Hair Loss Blog

Beta-Sitosterol

2012-01-15T16:44:00.000+04:00

Archives of Dermatological Research, Online First™ - SpringerLink: "The present study clearly indicates the superiority of phyto-vesicles over the complex and β-sitosterol, in terms of better absorption and improved activity for the treatment of alopecia."

'via Blog this'

β-sitosterol is a cholesterol lowering plant sterol with 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor activity. This study demonstrates a method to increase its penetration. But I am not convinced about the maximum efficacy possible for a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor route in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

Crown Hair Transplant - Part 1

2011-12-04T10:52:00.001+04:00

Crown Hair Transplant - Part 2

2011-12-04T10:51:00.001+04:00

What your Hair & Scalp Say About your health

2011-11-27T11:44:00.001+04:00

Slideshow: What Your Hair & Scalp Say About Your Health

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-t...

Is your hair trying to tell you something about your health? Some medications and conditions affect your hair as well as your body. This slideshow shows what's myth and what's fact when it comes to your health and your hair.

Lonely Hair

2011-11-02T16:34:00.000+04:00

A receding hairline is a distinctly masculine trait. Females can occasionally develop it in a condition called frontal fibrosing alopecia. However in females, this is not hereditary and is a variant of a condition called 'lichen planopilaris'. Lonely hair is a clinical sign in this condition(1). What a cute name for a clinical sign!

(1) Lonely Hair: A Clue to the Diagnosis of Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia. Arch Dermatol. 2011;147(10):1240. doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2011.261

Formic Acid and Hirsutism

2011-06-03T13:25:00.001+04:00

Hirsutism (male patterned hair in females) is a common but distressing problem. Laser hair removal is the gold standard for treatment though results vary. A few studies have revealed that topical application of eflornithine hydrochloride can also decrease the rate of facial hair growth and is often used along with laser. A recent study investigated the effect of topical Formic acid on Hirsutism.(1) Preliminary results were not so encouraging though an apparent reduction in hair density was noticed. The dermatology dept. of Father Muller's hospital (Mangalore) has demonstrated the use of formic acid in the treatment of warts which is the only demonstrated therapeutic use of formic acid.

From my rudimentary knowledge of biochemistry, formic acid is an oxidation product of Glycolic acid, a commonly used alpha hydroxy agent in chemical peels. Incidentally cigarette smoke can catalyze this conversion. So if you smoke while having a glycololic peel, you may loose your facial hair :-)

(1) http://www.dovepress.com/evaluation-of-the-effect-of-formic-acid-and-sodium-formate-on-hair-red-peer-reviewed-article-CCID

Female hair loss — the lowdown

2011-01-07T09:51:00.001+04:00

Losing hair is a common story to many middle-aged women, but there are ways to slow the fallout.

Scaling Down Dandruff

2010-12-13T22:09:00.004+04:00

If you ask a dermatologist what dandruff is, he will tell you that Pityriasis simplex capillitii or dandruff is normal exfoliation of dead scalp cells and not to be confused with seborrhoeic dermatitis, scalp psoriasis or xerosis. Being a dermatologist even I am confused about our technical definition of dandruff. I am sure this complex definition will not mitigate the doubts in your mind about the grandma’s dandruff remedy, or your theory that dandruff is the root cause of the thinning of your hair you developed the day you landed in this country. To simplify things, I have adopted a holistic stance on dandruff, different from dermatology textbooks. In this article I have included (almost) everything that causes scaling with or without itching on the scalp under the broad term ‘dandruff’.

Read More....

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2010-03-05T22:48:00.001+04:00

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Androgenetic Hair loss in women

2009-11-06T15:36:00.001+04:00

Ms.X is a middle aged lady, who had very good hair as a teenager. She even won Miss Beautiful Hair during her college days. After marriage she has put on some weight, though she cannot be called obese. Of late she has noticed that her scalp is becoming visible in the front. She has started noticing few hair strands in the bathtub as well. The length of her hair (which used to attract so much attention during younger days) has significantly reduced. She has noticed the same pattern in her mother as well, but she feels her mother started loosing hair much later in her life and it is OK for her to lose some now. She tried all the shampoos and hair loss solutions available in the market with little improvement. Her stress level has increased and it has started interfering with her day to day life. If you think I can substitute X with your name then please read the story here, otherwise search my 'Feather in the cap' series of articles for your story.

Lichen Planopilaris

2008-05-09T11:12:00.000+04:00

Lichen Planopilaris is a type of follicular lichen planus causing hair loss, sometimes permanent. Reactions to chemicals or certain drugs can cause this type of hair loss.

Pseudopelade of Brocq

2007-04-17T22:50:00.000+04:00

This middle aged female patient presented to me with diffuse long standing alopecia mainly involving the vertex. The hair scope revealed peri follicular scaling without significant thinning of the shaft. Clinically peri follicular erythema was also evident. My diagnosis was Lichen Plano Pilaris (LPP). Since histopathological evidence is not available, this can be categorized as pseudopelade of Brocq also.

Alopecia areata

2007-04-05T22:20:00.000+04:00

This patient presented with an alopecia areata patch over frontal scalp. She also had unilateral loss of lateral eyebrows. An exclamation mark hair as seen through hair scope is marked with red arrows. When intralesional corticosteroids are used, low concentrations are typically injected into eyebrows or facial skin and the highest concentration is used on the scalp.

Sebo Psoriasis

2007-03-30T11:54:00.000+04:00

This male patient presented with recent onset hair fall with itching. He also complained of boils over the scalp. On examination patient had superficial folliculitis of the scalp which is fairly common in gulf. The blue circle shows a folliculitis lesion as seen through hair scope. When it is confined to only certain regions, it could be considered a part of the spectrum of sebo-psoriasis.

Scalp Psoriasis

2007-03-29T20:10:00.000+04:00

This patient with extensive frontal recession of pattern alopecia complained of recent onset hair loss from the vertex. On examination patient had scalp psoriasis. The hair scope examination showed characteristic follicular thinning of pattern alopecia but pictures 2 and 3 also showed characteristic scalp changes. This underlines the need to carefully look for scalp disorders even in extensive pattern alopecia.

2007-03-28T20:51:00.000+04:00

This blog is basically for posting clinical pictures and discuss it with other trichologists.