Losing Hair? Obtaining a Hair Loss Diagnosis

Losing Hair? Obtaining a Hair Loss Diagnosis

If you’ve been losing hair more than the usual shedding, you could be suffering from a hair loss condition. Sculpt MD can help you figure that out and get a natural and safe treatment from our services offered!

Hair Loss Symptoms

Hair loss can show in many different ways, depending on how hair loss has happened in your family before and the external factors that have contributed. It can happen gradually, suddenly, or even effect your whole body. Some hair loss can be temporary, while others may be permanent.

This one of the most common types of hair loss. It happens in both men and women as they age. Men will most likely see a receding from their forehead and back in the shape of an M, commonly known as the widow’s peak. Women usually maintain their hairline at the forehead, but see a broadening from the normal part of their hair.

Sometimes, you may experience smooth, circular spots that are balding. This is usually on the scalp, but can also happen on the beard and eyebrows. Your skin may also appear itchy or dry, and it is slightly painful as the hair falls out.

If you undergo a physical or emotional shock, your hair may start to loosen. You may pull out handfuls of hair when brushing or washing, or even if you gently tug on it. This is more hair thinning and not bald patches.

Some medical conditions or treatments like chemotherapy can result in hair loss all over the body. In these cases, hair usually grows back.

Hair Loss Diagnosis

Before diagnosis, your doctor will give you a physical exam, as well as ask about any medical and family history. There may also be test performed like:

• Blood test – This could uncover medical conditions related to hair loss, like thyroid disease. It can also be used to test your genetic heritage of hair loss conditions.
• Pull test – Several dozen strands of hairs may come out during this test, which helps determine the stage of the shedding process.
• Scalp biopsy – Your doctor scrapes samples of skin from the scalp or a few hairs will be plucked to examine hair roots. This can determine if there is an infection causing the hair loss.
• Light microscopy – By using a special instrument to examine hairs trimmed at their bases, microscopy can help uncover possible disorders of the hair shaft.

Hair Loss Causes

On average, people can shed about 50 to 100 hairs a day. This doesn’t cause a noticeable difference in your hair’s consistency or growth because you have constant new hair growing. Hair loss happens when the cycle of hair growth and shedding is disrupted. It can also happen when the hair follicle is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue.

The exact cause of hair loss may not be understood, but it can be related to one or more of these factors:

• Family heredity
• Hormonal changes
• Medical conditions
• Medications

Family history

Male-pattern baldness and female-pattern baldness are the most common hereditary conditions of hair loss. It occurs gradually and in a consistent pattern like a receding hairline and bald spots for men, or thinning hair for women.

Hereditary factors can also affect what age you will lose hair, how quickly, and the extent of the baldness. Male-pattern baldness can start as early as puberty, and can even involve hair thinning and miniaturization.

Hormonal changes & Medical conditions

• Hormonal changes – the imbalances and changes of your hormones can cause temporary hair loss, caused by pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or thyroid gland.
• Patchy hair loss – nonscarring hair loss called alopecia areata, caused by an attack of the hair follicles by the body’s immune system
• Scalp infections – ringworm and other infections can cause hair loss in scaly patches, but normally grows back
• Other skin disorders – diseases that lead to scarring alopecia and can result in permanent loss are lichen planus, lupus, and sarcoidosis
• Hair-pulling disorder – called trichotillomania; causes people to have an irresistible urge to pull out hair from scalp, eyebrows, or other body areas

Medications

Drugs that are used for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, high blood pressure, and birth control can cause hair loss. If you take too much Vitamin A, you may experience hair loss, too.

Other causes of hair loss

• Radiation therapy to the head – hair may not grow back the same
• A trigger event – People can experience a general thinning of hair months after a physical or emotional shock. This loss is temporary, and events can be excessive weight loss, high fever, surgery, or traumatic event.
• Certain hairstyles and treatments – excessive hair styling can cause traction alopecia, hot oil hair treatments and permanents can cause inflammation

Hair Loss Treatments

There are many effective treatments for hair loss of all types. Treatments can include medication, surgery, laser therapy, wigs, and more holistic approaches. A doctor may combine a few procedures to try and restore hair loss.

Microneedling with PRP

Here at Sculpt MD, we use microneedling combined with PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) to help restore any hair loss you may be experience. Microneedling with PRP is the combination of two procedures:

1. Microneedling – It uses a handheld device with tiny micro-needles to create miniature micro-wound across the skin. These wounds are open and trigger your body to produce extra collagen and elastin to improve the skin, and hair follicles.
2. PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) ­– PRP is the use of the natural growth factors in your own blood. By taken a single sample of your blood and separating the plasma from your blood cells, we use the plasma and all its natural growth factors to help grow your hair. We place the solution on your scalp, allowing it to penetrate the deeper levels of your skin with the use of the micro-wounds.

Hair Restoration at Sculpt MD

At Sculpt MD, We offer many different treatments, and hair restoration in Livermore is one of them. We use a natural, safe procedure that utilizes your body’s natural responses and growth factors to help restore your hair. We will schedule an initial consultation to assess your hair loss situation and go over how many potential appointments you may need.

With hair restoration at Sculpt MD, you’ll feel more confident than ever with our microneedling treatments and PRP combined!