From 2065438 to 2009, the number of hair loss in China showed a straight upward trend. The data shows that there are more than 250 million people in this group, that is to say, one out of every six people has hair loss, which is really terrible.
Among the 250 million people with hair loss, the female population is close to 654.38+0 billion, and compared with the male population, the female population is more worried about hair loss. As a girl, Bian Xiao is often affected by hair loss. Every time she combs her hair and washes her hair, there is always a lot of hair on the ground! I am so afraid that I will become bald one day!
Vividly expressed my daily life.
What is hair made of? Understand, only understand, can better treat hair loss.
Hair consists of 80%-90% keratin. In addition, water, lipids, pigments and trace elements are also components of hair. The diameter of human hair is about 0.05-0. 15mm, and the total number of hairs per person is about 6.5438+10,000.
Hair has three layers from the inside out: pith, cortex and stratum corneum. The main component of stratum corneum is keratin, which is composed of amino acids and provides nutrition for hair growth. The stratum corneum is composed of scaly or tile-shaped keratinocytes, which endows hair with rigidity and toughness, resists external stimuli and inhibits water evaporation. Usually, damaged phenomena such as split hair, fragile hair or dim hair color are caused by damaged cuticle.
Cortical layer accounts for 75%-90% of hair and consists of soft keratin. Keratin in cortical layer is chain structure, which makes hair elastic and not easy to break.
Hair pith is located in the center of hair, and it is a hollow hole structure, which makes the hair form a cavity and plays a role in heat insulation.
Hair loss is such a serious problem. What is the reason?
When it comes to the causes of hair loss, there are really too many, but Bian Xiao summed them up one by one and divided them into the following categories:
1, hormones and endocrine factors
As the name suggests, hair loss is related to androgens. As we mentioned earlier, among the 250 million people with hair loss in 20 19, men accounted for the vast majority, so why are there so many cases of hair loss among men? Actually, it has something to do with their androgen.
Androgenic alopecia usually occurs in adolescence. Men mainly show hair loss on their foreheads and heads. Men show various types of hair loss (hairline backward, Mediterranean type, etc.). ), and their hair is m-shaped, and eventually they will be bald and show their scalp.
Androgenic alopecia
Women mainly show that the hair on the top of the head gradually becomes thinner and less, but the position of the hairline on the forehead remains unchanged.
In fact, if you look closely, you will find that a man's hair growth shape is different from that of women, no matter whether he is old or young, no matter whether he has more or less hair. Boys are more or less M-shaped. With the increase of age, there are more and more men with "Mediterranean" heads.
2. Immune factors
What I have to mention here is alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. The patient's own immune cells attack the hair follicle, making it unable to work normally, leading to hair shaft defect, or entering a dormant state, making the hair root shallow.
alopecia areata
Alopecia areata mostly occurs in young adults and can be divided into three stages. In the progressive stage, the hair on the edge of the alopecia area is loose and easy to pull out. At rest, the hair on the edge of the alopecia area is not loose, and no new hair grows; After 3~4 months of hair loss, new hair grows out, starting with soft and light-colored fluff, gradually becoming thicker and darker, and finally returning to normal.
Most patients with alopecia areata can recover themselves within 6~ 12 months, grow new hair and gradually return to normal. Most of the elderly patients with alopecia areata have mild illness and good treatment effect. However, patients with autoimmune diseases such as childhood onset and nail injury have poor prognosis. The larger the hair loss area, the smaller the chance of total hair regeneration, and the easier it is to delay healing. Some patients may only have an attack once in their life, while those with long course of disease and extensive hair loss may have repeated attacks.
Alopecia areata can continue to develop if it is not treated in time, and all the hair will fall off and become alopecia. In severe cases, hair loss can occur, that is, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpit hair, pubic hair and whole body hair all fall off. Total alopecia and alopecia universalis can be delayed, and the younger the onset age, the more difficult it is to recover.
3. Mental factors
Excessive mental stress is a common cause of hair loss among young people. Mental stress, depression, fear or severe insomnia can all lead to neurological disorders.
Hair anatomical map
The capillaries that deliver nutrients to hair follicles continue to contract, and the scalp is short of blood supply, leading to malnutrition and hair loss. Mental stress can also cause excessive secretion of sebaceous glands and disorder of hormone secretion, thus promoting the occurrence of hair loss.
Contemporary young people are often influenced by various pressures, which leads to their very bad mental state. All kinds of insomnia, staying up late and anxiety have caused the "baldness phenomenon" that people are generally concerned about now.
4. Static alopecia
First of all, we need to understand the growth cycle of hair: generally divided into these three types:
Growth period (2-6 years), regression period (4-6 weeks) and dormancy period (3-4 months).
