Category: Hair Loss

Alopecia is a general term for hair loss. There are many reasons for hair loss, ranging from stress, to drug reactions, pregnancy and many more. However, today we are talking about the autoimmune disorder alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to fall out. This hair loss usually presents as clumps that vary in shape and size. It can be confined to one area but can also be in multiple areas. There are many variables for different people. For some people, the hair will grow back permanently; for others, it will come back and fall out again, while for some, it simply will not grow back.

There are many things you need to know about alopecia. This article explores who can get alopecia, the different types of alopecia, the symptoms, the diagnosis, and how to treat it.

Who can get alopecia?

In short, anyone can develop a form of alopecia. Hair or skin colour does not significantly impact your predisposition to any type of alopecia. Around one in 50 people will experience some form of alopecia in their lifetime. For context, this translates to around 150 million people worldwide. So if you have alopecia, you certainly aren’t alone! People are usually first affected after the age of ten and generally before the age of 40.

Types of alopecia areata – the disease

There are a number of different types of alopecia areata, which reflect just how varying hair loss can be in location and amount.

• Alopecia areata totalis refers to loss of hair on the entirety of your head and is seen in about 5% of alopecia sufferers.
• Alopecia areata universalis is the loss of hair on the entirety of your body, as you might imagine. This is very uncommon, appearing in less than 1% of people with alopecia.
• Diffuse alopecia areata is a sudden thinning of your hair rather than lost patches.
• Ophiasis alopecia areata is when hair loss occurs on top of the head. This leaves a band shape around the sides and back of your head and is seen commonly in men.

Alopecia areata symptoms

Hair loss is the most common symptom of alopecia areata and is often the only symptom. There are a number of indicators that you might be suffering from alopecia. They include small bald patches on any body part, which sometimes get larger and join each other into a larger bald section. Sometimes you might lose a lot of hair in a short space of time, which can be in different parts of the body. Often the hair loss will increase in colder weather.

Symptoms outside of hair loss can include changes to your fingernails and toenails, such as brittleness and redder colour. They might also become rough or lose their shine. Despite no rash or redness in the skin, it is common to feel itching, tingling or even a burning sensation just before the hair falls out.

There are also some signs within your hair itself that can indicate alopecia. These can include:

• Exclamation mark hairs. These get narrower at the bottom and appear around the edges of bald patches.
• White hairs. Which grow in bald areas.
• Cadaver hairs. Which split before growing through the surface of the skin.

Roughly 30% of people with alopecia will eventually see their hair loss become extensive or even fall out and regrow in a continuous cycle. Whilst nearly half of the people who develop alopecia will see their hair return in full within a year, the other end of the spectrum sees hair not returning at all. Around 10% of people with alopecia will eventually develop alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis.

Alopecia areata causes

As an autoimmune disease – which refers to your immune system attacking your body – alopecia attacks your hair follicles. Alopecia is believed to be a genetic disease. As such, those with relatives who have alopecia are more likely to have the condition themselves. In addition, people with down syndrome, seasonal allergies or asthma are also more likely to have alopecia.

Alopecia can also be caused by stress and hormonal factors. For example, significant physical or emotional stress can lead to thinning in the hair or even hair loss in patches. In many such cases, hair will grow back within a few months. Pregnancy, childbirth and menopause also lead to alopecia quite often.

Other factors such as burns or injury can cause alopecia. Iron or protein deficiency, excess Vitamin A intake, and even rapid weight loss are all factors that can lead to alopecia.

There are some myths about hair loss as well. No, having dandruff or wearing hats will not cause you to lose your hair; it is not a form of cancer, and it is NOT contagious!

Alopecia diagnosis

You should see a dermatologist if you think you have any form of alopecia. This way, you can discuss your symptoms with an expert, who will go through the relevant processes. These can include testing how easily hair comes out of your skin, checking your fingernails, or in rare cases, performing a biopsy. This is the removal and study of a small section of your skin.

But generally speaking, diagnosing alopecia is a very straightforward process. Biopsies and further tests are rare because alopecia symptoms are so distinctive that doctors can usually diagnose it without further extensive examination.

Alopecia treatment

Alopecia areata cannot be cured, but it can be managed with the right treatment. The good news is it’s possible you grow back hair that has fallen out.

