The controversy and fallout from the Will Smith and Chris Rock incident at the Oscars is still something that is being discussed by people all across the globe. Whether Smith was right or wrong to slap Rock, he’s inadvertently drawn a lot of attention towards hair loss and alopecia in women and opened up a lot of very good discussions for women who are affected by alopecia.
When people think of hair loss, the general image that comes to mind isn’t a woman for most, with the vast majority instantly picturing a balding spot at the rear of the scalp and receding hairline on a man. Alopecia is defined as “a partial or complete absence of hair within an area of the body where it normally grows” and whilst alopecia occurs more commonly in men than it does in women (approximately 70% of men will experience permanent hair loss at some point in their lifetime which compares to approximately 30-40% of women), the physical and psychological impact that hair loss can have is equally as bad, if not even worse.
Androgenetic alopecia (which is the fancy medical term for male pattern baldness in men and female pattern baldness in women) is the most common form of hair loss that affects millions of people all around the world. In men, androgenetic alopecia tends to begin around the temples and causes the hairline to recede and form the characteristic “M” shape that people associate with hair loss. It also causes the hair on the crown to become thin and eventually results in baldness if left untreated. In women, androgenetic alopecia begins as a gradual amount of thinning along the parting line of the hair which is followed by hair loss which radiates out from the top of the head. The biggest difference in women though is that it’s rare for the hairline to recede and even rarer for alopecia to cause total baldness in women.
What causes alopecia and hair loss for women?
Well, that’s a tricky question to answer as there is a large number of possible causes of alopecia and hair loss in women, covering everything from stress to medical conditions. It’s also possible that the hair loss you’re experiencing is completely normal (although if you’re actively looking into treatments for alopecia then that’s probably not the case) with most people typically losing somewhere between 50 to 100 hairs on a daily basis. Generally, this goes unnoticed because new hair is growing at the same time, but when there is no new hair replacing the hair that has fallen out, this is what results in hair loss.
Things such as hairstyles or specific hair treatments, vitamin deficiencies, diet and even certain medications can be responsible for hair loss. The good news though in these cases, is that there’s a simple way to combat them and that is to fix the issue. For example, changing your hairstyle to one that is less tight or altering your diet to include the correct foods and vitamins can cause the hair loss that is being experienced to stop and in some cases can even reverse it.
Androgenetic alopecia is different as it doesn’t really have a manageable cause, it’s something that tends to be hereditary and is a condition that is more likely to have an effect is other family members have suffered previously. While it can happen at any age, it tends to get worse and more likely to happen as you age due to hormonal changes within the body. The other big one (as if it didn’t cause enough problems already) is the menopause, and the estrogen level changes can cause the hair loss to worsen.
How can alopecia be treated?
It really all depends on the scale of hair loss that has been experienced and the point in which you actively begin to search for a treatment. For one person, they could catch it early on and find that methods such as medication and ointments can be enough to help, whereas for another who has been experiencing hair loss for a longer period of time, a hair transplant may be the only option they have left.
Starting out small, medication like finasteride is a good base point to treat the visible signs of alopecia and hair loss. It’s been used a treatment method for hair loss since 1990, and considering it’s stood as the best medication available to treat hair loss for around 30 years or so shows that it must be effective at what it does. It works by inhibiting the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the hair follicles, which is a hormone that causes the hair follicles to shrink and weaken. The main problem with finasteride though is that although it is very successful in men, it’s nowhere near as good at treating hair loss within women.
If the hair loss has progressed to a noticeable level, then looking into scalp micropigmentation may be the perfect solution for you. Scalp micropigmentation is a little bit like a tattoo for your scalp, but instead of it being something intricate and detailed, it’s a number of precisely positioned dots instead. With severe hair loss, these dots are located evenly across the entire scalp and are used to mimic the appearance of a freshly shaven head. For those with milder hair loss, or those who wear their hair longer, scalp micropigmentation is performed in a different way entirely. Instead of creating a “freshly shaved” appearance, it’s performed to create the illusion of shadow and depth to hide any balding areas beneath the hair.
Then there’s the final option, which is the only real permanent solution to hair loss and alopecia, which is hair transplant surgery. It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female, hair transplant surgery can be performed to restore hair follicles to areas of the scalp that have been affected by hair loss. Generally, the follicles that are used in hair transplant surgery are taken from the rear and sides of the scalp as these tend to be tougher and more resilient to hair loss.
Or, if you’re brave like Jada Pinkett-Smith and many other women around the world, you can choose to embrace your alopecia and wear it as a badge of honour as there’s nothing wrong with not having any hair.
So whether or not Will was right or wrong to do what he did during the ceremony, a huge positive that came out of it was simply the fact that it has opened up a discussion about alopecia in women and made millions of people aware of the effects of hair loss in women. To find out more about our hair loss treatments, or to book a completely free consultation with a member of our team, get in touch with us today using our live chat system, contact form or by phone on 0800 061 4512.