Nourish Your Hair Like Never Before

Hair, the outgrowth of the skin is made up of keratin and is formed by a bulb like structure – hair follicle which is present in the middle layer of skin. Hair grows all over the body but presented with different thickness, colour and texture. Infants are born with fine and slender hairs called lanugo which fall off after few days of birth. Then infants have smooth fine and unpigmented hairs called vellus. At puberty, the hairs present in armpit, genital region become more pigmented and coarser. In boys, beard, hair in chest area and in limbs develop representing secondary sexual characters. 

Hair, similar to skin cells, continuously grow and shed, having its own growth cycle. Hair in each hair follicle has a group of dividing cells at the base which gets pushed upwards. In the process, it gets keratinized and pigmented. The growth cycle of hair has 3 stages – active growth phase (Anagen), transition phase (catagen) and resting phase (telogen). Each growth phases lasts for different time duration. Anagen is 2-6 years long followed by catagen of 2-3 weeks whereas telogen is approximately 100 days. Each hair follicle follows the growth phase independently where average life of hair varies between 3-5 years on a average. 

Many factors influence the hair growth cycle such as person’s health, pollution exposure, diet, hair care, medication, hormone, cleansing, living style, stress, hormonal etc… The commonly encountered different hair disorders are as follows –

1. Hair Fall: the most commonest complain heard is hair fall or shedding which might be a temporary situation provoked by any one of the factor like stress, lack of sleep, life style, exposure to strong chemical, sudden weight loss, medication, blood loss, post parturition, improper, diet or medical condition like hypothyroidism / infection/ dandruff etc… Hair fall can be checked by addressing the causative factor and following the recommended hair care guidelines of Dermatologists/ Trichologists.
2. Hair Loss: Hair loss also called as androgenic alopecia which raises lot of concern among the youth due to inherited genetic factor.   Androgenic alopecia is a patterned baldness more frequently seen in men than women. In men, the hair thinning can start either in temporal region of scalp or in frontal and vertex region of scalp or complete hair loss of scalp region whereas in women, the pattern baldness is seen in the mid-partition line of scalp region among the elder age group. Currently, Trichologists are able to address the concern with therapeutic approach as well as with dermatological procedures like transplantation and maintain the regrown hair with proper care. 
3. Premature Greying of Hair: It is also called as canities where greying of hair starts happening before 16 years of age. Foe some people, it might be genetic. The pigment cell (melanocyte) associated with hair follicle ceases or reduces the melanosome production. 
4. Dandruff: It is referred to the dry, itchy, flakes of scalp skin which sheds in faster rate representing the inflammation or other conditions which triggers the hair fall whereas Dandruff itself is never the cause of hair fall/loss. Treatment of dandruff helps in controlling the hair fall/loss. 
5. Hirsuitism: Hirsuitism is also referred to excessive hair growth in women due to higher levels of androgen or menopause related hormonal changes or other medical conditions like POCS / medication. The hairs are coarser, thicker, and darker which grows on face, chest, upper arms, back, lower abdomen or upper legs. Trichologist treats the condition either through medication or laser procedure depending upon the severity. 
6. Eyebrow Hair Loss: It is referred to thinning of hair or patches with missing hair is seen in eye brow region. Men and women, both can be affected either in one or both eyes. Sometimes, skin conditions like autoimmune disorder such as alopecia areata can cause eye brow hair loss. Treating the causative factors helps in checking the condition. 
7. Beard Alopecia: It is related to hair loss in beard region where own immune system is acting against own body, here hair follicle in skin. Bald patches in circular shape appears in beard area. Treatment objective is to prevent this auto-attack and influence the hair re-growth. Trichologist analyses the skin condition and recommends the treatment options.