There are a number of different medications and treatments that can help with alopecia in general. Hair can be regrown because the hair follicles are still alive in an alopecia patient. Specific medications are designed to stimulate hair growth. These vary significantly in the treatment process, and you should consult your doctor about any potential treatments you are considering.

When the hair loss is significant or repetitive, topical immunotherapy is a common treatment. This is a unique process in which chemicals are applied to the scalp to cause a type of allergic reaction. Success is when the treatment reaction causes the hair to grow back. Of course, this varies from patient to patient and alopecia type.

Get in touch

Need to treat your hair loss or need an alopecia diagnosis? You can contact us at the ENRICH Clinic by calling 03 9500 9500 or visiting our contact page. We provide a lot of information and high-quality hair loss treatments.

Hair falls out for many reasons; perhaps your thyroid is suffering, you’ve just given birth, your iron levels are too low, or indeed you are experiencing pattern baldness that you’ve long been expecting. 

Men and women both experience hair loss, sometimes for the same reasons and sometimes not, so working out why your hair is falling out is an important first step to course-correcting. 

Hair may fall out slowly or in clumps, offering clues as to what’s going on in your body, so don’t ignore hair loss and hope it’ll stop or go away by itself; it may get worse and worse, causing irreparable damage to hair follicles. Treatment is easier and more effective during early hair loss. 

Make an appointment with a specialist hair loss dermatologist now

Hair loss is frequently a long-lasting state, so the earlier you catch it, the more effectively you can interrupt the process causing the hair to fall out. Book in with a specialist hair loss dermatology clinic like ENRICH Clinic in Melbourne sooner rather than later to be assessed. 

It can be easy to be in denial about hair loss – it usually occurs slowly, so it isn’t dramatic and doesn’t spur you on to action when you’re pretending it isn’t happening. When you first notice hair falling out, it is the right time to try to stop hair loss in its tracks, preserve follicles, or undergo treatment for a medical condition.

Not all hair loss is challenging to reverse; for example, pregnancy-related female hair loss isn’t the same as male pattern baldness. The hair loss after giving birth is related to the drop in oestrogen, while male pattern baldness is related to an abundance of a specific type of testosterone, which harms head-hair follicles (but paradoxically can contribute to extra facial and body hair growth). 

Hair growth treatments for men and women – Melbourne

There are several treatments for hair loss, with a combination of treatments usually applied to a patient depending on their hair loss circumstances. 

Some hair regrowth treatments include: 

• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) hair treatment
• Minoxidil hair cream
• Hormone therapies
• Hair transplants (which we do not perform at ENRICH Clinic)

Understanding PRP for hair loss in men and women

PRP is a treatment for hair loss that involves first drawing blood, separating the plasma and platelets, and then injecting the platelet-rich plasma into a particular site on the body, in this case, the scalp. 

PRP has an excellent track record and some solid science behind it for many medical treatments involving healing or rebuilding tissue, such as wound healing. However, individual results vary for PRP hair regrowth, and patients usually require more than one treatment for the best results. 

What is PRP?

The platelets in PRP are activated and release numerous growth factors: blood vessel growth factors, skin cell growth factors, and other important cell stimulating properties. The growth factors released from the platelets act on stem cells in the bulge area (base) of follicles, encouraging the development of and promoting blood supply to new follicles. The result is a new, healthy hair follicle growing a strong hair. 

After PRP treatments, patient satisfaction is very high, and researchers believe that PRP could replace some other standard hair-loss treatments. 

PRP is a low-risk, effective treatment for alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder characterised by sudden patchy hair loss across the body. Alopecia areata is a complex condition with no cure. 

What is Minoxidil hair cream?

We first heard of Minoxidil as a medication for high blood pressure, with a ‘side effect’ of extra hair growth (hypertrichosis). This discovery led to the hair cream being developed as a male and female pattern baldness treatment with scientific backing. 

Topical minoxidil hair cream is one of the leading hair regrowth treatments for men and women with androgenic alopecia, hair loss caused by androgens. It is still not clearly understood exactly how minoxidil works, but it works well for many suffering hair loss. 

The combinaton of Minoxidil and PRP

With these two mainstay treatments, we can not only encourage new hair follicles to develop and produce a hair, but we can interrupt the process that caused the hair loss in the first place in pattern baldness – the effect of androgens on the hair follicle. 