Under normal circumstances, about 90% of the hair is in the growth stage (thick and dense), 1% is in the regression stage (atrophy and thinning), and 5%- 10% is in the rest stage (no trace).
If the hair increases during the rest period, that is to say, everyone is not long, then the hair will naturally be sparse.
For this kind of alopecia and malnutrition, iron, zinc and protein should be supplemented, and other reasons should be actively improved.
It is normal for normal people to lose 70- 100 hairs every day. At the same time, the same amount of hair is regenerated, so the total amount of hair can remain stable. If the number of hair loss exceeds this range, it should be considered as hair loss.
5. Nutritional metabolic factors
Do you always have a partial eclipse?
Malnutrition caused by partial eclipse and indigestion. It will cause the normal growth of hair to be inhibited, enter the dormant period, and appear burning, premature gray or falling off. Protein deficiency, excessive sugar or salt, trace element deficiency and some metabolic diseases, such as argininosuccinuria, hypercystinuria, hereditary oroturia, etc. Are the causes of hair loss.
Iodine can promote the formation of melanin in hair cortex, help activate cells and produce enough melanin. When iodine is deficient, the hair is not black enough. When the human body lacks calcium, the hair will become too thick, dry and fragile. When folic acid, pantothenic acid or B vitamins are deficient, the hair will be grayish white; Zinc deficiency may lead to hair loss; The lack of copper, iron and cobalt will make hair turn yellow or even white.
Therefore, partial eclipse is also one of the reasons for your hair loss.
6. Physical and chemical factors
Remember, especially girls, do they often dye their hair in various ways? This is actually one of the reasons for your hair loss.
Strain, abrasion, burn, electric injury and ultraviolet overexposure will all cause physical damage to hair; Hair products such as perming agent, hair dye and shampoo will cause chemical damage to hair, and automobile exhaust and air pollution in modern cities will also do some harm to hair.
Therefore, in your hair transformation, you also hurt your hair unintentionally.
7, infection and skin disease factors
Chickenpox, herpes zoster, HIV, syphilis, parasites (head mites) and tinea capitis caused by various fungal infections can all cause hair loss; Seborrheic dermatitis, lichen planus and other local skin lesions are also factors causing hair loss; Scar alopecia is caused by scalp injury or local skin disease, which destroys scalp hair follicles and stops hair growth. What we usually call dandruff is caused by various infections. Serious infection can lead to hair loss, so friends must pay attention to it.
8, disease and drug factors
Chemotherapy, as people usually say, will cause widespread baldness. Why? It is the drug factor that affects the occurrence of alopecia.
Cytotoxic drugs, such as immunosuppressants, chemotherapy drugs, arsenic agents, etc., will indiscriminately kill any rapidly dividing cells other than the target cells, including hairy root cells in the growth period, so chemotherapy patients usually lose a lot of hair, and when chemotherapy stops, the hair will gradually regenerate. In addition, antidepressants, some antihypertensive drugs and taking too much vitamin A may all lead to hair loss; Long-term use of antibiotics and painkillers may lead to short hair and loss of hair.
9. Congenital and genetic factors
Hair loss caused by congenital diseases such as developmental defects, various syndromes, Alzheimer's disease and congenital alopecia is mostly permanent, and there is no special treatment for the time being, but some people may partially or completely return to normal. The androgenetic alopecia mentioned above also has a lot to do with heredity.
How to judge whether you are losing your hair?
Gently pick up about 50 hairs from the hair roots with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger, and gently pull them at different parts of the scalp for 5-6 times. If only 1-2 hairs fall off at a time, it means that natural hair loss will not exceed 100 every day, and if it exceeds 3 hairs at a time, it means that hair loss is possible.
So how to treat hair loss?
Everyone has different reasons for hair loss. I believe that through the above detailed explanation, everyone should know what is the reason for their hair loss.
As long as the root of a phenomenon is grasped, the treatment will become very simple.
1, general therapy
Adjust your diet:
1. Take enough protein to provide enough keratin and amino acids for the body to grow and appear black;
2. Eat more vegetables. Basic inorganic salts such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in vegetables can neutralize acidic substances that are not conducive to hair growth in the body;
3, a balanced diet, to ensure the intake of various nutrients, appropriate to supplement the lack of trace elements and vitamins.
2. Drug therapy
(1) finasteride
It is a commonly used drug for androgenic alopecia. Oral finasteride tablets can slow down hair loss, but this medicine is generally ineffective for women. Rare side effects of finasteride include decreased libido, decreased sexual function and increased risk of prostate cancer. It is recommended to use at least 1 year. If the treatment 1 year still has no obvious curative effect, it is recommended to stop taking the medicine.
(2) Minoxidil
It is used to treat androgenic alopecia, which is a unisex over-the-counter drug and can effectively inhibit and improve the condition. Mainly for external use, it is applied to the scalp every day. Common side effects are excessive hair on the skin (hirsutism), sometimes scalp irritation and rapid heartbeat.
