William Collier Design provides custom cranial prostheses for anyone experiencing hair loss of any kind – including hair loss due to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, genetic Alopecia and Alopecia Areata Totalis or Universalis. In addition to providing custom-cutting for thinning hair, our complete line of semi-custom and custom cranial hair prosthesis includes design options for patients with hair loss of any kind.
In order for anyone, women in particular, to live a normal, active lifestyle it requires them to have hair that looks natural. Here at William Collier Design our team of stylists is committed to creating natural, attractive hair styles for all of our clients.
Please read the attached article from About.com – Women’s Health which quotes a great article from the New England Journal of Medicine that separates truth from fiction regarding hair loss in women.
As always, we welcome your comments and questions – please feel free to contact us for a complimentary consultation to receive more specific information.
https://womenshealth.about.com/cs/hairloss/a/hairloss.htm
Hair Loss in Women
The advertisements for treatment of balding, and hair loss in men can't be missed. These ads might lead one to believe that hair loss is generally a men's issue. However the fact is that as many as two-thirds of all women experience hair loss at some point.
Fortunately hair loss in women typically does not result in complete baldness, as is often the case with men. In the September 23, 1999 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Vera H. Price examined hair loss and treatments for the two most common types of hair loss -- androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata.
Does Estrogen Affect Hair Loss?
The role of estrogen in hair growth in humans is not clear. However both oral and topical estrogens are prescribed by physicians to treat hair loss in women -- although there are no controlled studies to support this use of estrogen.
Dr. Price warns that women who chose to use oral contraceptives to treat hair loss should take care to select one with little or no androgenic activity such as norgestimate or ethynodiol diacetate. She also warns that women with androgenetic aplopecia should not use testosterone or androgen precursors such as DHEA.
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is an immune disease that affects almost 2% of the population in the US. This type of hair loss appears in various degrees of severity from small, round patches of hair loss that re-grow without medical treatment to chronic, extensive hair loss that can involve the loss of all hair on the scalp or body hair. This type of hair loss affects both genders equally and can occur at any age, although it occurs most often in children and young adults.
Treatment of this type of hair loss includes immunomodulating therapies such as glucocorticoids, topical immunotherapy, or anthralin, or biologic-response modifiers such as Minoxidil. The choice of treatment depends on the patient's age, as well as the extent of hair loss. Milder cases often see a greater improvement with treatment than severe cases. In no case does treatment restore full hair in patients with 100% scalp or body hair loss.
Androgenetic Alopecia
Myths Vs. Facts
Myth: Hair loss is inherited from your father
Fact: Both parent's genes are a factor.
Androgenetic alopecia is genetically-linked hair thinning.
Myth: Female pattern hair loss causes abnormal bleeding.
Fact: Menstruation is not affected.
Hair loss typically begins between the ages of 12 and 40.
Myth: Extensive hormonal evaluation is required.
Fact: Hormonal evaluation is only required if the patient is also experiencing irregular periods, infertility, hirsutism, cystic acne, virilization, or glactorrhea.
Androgenetic alopecia usually doesn't cause menstrual issues or interfere with pregnancy or endocrine function.
Myth: Teasing, using hair color, other products, or frequently washing hair increases hair loss.
Fact: Normal hair care doesn't affect hair loss.
The only drug approved for promoting hair growth in women is Minoxidil.