The combination of treatments results in a scenario where follicles have the best chance of surviving and keeping hair on the head. 

Other causes of hair loss

• Hormonal changes (pregnancy, childbirth, menopause)
• Medical conditions (thyroid, nutrient deficiencies)
• Hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania)
• Scalp infections (ringworm)
• Medication (for cancer, arthritis, depression, cardiovascular disease, gout, high blood pressure)
• Radiation therapy to the scalp
• Stress and emotional shock
• Hair treatments and certain hairstyles that pull on the hair

How to get help for hair loss in men and women

Because the same underlying mechanisms drive not all hair loss, it’s important to be thoroughly assessed before jumping to any conclusions about your hair loss. Make an appointment with a specialist at ENRICH Clinic, and we’ll carefully work through your circumstances and health history to see what’s going on and what we can do about it. 

Importantly, denial here is not your friend! We will take great care of you, and if you feel uncomfortable about what your hair loss might mean, talk to us. We can help reassure you in terms of treatments, especially when we catch it early. You’re in the best hands. 

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Looking at the mass of hair in the plughole after a shower or bath may be alarming. It’s normal to lose a certain amount of head hairs per day; everyone is different. The number will vary per person depending on how many hairs there were to start with and what is going on in your body.

To understand what’s normal and what’s concerning, we should take a minute to understand a little about hair growth cycles.

Hair growth has four separate stages

1. The anagen phase lasts 3-5 years; head hair grows at about an inch per month, faster in summer than winter; one hair may grow for seven years and up to a metre long.
2. The catagen phase is a transitional phase that lasts about ten days, where the follicle shrinks and detaches from its base – but stays put.
3. The telogen phase lasts about three months with the hair still in your head, but the follicle unattached. The follicle takes a well-deserved rest during this time.
4. The exogen phase is where the independent, single hair is finally released from its follicle and falls out, with a new hair pushing up from underneath. That’s where you see it coming out in the shower.

How much hair loss is normal in the shower?

Estimates have it that on average we lose between 80 and 150 hairs per day (depending on what source you use). However, this number comes with a few assumptions attached that don’t necessarily help you to figure out if your rate of hair loss is reasonable for you.

First, we are assuming that the average scalp contains 100,000 hairs, because someone did a study once, and that was the nice round figure they decided on.

Secondly, 10 per cent of this hair is in the resting phase (telogen phase) at any given time.

That’s two big assumptions that we cannot be sure are true for you.

The 80-150 figure also doesn’t differentiate between different age groups, men and women, or different ethnic backgrounds. While this is a popular number to throw around, it is not scientifically validated. In fact, it’s painting everyone with a very broad brush.

Without diving into hair counting research, let’s dive into how you can accurately count your hairs and see what’s normal for you.

What is the 60-second hair count?

A newer formula exists that uses the 60-second hair count for assessing shedding hair. It was developed by researchers who asked 60 white men with full heads of hair, no sign of balding, to undertake a special shampoo regime and then comb their hair forward over a towel for 60 seconds, for three consecutive days. They all had the same combs and the same shampoo.

Who shed what hairs in the experiment:

• Men aged 20-40 shed 0-78 hairs – an average loss of 10.2 hairs per 60-second test
• Men aged 41-60 shed 0-43 hairs – an average loss of 10.3 hairs per 60-second test
• When repeated six months later, the test results were much the same

This research establishes that the 60-second hair count is a reliable indicator of average hair loss in healthy white men without signs of balding. The studies must be completed now for different age groups (children, teenagers, elderly), people of colour, and women.

In the meantime, we can use this strategy at home to determine what is normal for you. You should do this test when you don’t suspect that you are losing your hair, to get a baseline for you. In saying that, it will be useful to count your hairs lost regardless of the reason. It is still useful information.

How to do the 60-second hair count at home

Remember, this was a scientific experiment on men with relatively short hair. They were not using conditioner or styling their hair. The conditions they were in were consistent, which kept the trial the same amongst them all and provided consistent results.

You can adapt this however you like, but stay consistent whatever you do.