(3) Spironolactone
It is only suitable for some female patients with androgenetic alopecia. The main adverse reactions were menstrual disorder, decreased libido and breast pain. Attention should be paid to monitoring blood potassium concentration during treatment.
(4) Glucocorticoid
Often used to treat alopecia areata. Its usage includes local injection in scalp alopecia area, external use and oral administration.
① local injection of glucocorticoid in scalp alopecia area: prednisolone suspension or recurrent betamethasone injection can be injected at multiple points in alopecia area, which is helpful to the recovery of the disease. However, there may be pain during the injection, resulting in thinning of the skin at the injection site.
② Apply glucocorticoid cream to alopecia area: it can be used together with minoxidil to improve scalp blood circulation and promote hair growth.
③ Oral glucocorticoid: Patients with severe alopecia areata can take prednisone orally, and long-term use should be alert to side effects such as weight gain, abnormal metabolism, acne and menstrual disorder.
(5)B vitamins
It is an over-the-counter medicine, including vitamin B 1, B2, B6, B 12, folic acid, etc. Oral administration of B vitamins is helpful for hair growth.
3. Surgical therapy
(1) hair transplant
① Operation method: It is a common operation to treat alopecia. The doctor will extract and separate the hair follicle tissue from the patient's thick hair (mainly the back of the head) through a microscope, and then implant it into the hair loss area to achieve beautiful results. Patients may need multiple operations to achieve the desired results.
Indications: alopecia is controlled or stabilized after treatment, or alopecia has been improved to some extent, but it is hoped that it will be further improved through surgery; The hair on the back of the head is thick and there are enough hair sources for transplantation.
Contraindications: including serious visceral diseases, poor hair quality in donor area, etc.
④ Operating expenses: about13,000 ~ 20,000 yuan. This price is for reference only. The specific price is affected by comprehensive factors such as region, hospital, doctor and hair loss degree.
⑤ Therapeutic effect: Generally, the transplanted hair will fall off in different degrees within 2~4 weeks after operation, and it will obviously fall off within 2 months, and it can regrow within 4~6 months after operation, and the obvious effect will only be seen within 6~9 months after operation. It is suggested to continue to use the above drugs to delay or promote hair growth after transplantation.
(2) Pedicled flap repair
The doctor will cut off the scalp with hair from the back or side of the patient's head. At this time, the scalp is attached with an epithelial flap and then transferred to the hair loss area. Surgery may lead to bleeding and scarring.
(3) scalp reduction
The doctor will cut off the scalp of the patient's hair loss area, and then stretch and sew the scalp with hair.
4, Chinese medicine treatment
(1) TCM treatment
Some scholars divide alopecia into three types: deficiency of both heart and spleen, damp-heat stasis and deficiency of liver and kidney.
① Polygonum multiflorum Thunb tablets can be combined with hormone drugs to treat alopecia areata.
② From the perspective of Chinese medicine, if the patient's alopecia is caused by liver and kidney deficiency, he can take some drugs that nourish liver and kidney and blacken hair, such as Lycium barbarum.
③ Deficiency of both heart and spleen should nourish blood and spleen, replenish qi and blood, and use Guipi Decoction and Yangxin Decoction.
(2) Plum blossom needle
① Treatment principle: By tapping plum blossom needle, it can stimulate the affected skin and meridians, adjust the deficiency and excess of viscera and dredge local qi and blood, thus promoting the growth of hair follicle cells and regenerating hair roots.
② Advantages: The treatment method is simple, easy to be accepted by patients, rapid and effective.
③ Operation method: The doctor will first disinfect the plum blossom needle and the parts that need to be pricked with alcohol, and then use plum blossom needle to prick the alopecia area and its edge. If the scalp color of the patient has no obvious change compared with the normal hair, moderate stimulation should be used to make the affected scalp flush and congestion.
If the scalp of the affected part is reddish and slightly swollen, the patient can feel slight pain by tapping; If the course of disease is long, it will be buckled again, and the patient's pain is obvious; If the scalp surface of the affected area is pale and bright, use the double buckle method until there is a small amount of oozing blood. Tap each area for 4 to 5 minutes, and most hair loss areas will tap the largest area.
5. Photoelectric therapy
Low intensity laser can be used to treat androgenetic alopecia in men and women.
In addition, studies have reported that PUVA therapy (psoralen combined with A-band ultraviolet), long-wave ultraviolet, narrow-band ultraviolet, photodynamic therapy, 308nm single-frequency excimer light and excimer laser, pulsed infrared diode, low-energy laser and lattice carbon dioxide laser have certain effects on alopecia areata.
6. Stimulation therapy
The application of local sensitizer can make scalp allergic, which may lead to hair regeneration.