor while women lose for various reasons. There are many treatments in the market but only few hair loss treatments Singapore are effective, some of which are:

1. Minoxidil:
Minoxidil increases the size and thickness of the hair follicles by increasing blood flow in the follicles. It also encourages hair growth by extending the growth phase of each follicle. It is sold under the brand name of Rogaine and can be used by men or women both. Minoxidil is the only approved OTC medication by the FBA for hair loss. This is a topical treatment that comes in foam or liquid and can be bought from the pharmacies.

2. Finasteride:
This is an oral medication and can be bought by a prescription only. The brand name of finasteride is Propecia and is also FDA approved. Finasteride works by blocking of the DHT production. DHT is called dihydrotestosterone which is a hormone responsible for hair loss in males by restricting the hair follicles from having the essential nutrients.

3. Hair-loss supplements:
There are countless hair loss supplements in the market which are the proof that many people are affected by this deficiency and are desperate to restore their hair growth. Though the hair supplements don’t get to the root of the issue of either the males or females, pattern baldness or hormonal issues cannot be treated by the supplements. They work to make the hair stronger and healthier. They can also help you to develop a hair loss regime by having supplements as well as medication or a transplant.

4. Hair-boosting shampoos:
The shampoos as they claim to make hair stronger, slow down the hair loss or help the reclining hairline are all false claims. A hair-boosting shampoo can only make the hair thicker for a temporary period and can’t help with thinning or hair loss.

5. Laser comb:
Laser combs are a great addition to the hair loss regime and you can easily afford it as well. The best is the HairMax Ultima 12 LaserComb. Since many people love to comb their hair so it becomes a daily routine and easier as compared to taking medications. The laser helps to stimulate the hair to growth phase by stimulating the cells in the hair follicles.

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