Repeating the experiment at home

Shampoo and condition your hair, and comb it thoroughly – the most hairs will come out during the shampoo phase, so don’t count these hairs. For the next three days before you wash your hair, lean over a towel and comb your hair from your neck scalp line towards the towel. Tip: choose a towel that has a colour that contrasts with your hair colour, making the strands easier to count

Count the hairs and record the number. Wash hair again.

Repeat for two more days, to make three consecutive hair-counting days in total, washing the hair every day. See how you fit in with the age groups above. Repeat the experiment in six months for comparison.

Why we notice hair shedding in the shower or bath

If you’ve ever seen hair under a microscope, you can see that it has keratin scales. When you wash your hair with shampoo, these scales flare out a little, which makes your hair feel a bit knotty until you run conditioner through it.

The conditioner smooths these keratin scales down, so the hair seems thinner and smoother. This process makes it easy to comb – and easy for hairs to come loose.

You’ll recognise the fluffiness that comes after freshly-washed hair dries, which is those keratin scales, flared. Dry hair also knots together more than wet hair, as the keratin is no longer quite as smooth – the little scales are like barbs that catch on each other, creating a tangle.

It’s this detangling, like getting your hair wet or conditioning it, that allows loose hairs (and if you’re rough, any that were needing a nudge) to fall out.

There are a few reasons that it may seem like lots of hair is falling out in the shower, including:

• Your hair has lots of styling products in it between washes (hairs stick together instead of falling out)
• You’ve been styling, treating or colouring your hair aggressively, and hair is breaking off
• Your hair is falling out (can occur in thyroid conditions, after chemotherapy, balding, pregnancy, stress, certain health conditions)

Types of hair loss

There are several causes of hair loss, with the most common being androgenic alopecia – that is, male or female pattern baldness which occurs due to the influence of testosterone on hair follicles. We manage this form of hair loss with several forms of treatment as is appropriate for the person. This hair loss can start right after puberty in men, but in women, it tends to start much later in life when androgens become the dominant hormone in menopause.

Alopecia areata is another form of hair loss related to an autoimmune condition. Tinea Capitis is a fungus that infects the scalp, causing hair loss, particularly in children. There are a handful of rarer causes of hair loss, which is why it’s important to never ignore hair loss even if you think it’s genetic and was bound to happen. If you address is sooner rather than later, we can do much more with better results.

What to do if you are losing your hair

The most important thing to do is to see your doctor to discuss your hair loss, and this is not for vanity purposes, but to establish the underlying cause.

If you are in a low-risk group (i.e. a young woman) and start losing your hair in clumps, you will need to be tested to figure out why so much hair is falling out (if it’s not apparent, e.g. pregnancy).

If you are in a high-risk group (i.e. a 45-year-old man) and start losing your hair, it could be male pattern balding and part of you growing into your older self. Don’t be complacent, though – men are just as capable of being under extreme stress or developing a thyroid condition as women.

See your doctor or dermatologist at ENRICH Clinic to be assessed and treatment options laid out. This assessment is particularly relevant if the extra hair loss seems sudden or the hair on your scalp becomes patchy.

If you are experiencing predictable hair loss, we have some effective treatments that work best when caught early and in certain conditions. We can assess and recommend a direction that will suit your particular need.

Contact us for a consultation

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Hair loss in men and women can be treated using platelet-rich plasma (PRP). We use your own plasma (blood) for these hair-loss cures, which, whilst it sounds a little unconventional, PRP has had success in treating partial baldness effectively.

Can baldness be cured?

Research shows that PRP may play a beneficial role in hair regrowth in people with pattern hair loss. The hair-growth results are clinically significant in trials, meaning yes, PRP for hair regrowth works. How well it works in each person is variable, however.

The ‘magical baldness cure’ is still being developed, and treatments so far are not absolute, but PRP shows promise in at least regaining at least some head hair for those experiencing balding. This means PRP can help with partial baldness but not complete baldness. Of course, hair transplants are an option, but they too depend on what hair you have available for transplant. We do not do hair transplants at ENRICH Clinic.

The process of PRP injections as a hair loss  treatment

First, we draw some blood from your arm, about 18ml. This blood is put into a centrifuge, which separates out the important elements in the blood. The concentration of platelets is increased in the plasma by removal of other blood elements such as white and red blood cells. This results in platelet-rich plasma.

