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Alopecia And It's Non Pattern Forms

Sometimes among women there is confusion over the different types of alopecia hair loss and their medical names. Under causes of female hair loss, I covered the non patterned hair loss, but I did not give them their medical names.

Women actually lose more hair from other forms of non Androgenetic hair loss than men.

Below are the medical names for the most common non pattern hair loss for women.

  • Trichotillomania— compulsive hair pulling. Hair loss due to Trichotillomania is typically patchy, as compulsive hair pullers tend to concentrate the pulling in selected areas. Hair loss due to this cause cannot be treated effectively until the psychological or emotional reasons for Trichotillomania are effectively addressed.

  • Alopecia areata— a possible autoimmune disorder that causes patchy hair loss that can range from diffuse thinning to extensive areas of baldness with "islands" of retained hair. Medical examination is necessary to establish a diagnosis.

  • Triangular alopecia— loss of hair in the temporal areas that sometimes begins in childhood. Hair loss may be complete, or a few fine, thin-diameter hairs may remain. The cause of Triangular alopecia is not known, but the condition can be treated medically or surgically.

  • Scarring alopecia— hair loss due to scarring of the scalp area. Scarring alopecia typically involves the top of the scalp and occurs predominantly in women. The condition frequently occurs in African-American women and is believed to be associated with persistent tight braiding or "corn-rowing" of scalp hair. A form of Scarring alopecia also may occur in post-menopausal women, associated with inflammation of hair follicles and subsequent scarring.

  • Telogen effluvium— a common type of hair loss caused when a large percentage of scalp hairs are shifted into "shedding" phase. The causes of Telogen effluvium may be hormonal, nutritional, drug-associated, or stress-associated. Loose-anagen syndrome—a condition occurring primarily in fair-haired persons in which scalp hair sits loosely in hair follicles and is easily extracted by combing or pulling. The condition may appear in childhood, and may improve as the person ages.

  • Alopecia totalisis when you lose all your head hair. It seems to be an autoimmune disorder. Stress is a contributor to the hair loss caused by Alopecia totalis, however many people leading relatively stress-free lives have experienced the symptoms.

  • Alopecia universalis is a medical condition involving rapid loss of all hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes. It is the most severe form of Alopecia areata, with an incidence of .001% (1 in 100,000).

If you are a woman with thinning or lost scalp hair, your first necessary step is to have the condition correctly diagnosed by a physician hair restoration specialist. After a diagnosis is made, the physician will recommend an approach to effective medical or surgical treatment.

Ludwig Classification of Female Pattern Baldness

ReferencesOlsen EA (ed). Female Pattern Hair loss: Clinical Features and Potential Hormonal Factors. J Amer Acad Dermatol 2001; 45:S-70-S80. Olsen EA. Hair disorders. In: Freedberg IM et al (eds.) Fitzpatrick’s Dermatology in General Medicine, 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999:729-751.