Haircut Intervention

An extreme bout of boredom leads to a really bad hair day. Good thing there's a cure.

Trichotillomania (TTM)

Trichotillomania (TTM) is an impulse disorder that causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or other parts of the body, resulting in noticeable bald patches. It is currently defined as an impulse-control disorder, but there are still questions about how it should be classified. It may seem, at times, to resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is estimated to affect one to two percent of the population, or four to eleven million Americans.


Who Gets Trichotillomania?
TTM seems to strike most frequently in the pre- or early adolescent years. The typical first-time hair puller is 12 years old, although TTM has affected people as young as one and as old as seventy. It is thought that ninety percent of those with TTM are women, but research is inconclusive and it may simply be the case that men are less likely to seek treatment and can more easily hide their symptoms. A form of TTM that affects very young children appears to occur in males and females at an equal rate and seems to be more benign in nature.


How Do I Know If I Have Trichotillomania?
Although the symptoms range greatly in severity, location on the body, and response to treatment, most people with TTM pull enough hair over a long enough period of time that they have bald spots on their heads (or missing eyelashes, eyebrows, pubic, or underarm hair), which they go to great lengths to cover with hairstyles, scarves or clothing, or makeup. The persistence of the compulsion can vary considerably: For some people, at some times, it is mild and can be quelled with a bit of extra awareness and concentration. For others, at times, the urge may be so strong that it makes thinking of anything else nearly impossible.


Why Doesn't Anyone Seem to Know about Trichotillomania?
TTM did not appear in the popular media in the United States until about 1989. As a result, many people with TTM have gone for many years without adequate Information about their condition, or appropriate treatment. Consequently, the one symptom that most people with TTM share is shame.

Find out more information on TTM on www.trich.org

Types of treatment

Treatments available for baldness and hair loss

Certain products can really help to decrease and totally stop hair loss. However, there are certain cases where the products backfires and causes patients to loss hair at an even faster rate. There are also cases where scalp irritation and allergies occuring. Therefore, it is always best to search for more information before getting a product. Seeking help from a medical specialist or hair trichologists should be made compulsory.

Minoxidil

Minoxidil is originally a type of pesriptive oral drug used to treat patients suffering from high blood pressure. This drug works by relaxing the muscles in blood vessels causing it to dilate. When the blood vessels starts to dilate, it allows blood to flow smoothly and thus lowering blood pressure.
It is not known specifically how minoxidil acts on the scalps or hair follicles. However, when this drug was administered to patients with high blood pressure, hair growth was observed to be growing a little more than usual. This surprise findings led to some companies to start to pescribe as a medication for hair loss and thus minoxidil started to be one of the main medication for baldness. Nevertheless, it is a proven and an effective form of treatment for hair loss.

Rogaine

Rogaine is actually a brand name of a company which sells Minoxidil. It is similar like calling Pampers instead of its true desription of baby diapers. What this company did is to refine the product and create the most effective formula it can produce from Minoxidil. Their latest product is foam type which allows better absorption into the scalps.

Other drugs used as medication

Finasteride is used as a treatment for prostate enlargement and for those suffering from prostate cancer. Studies done showed that by using a small percentage of it can help to produce hair growth especially for male hair loss pattern.

Dutasteride is also used as a treatment for prostate enlargement. This drug works by disabling the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which can cause male baldness.

Hair transplant

This method is done by grafting hair taken from the back of the head into scalp areas where permanent hair loss is experienced. As hair on the back of the head is much more stronger than those on the frontal region, it is often used when this procedure is required. Hair transplant can also last a lifetime because the hair used from the mentioned area is usually DHT resistant and therefore any hair loss associated with hereditary causes can be ruled out. Find out more from a guy at http://www.nicnitro.com/ who has gone through this procedure.

Oils and shampoos

This type of treatment is very similar to using FDA approved medication such as Minoxidil and Finasteride. What the oils and shampoos does is to clear the blocked hair follicles and to encourage and stimulate it to growth stronger and thicker hair. This is done by increasing the size of the already weaken hair papilla caused by baldness or male/female pattern hair loss. For an example, some products encourage pure olive oil to be appplied on the scalp and to leave it overnight. The olive oil helps to clear blogged pores because it contains natural chemicals which causes this reaction

Exercise

By doing regular exercises of moderate intensity, androgen levels which can cause hair loss can be kept low. Regular exercises also helps to maintain good health and especially lowering and relieving high level of stress which is also believed to cause baldness.

Britney is bald!

Is there any woman out there who like to have a shaven head as her next latest hair style? Chances of finding one sure is a rarity. There is one celebrity who seems to be getting the headlines for all the strange reasons. Any other woman who goes bald is just another sad news to all of us but Britney Spears? Here is a video confirmation of Britney Spears going bald!

Bald women are sexy

For most women, if not at all, it is the worst kind of a nightmare to wake up then look yourself in the mirror to find out that you are bald! Well for a number of them find that being bald is rather sexy.

Remember the saying that goes something like this "If you are pretty and beautiful naturally you will still look so no matter what you do, with or without makeup!" Look at this woman and see if the saying really stands!