The platelets are then activated using a special added ingredient into the plasma – calcium. Inactive platelets won’t do anything, but activated platelets secrete growth factors that have an impact on local cells. This is how PRP works within your cells to regenerate whatever cells are nearby. In this case, it’s head hair follicles.

You’ll need several treatments, 30 days apart, and follow-up treatments as needed. Results may start to taper off at about 14 months after the last treatment.

Results of PRP hair loss cures – is this a true hair loss cure?

In PRP baldness trials, hair density increased, with the number of hairs per square millimetre of the scalp increasing. The thickness of the scalp also increased, along with a slight increase in the number of blood vessels to the area.

After three months, hair should start to regrow, and be thicker.

It’s important to note that the centrifuge being used for PRP hair loss cures matters, since a high-quality machine gets more platelets per blood sample. Talk to your cosmetic dermatologist at ENRICH about this at your appointment. The centrifuge really matters for this hair loss treatment, so demand only the best.

Need more proof? Check out the science behind PRP as a baldness cure.

Side-effects of the PRP hair loss cure

PRP as a hair loss treatment is very well tolerated and side-effects are rare.

What sorts of baldness can be treated with PRP? Is PRP a true baldness cure?

There are a few different types of baldness, with PRP hair-regrowth cures focusing on male pattern baldness and autoimmune-related hair loss. Androgenic alopecia (baldness in men and menopausal women) is due to the damage that certain androgens (male-type hormones) have on hair follicles. In a nutshell, androgens kill hair follicles in susceptible people.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that causes the loss of hair across the body. PRP treatment studies involving patients affected with Alopecia are producing good results.

Baldness is men, in particular, is extremely common, however baldness in women is less discussed. Around 80 per cent of men will experience some balding across their lifetime, while 40 per cent of women will. PRP can treat baldness in men and women.

Typically drug therapies are recommended for hair loss, however these act to block androgens throughout the whole body, which has secondary effects that can be unpleasant. Hair transplants may also be recommended, but the same issues that affect the current hair follicles will also affect the new transplants.

In PRP, new, healthy hair follicles are stimulated to grow a hair, and the health of the scalp in supporting these hairs is improved.

How is PRP helps control baldness

Growth factors released in activated platelets trigger regeneration of cells, which provides the baldness cure of PRP. This occurs naturally in the body after trauma, like a cut or scrape or broken bone. The platelets send signals to other cells nearby to jump into action to repair the damaged site.

The theory is that growth factors released from platelets act on the follicles, stimulating new follicle development and a fresh blood supply. Interactions between cells and the growth factors active the growing phase of hair follicles, which will later produce a new hair.

Got questions? Check out PRP cure for baldness FAQ.

Why do we lose our hair and how does this factor into a baldness cure? Can baldness be cured?

It’s important to understand the hair growth cycle when we’re talking hair loss and hair loss cures. There is a specific change in the hair growth cycles in balding whereby the growth and stability of a hair are interrupted. It is also important to understand that everyone is unique and can have different reactions to treatments from extreme to mild.

Hair growth cycles in normal and bald people

1. Anagen phase
2. Catagen phase
3. Telogen phase

Baldness treatments – the anagen phase

This phase of the hair growth cycle lasts about 3-5 years, with head hair growing about an inch per month, while hair grows faster in summer than winter. A full head of long hair may reach up to 30 inches. The anagen phase is usually longer in Asians, where one hair can grow for as long as seven years and grow up to a metre long.

Baldness treatments – the catagen phase

When the anagen phase of your hair growth cycle ends, the catagen phase starts. This phase is about 10 days long, and is a transitional phase.

Baldness treatments – the Telogen phase

The telogen phase is where your hair is released and falls out. The follicle it fell from then has a period of rest for a few months, and then it starts all over again. All your hair follicles are independent operators, having their growth cycles at different times, keeping your head constantly full of hair.

The hair growth cycle means you always have hair on your head, and shed some hair each day. It’s normal to lose about 80 hairs off your head each day.

The interruption of the hair growth cycles and how this causes baldness

The skin problems trans people bring to dermatology are not unique by themselves, but they can appear for unique reasons, specifically when hormones are being used.

For example, trans men often suffer from acne and hair loss due to testosterone treatments – testosterone directly stimulates skin cells to produce sebum, resulting in blocked pores and more acne, sometimes severe, while also affecting hair follicles, causing hair loss. The reversal of this is trans women who end up with dry skin due to the antiandrogenic effects of oestrogen therapy.

