Trichologist: People who have problems with baldness are afraid of how they will be perceived by society

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Klaudia Kolasa, nazwa.gazeta.pl: In autumn, many people notice an increased amount of hair falling out. Is this a normal phenomenon or should it cause concern?

Anna Mackojć, trichologist: It may be the so-called seasonal hair loss. It usually lasts a short time, from two to three weeks. Sometimes it happens that the person experiencing it does not even have time to make an appointment with a specialist, and it goes away on its own. However, even if we no longer notice significant hair loss, it is worth going to a specialist, prevention in the case of luscious hair is extremely important, it is best to quickly find out the cause of the problem. Autumn hair loss may also be the result of mistakes and sins committed in the summer.

What are these sins?

Contact with salt water in the sea, chlorinated water in the swimming pool, lack of sun filters. Solar radiation causes the so-called Oxidative stress, i.e. the appearance of free radicals. Free radicals cause hair loss as a result of contact with UV radiation. We should now verify this loss. If the problem appears in September and does not disappear within three weeks, it should be verified. The best solution will be a visit to a trichologist and a non-invasive trichoscopic examination.

What if these are not typical holiday reasons?

These may be changes in homeostasis, e.g. stress, dietary errors, illnesses caused by high fever, vitamin deficiencies. It may also include information about disease changes: thyroid problems, hormonal problems. Hair is a mirror of our body. It is a reflection of everything that has happened or is happening in our body. He is the first to show that something is wrong, and then he is the last to get it.

What does it mean?

For example, if we have vitamin deficiencies, first the whole body, all the necessary organs will be satisfied, and only at the end, when we have an increase in useful vitamins, it will go to the hair. To sum up, hair falls out first and grows back last.

How does diet affect the condition of our hair?

Diet is extremely important. I am a fan of a traditional diet, without restrictions and eliminations. Of course, if there are medical recommendations to eliminate an ingredient, we should follow them. My words do not mean that we should eat gluten if we have celiac disease.

When it comes to hair diets, there is no single recipe. First of all, you should make sure not to eat fried things, fast food, processed products or sweets. If our diet is balanced and healthy, it can be seen in our hair. In turn, if the tests reveal vitamin deficiencies, then we should add products to our daily meals that will replenish these deficiencies.

So, drinking “liver cocktails” promoted by influencers online as a preventive measure, or taking supplements “blindly” makes no sense?

Some vitamins and minerals can be overdosed. Taking them blindly without research may cause hair loss! This is the case, for example, with vitamins from group A or too high iron levels. Sometimes better is the enemy of good.

What other mistakes do patients who come to your office make?

The most common mistake is the frequency of washing the head, i.e. how often we wash our hair and how often we should wash our hair for a given type of scalp. Moreover, we often choose the wrong shampoo. Sometimes women do not wash their hair after using hairspray or other hair styling products. It’s like going to bed with makeup on.

So how often should you wash your head?

We always wash our hair and scalp when it is needed. It’s a myth that the less often you wash your hair, the less often it becomes greasy. If the head requires washing every day, we do it every day. Sometimes a client comes to the office and says that she washes her hair once a week because her scalp is very dry. He’s making a mistake. Even if your scalp doesn’t get oily, it’s like bathing once a week for hygiene reasons. We wash our hair at least every other day. It is also important to choose the right shampoo. For the scalp – not the stem. We can choose masks, conditioners or preparations without rinsing. If we have dry scalp, we choose a moisturizing shampoo. In turn, people who have oily scalp choose a shampoo for seborrheic scalp. Note: Always wash your head twice. We wash – rinse, wash – rinse.

I think we often underestimate hair loss…

Yes definitely. I recommend prevention. Just as we do preventive cytology or blood tests, we should also visit a trichologist as a preventive measure. Some hair loss is very insidious. For example, in the case of androgenetic alopecia, negative effects appear only after two to three years. Then the therapy is definitely more arduous and requires a lot of commitment. This is very long-term work and on various levels. If we see the first symptoms of baldness, we immediately start taking action. In turn, telogen effluvium progresses quickly and patients often know right away that they need to seek help from a specialist. I also appeal not to underestimate the symptoms of alopecia areata. You can lose hair all over your head within a week or two, so if a small spot appears, we should look for the cause – not wait for it to go away on its own.

What other symptoms should we look out for?

In the case of alopecia areata, even small defects the size of a penny coin. The second symptom is excessive hair loss. What does it mean? This is the one we are starting to notice. There is no standard of one hundred hairs, it is a conventional limit, but it may look different for everyone. The amount of hair loss that is noticeable to us should be worrying. If we start to see hair on the pillow, in the bathtub, while combing, or in the sink, this is the best time to visit a trichologist.

Where do diagnostics begin then?

From trichoscopy. It is a non-invasive and painless test. It does not require any preparation. Using a camera or a microscope, we diagnose hair density, thickness, skin cell function, and the amount of sebum secretion. We show it all, collect it and create an action plan.

Do women or men come to the office more often?

Fifty fifty. We hear that men have more problems with baldness than women. This is a misconception. Women have developed a camouflage system: we can dye our hair very nicely, grow it and comb it. We often wear long hair, bangs and ponytails that camouflage the defect. Women sometimes wait longer to reach out for help.

They are often ashamed. It is not talked about much, but baldness is also very psychologically burdensome for people who experience it.

Yes, it’s very difficult mentally. People who have problems with baldness are afraid of how they will be perceived by society. Their self-esteem decreases. It happens that such people say in the office: “I can’t find a husband or wife because I’m not attractive.” Some people say they can’t find a good job because of their hair.

Can all hair loss be cured?

Unfortunately not. There are alopecias that need to be diagnosed quickly and action needs to be taken to stop them. In very advanced conditions, where work on hair density and quality has not been undertaken for years, and the person’s lifestyle has had a destructive impact on hair follicles, the work is extremely demanding. Sometimes the effect we expect is, for example, stopping the current condition at a non-worse stage, for many people this vision of therapy is beneficial. Therefore, early diagnosis is very important. The sooner we take action, the more methods and means we will be able to use together.