Alopecia Hair Loss

The medical name for natural hair loss is Alopecia. Essentially, alopecia refers to any condition under which the hair naturally falls out at a rate which is greater than the average daily loss. Scientists believe that approximately 20 to 100 strands of hair fall out naturally every day anyway, so anything over 100 is considered to be alopecia.

There are a number of causes of alopecia hair loss, and there are equally a number of solutions to the problem. We have written significantly on the topics of causes and solutions to alopecia… so in this article we will focus on the underlying mechanism involved in the loss of hair.

Why Hair Falls Out?

In 2009, a breakthrough was made which lead to the discovery of the exact gene which was responsible for the hereditary nature of hair loss. Alopecia is now known to be caused by the action of a gene called: SOX21.

Whilst this doesn’t mean much to the average person, it does offer a whole lot of new information on which people are more likely to develop hair loss in their future. It also shows us how hair loss treatments work, and which cells and chemicals they target to cause an effect.

Surgery for Alopecia

One of the treatment options for alopecia hair loss which we haven’t covered much is that of surgery. The surgical option is best known for being the most extreme way of preventing hair loss – or rectifying the issue once hair loss has started.

Most alopecia hair loss surgery is done when the other methods of treating hair loss fail. For example – if someone is prescribed a course of alopecia drugs and these do not have any effect, the surgical option might be the only way to go.

Surgery is a last resort for a number of reasons, including:

• Cost – approximately $4,000 to $20,000 per procedure.
• Difficulty – the task of restoring hair to the scalp is a difficult one.
• Side Effects – surgery can often go wrong and complications can arise.

Hence – when it comes to alopecia hair loss, the best thing to try first is a conventional treatment method. Additionally, if the first line of defence fails, the next best option might be to try a herbal remedy or supplement, as these often work in cases where drugs fail.