Crowning Glory

To quote the Bible, Samson may have been the first person to worry about his hair. Since the time immemorial, many people have shown concern about their scalp hair. Today, extensive researches and studies are continuously being done to satisfy man’s perennial search of the best way to maintain a healthy crowning glory.

Unfortunately, a number of unscrupulous businessmen take advantage of this heightened interest about hair care, promising an entire array of cure-all for baldness.

This article intends to enlighten the minds of readers on proper hair care and the appropriate approach to managing baldness.

Hair covers more than 90% of the skin. Aside from eyelashes, most of these hairs are useless; scalp hair serves no significant purpose other than adornment. Like the skin, hair is subjected to different stresses such as sunlight, heat, toxic chemicals, moisture, stretching, pulling, drying, bending and other manipulations.

Typically, people lose 50 to 150 scalp hairs every day and this is considered normal. In fact, you can lose up to 40% of the density of your scalp hair before thinning is even noticeable.

Over the years, hair will be lost. There are a number of reasons why this happens. Hair loss is either permanent or temporary.

Aging plays a vital role in permanent hair loss. As we age, our hair has a tendency to decrease in number and thinning is usually noted because of the shrinking of the hair follicles. During adolescence, every follicle in the scalp is generating an actively growing hair. However, as we enter 20s and 30s, most men and women find their hairlines receding. Most people accept “aging” hair loss quite easily and tend to disregard it especially if it occurs gradually.

Male Pattern Alopecia or common baldness, the most common type of baldness, is a hereditary trait characterized by a receding hairline, a bald spot on the crown, thinning over the top of the scalp or a combination of the three. Traction Alopecia, on the other hand, results from injury to the follicles caused by constant tension or long term pulling of the hair. This type of hair loss can be caused by certain hairstyles, such as tight braids.

Physical injury can also trigger permanent hair loss. Among the more common cases involve laceration, skin damage and burns.

Pregnancy and birth control pills can have a temporary impact on the hair growth cycle. Extensive shedding may follow pregnancy and discontinuance of oral contraceptives. The sudden decrease in the amount of estrogen accounts for the hair loss, but after several months, hair usually begins to grow.

Increase in body temperature, especially in cases of typhoid fever, often disrupts the sensitive growing follicles. This throws the follicles into a premature resting stage. A few months after, these resting hairs shed off massively.

Alopecia Areata appears as patchy hair loss on the scalp. It usually starts with one or smaller round bald patches and can progress to total baldness in a small number of cases. It affects both men and women and often begins at childhood. This autoimmune condition often resolves without treatment and hair usually grows back in 6 months to 2 years, but not always.

Chemical treatment of the hair through coloring, beaching, straightening or perming can cause damage that may result in hair breakage. Likewise, certain medications such as amphetamines, blood thinners, anti-thyroid drugs, cancer drugs and x-ray treatments, may affect hair growth. Hormonal disorders can also create thinning problems as well as poor nutrition.

Hair loss is not only the plight of older people; it can happen even at a younger age. It is important to accurately determine the cause of hair loss. By talking to a dermatologist, who is extensively trained in hair and scalp care, you can arrange for several tests including a hair analysis and a hormone test. These tests will provide you the assurance that you will be using the correct products for the most effective results.

Oscar Salvador D. Grino, Jr. M.D. PAACD