Female baldness and hair loss

Women do suffer from female baldness and hair loss

It is a rarity among hair loss sufferers to be women but that does not mean females do not have to cope with it. There are a small percentage of women who do indeed have problem with hair loss baldness. When it comes to being a woman, having shiny, thick and beautiful hair can be so important, sometimes nothing else matters much than their hair!

General belief is hair loss and baldness is only a subject issue to be dealt with by men and not for women. Even if women do suffer for hair loss, it is commonly accepted that it is sometimes an inevitable situation when they get old. As most hair treatment that is available out there mostly caters to men, women generally also believe it is a problem that is really unlikely going to happen towards them.

Self-confidence and esteem in women

It is clear to say that beautiful hair also provides high self-esteem and confidence for women generally. How a pretty and attractive woman is defined as one also depends on whether her hair type and style suits the way she looks. Women are meant to be beautiful and her hair very much plays a pivotal role for her in being so.

Unless you are Sigourney Weaver playing Aliens, female having no hair in usual cases are not socially accepted. Being bald is probably one of women worst feared nightmare!

Hair loss and baldness
If you are one of the few women who do suffer from hair loss do take comfort in knowing and understanding that you are not by yourself going through this horrendous state. There also many women suffering from such a problem. Most if not all, were taken seriously aback and apart by hair loss and do not understand the least by bit why it is happening. For those women who do not suffer from any hair loss and baldness it is safer for you to take note and take precautions on whatever things you do to your hair!

Unlike men who suffer from baldness, there are no definite patterns in detecting female hair loss. Even when women do notice some hair loss they often relate it to a recent even such as post-pregnancy period and after having a bout of illness that can be related to hair thinning. Never try to do a self-diagnose because it is hard to be sure of the type and cause of hair loss. Worst case scenario would be finding out about it way too late for best and effective treatment. The best safe and obvious choice would be of course to consult a medical specialist for a complete evaluation and diagnosis on the cause of the problem. Would you rather throw away $50 or your pride and confidence away?

Common cause of hair loss and baldness
The most common type of hair loss for both sexes is called androgenetic alopecia or simply alopecia. This is usually an inherited problem that will affect the hair scalps and its follicles. However with this form of hair loss, women almost never develop complete baldness that occurs to men.

Females having this form of baldness can expect to see certain patterns including thinning of hair throughout the entire head with more hair loss on different parts such as the back, frontal hairline or sometimes both.

Other causes of hair loss and baldness in women include the following:

Trichotillomania
Pulling of hair with certain force. For those who like to tie their hair using pony-tail style should really take note and try not to pull with too much force. This will cause the hair bulb and follicle to uproot and losses its ability to continue to re-generate new hair.

Scarring alopecia
This condition happens when scalp hair is tightly tied persistently in cases such as braiding or corn-rowing. It is very common for an African woman to do this because it is a part of their lifestyle. Women experiencing menopause sometimes suffer from inflammation of hair follicles which in turn causes scarring of the scalps.

Traumatic alopecia
Quite clearly any shocking or traumatic action towards the hair especially the scalps can cause the hair follicle to fall into depression state. When this happens, it will suspend temporarily or totally stop its function to create new hair cells. For those who likes to chemically treat or dye their hair it is really imperative to take note what sort of chemicals goes into its formula.

Chemotherapy/radiation exposure
During treatment of certain illness such as cancer, a certain amount of radiation is being exposed to the patient. This action in turn kills the hair follicles which hold the cells that produces and generates new hair.

Telogen effluvium
Telogen effluvium is a condition where a lot of hair may fall out in a relatively short period of time. The most common causes are childbirth, high fever, severe illness and even high stress. In most cases this type of hair loss is temporary. However in certain cases when this condition is left untreated victims can expect to experience permanent hair loss.

Cures and treatments for female hair loss and baldness

First and foremost, it is a known fact that prevention is most certainly better than cure. If you notice any signs of hair loss or suspects that you are experiencing certain stage of it you should always consult a specialist.

Although there are many products that do what they claimed however no one single type of treatment is suitable for all hair loss causes. It is better to find out what treatment is most suitable. Instead of starting to ask and search for treatments and cures for hair loss, perhaps you would like to adopt a different approach. One way would be to search for ways to improve hair growth rate. What are the available treatments that can help your hair follicles to start producing longer and thicker hair? Find out ways on how to prevent hair loss and methods to ensure the virility and strengthening of hair. There are many type of treatment that can help your hair follicles to kick start the engine again and produce back the amount of hair you always had until the dreaded hair loss scenario started. Click here to see a good site explaining how to stop hair loss and why you would want to search for the correct treatment.

If you are just looking for some hair oils and shampoo just to revitalize back your dull looking hair there is something you should take note about. Many commercialized shampoos contain hazardous chemicals. This not only causes skin and scalp irritation it could also lead to hair loss. It is always safer to read and check what goes into the mixture of the shampoo before buying. Organic or herbal based shampoos are always more often than not a safer bet.