What women need to know about hair loss

London, the Onta resident, Marcy Gallant, began to lose his hair when he was about five years old.

The defender of Alopecia says she woke up one morning and noticed her hair in her pillow. His mother investigated and found a bald place, and Gallant was soon diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, a sometimes called baldness condition.

During the next decade more or less, Gallant embarked on a trip that included numerous visits to the doctor. His alopecia areata became universal alopecia, and finally lost all his hair in his body.

“When I was a child, it was already at school or in football, I was always constantly thinking about it,” said Gallant, who coordinates youth participation and special projects at the Canadian Foundation Alopecia Arata (Canaaf).

He spent years receiving treatments ranging from lotions to steroid injections, with his hair even growing to the reach of the shoulders at a point in his adolescence.

Now 24 years old, Gallant has completely embraced his condition, and is a defender of people living with partial or complete hair loss.

While it is believed that hair loss occurs mainly in men, experts say that women can also experience it, for a variety of reasons.

According to him Canadian Dermatology AssociationApproximately 40 percent of women will have some form of hair thinning at the age of 50. The investigation suggests that Those numbers increase during menopause.

While there are treatments that can slow the process, there is no cure.

This is what women should know about alopecia.

What is alopecia?

Alopecia is a medical term that denotes any type of hair loss, according to dermatologist Dr. Renee Beach, who directs a clinic in Toronto.

Alopecia can be scar or non -scars. Non -garnish alopecia is the most common way, says Beach.

With the condition of scars, the hair follicles are replaced with scar tissue, which can be more difficult to treat, she says.

“The healing of alopecia is the minority of circumstances, but it is worrying because there is more an inflammatory component,” Beach told Dr. Brian Goldman, presenter of Podcast CBC The dose.

“I compare it with, instead of growing a grass grass, our scalp has replaced the grass grass with concrete; and it is a scenario in which, often, once the hair has gone, it is very difficult, if not impossible, regenerate.”

In addition to alopecia areata, the examples of non -scar alopecia include androgenetic alopecia, sometimes called male or female pattern loss, which is predominantly a genetic condition and effluvium telogen, which is a temporary loss of hair due to stress.

In the case of pattern hair loss, the baldness of female patterns and the baldness of male patterns can differ, says Beach.

The loss or thinning of female pattern hair usually occurs along the crown or the upper part of the scalp, and the scalp becomes more visible.

On the contrary, the traditional hair loss of male patterns are thinned along the temples and behind the crown of the head.

What causes hair loss?

Dr. Lisa Kellett, a dermatologist who also directs a clinic in Toronto, says that there are “hundreds” of reasons why women experience hair loss.

For example, androgens, hormones that produce male sexual characteristics, are often associated with male pattern hair loss. While Andogens play a role In androgenetic alopecia in women, Beach said that a variety of other factors can contribute.

“The other component of androgenetic alopecia are genetic genes or factors,” he said.

“We know that, when we look at our parents or brothers, our first -degree relatives, that is a very strong marker of how our own hair will progress.”

People sometimes believe that their maternal or paternal grandparents are responsible for transmitting the so -called hair loss genes, but Kellet says that the causes are “multifactorial.”

Pregnancy, personal stress and even low nutrients can contribute to hair loss.

“Some of them can be caused with a blood test and blood test, but some of them really have to look at ourselves and say: ‘Ok, what has changed in my life in the last three to six months and how my body has responded to that change?'” Said Beach.

How to treat hair loss

Hair loss treatments range from free sales lotions to prescription medications and even scalp injections for hair growth.

“One of the tag treatments that have existed for more than 20 years is to use Minoxidil,” said Beach, referring to a drug most commonly known as Rogaine.

“It has been demonstrated when it is used both topically and in the last almost 10 years more commonly orally, in order to extend the hair growth phase … and do it with minimal side effects.”

The oral finaster, sold under the propecia brand, is authorized by Health Canada for the baldness of the male pattern, but sometimes the women’s label is prescribed.

“When they are taken in particular doses, they help retain hair in those places sensitive to androgens like the crown,” Beach said.

But the finasteride has been found to cause weakening side effects In men, including the inability to feel emotions, loss of libido and even suicidal ideation. At the end of April, American drug regulators warned that there are “serious potential risks” associated with topical finasteride formulations. Although more and more popular in both Canada and the US.

Finasteride is not approved by Health Canada for Women, but Studies have demonstrated That women who take it can sometimes experience side effects such as decreased libido, swelling and breast tenderness, headache and irregular menstruation.

However, when it comes to dealing with hair loss, Beach says it is important to remember two principles: there is no cure, and any treatment only works while patients commit to it.

“I tell patients, treatment [solutions] Like your toothbrush, “he said.

“You have to use [treatments] Whenever you care to keep your hair and keep what you have and maybe grow a bit modest. “

Hair and self -esteem

However, Beach recognizes that hair loss can be especially difficult for women, and says “makes a number in one self -esteem.”

Marcy Gallant underwent several treatments for years, all while wearing hats and wigs to hide his hair loss.

He experienced the bullying of his classmates during his school years, and slowly took the promotion to better educate his classmates, while also working to recover his own self -confidence.

In high school, he organized assemblies to educate new students about alopecia, partly to avoid the stigma of hair loss.

“Was he 100 percent comfortable in my own skin? Absolutely not,” Gallant said.

“I still hid under a wig for many years after that, but at least I began to experiment with wigs and have fun with them instead of simply using them by hiding place.”

Finally, he decided to complete his hair loss in grade 12, shaving his head before his high school graduation photos.

“I love bald rocking body and I love being that representation in the world we need,” Gallant said.

She says that women worried about thinning hair should weigh their options before trying any possible treatment, sometimes at a great cost.

“Now that I know there is a community out there, I feel that maybe I would have reacted a bit different,” Gallant said about his own treatment trip.

She says that organizations such as Canaaf help provide encouraging spaces and insurance for anyone living with hair loss.

“When you find that community and you find people with whom you can connect that they have similar lived experiences like you, our stories are the most powerful of us,” Gallant said.