Trans men and women may not turn up at a dermatology clinic without great psychological effort, since explaining oneself to a new, unknown doctor can be extremely daunting. At ENRICH’s dermatology clinic in Melbourne, we welcome everybody and will work with you as an individual on your skin concerns.

Main dermatology concerns of trans men who take hormone therapy

Treating acne in trans men

For trans men taking testosterone, acne is a very common side-effect that requires then another treatment to alleviate or manage, often medication or skin treatments, or both. All men are treated the same way, since no acne treatment in men blocks testosterone. We use light, lasers, and topical treatments for our acne patients, with good success rates. We have quite a few options up our sleeves for acne treatments, with the goal to avoid future breakouts and scarring.

Treating male pattern hair loss in trans men

Many androgenic alopecia treatments for men contain testosterone blockers, which isn’t an option for men undergoing testosterone-based hormone treatments. Some patients will need to wait until they have got to their desired outcomes of changes before going on certain drugs, as they are not all appropriate and will actively block testosterone. We also have PRP, which is used for everyone when it comes to hair loss, since it works separately to hormones directly on the hair follicle’s own little mini hair production system.

Treating dry skin in trans women

Because of the antiandrogenic effects of oestrogen, women undergoing oestrogen therapies may experience dry skin as the testosterone-fuelled sebum dries up. This may self-regulate, but it can be an ongoing issue that can require special care and extra treatments or barrier moisturisers.

Treating incomplete body and facial hair loss in trans women

Body and facial hair will typically fall out once oestrogen therapy begins, but it may be incomplete, leaving some hair remaining, sometimes in very conspicuous places like the face. This can be inconvenient, with laser hair removal a good option for removing this hair in a long-lasting way.

Changing the face to fit the person – trans men and women

Masculinising or feminising the face can be achieved with non-invasive neuromodulators or dermal fillers, and in some cases, cosmetic surgery. There are a lot of non-surgical options to explore with your cosmetic dermatologist, so give us a call to make time for a consultation.

We welcome everyone!
Contact our Melbourne dermatology clinic for an appointment

Women lose their hair too, but it’s not talked about the same way men’s hair loss is. This is because it can be harder to see in women, but also because the causes and treatments are less well known. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an emerging treatment for hair loss in both genders, with some great results in women.

(Read more about PRP here.)

Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is quite different to male pattern hair loss (MPHL), with men losing hair all over the scalp, but women’s tending to thin out and be patchy in areas. Transplant surgery is not necessarily a viable option for women who are losing their hair, which is where PRP can step in to successfully fill the gap of thinning hair.

Causes of hair loss in women:

• Hormonal changes
• Pregnancy
• Genetic factors
• Menopause
• Stress
• Chemotherapy
• Thyroid conditions
• Anaemia
• Autoimmune conditions
• Psoriasis
• Skin conditions
• Chemical damage (styling chemicals, etc.)

No surgery, no drugs, no ointments: PRP solution to female hair loss

PRP treatments use the stem cells in your own blood to stimulate hair follicles to grow. This is a complex mechanism of transporters and growth factors and stimulators whereby the follicle is instructed to grow a hair. This occurs after the follicle got the previous message to stop growing hairs, the mechanism of which we’re not entirely sure.

PRP is injected all over the scalp, where research has shown that after several treatments and many months (hair grows slow), new hair starts to grow. This helps to stop further hair loss, increases the number of hairs per centimetre, and thus causes the hair to thicken. The effect can be quite dramatic when the process is successful. It’s better to start PRP earlier rather than later for best results. It can take up to six months to start seeing results, but you can start to see results in as little as two months.

The injections can cause a little bit of swelling, bruising and possibly a tiny bit of bleeding, but this heals up quickly.

PRP has been used for years in sports medicine, cosmetics, and orthopaedics, with the most recent exposure being a Kardashian sister purporting the benefits of her ‘vampire facial’ – that is, PRP injections across the face as an anti-ageing treatment. (We offer these treatments at our Melbourne clinic.) Now, hair loss in women and men may be the latest and greatest way that PRP helps us retain our lovely locks.

PRP isn’t a one-stop-shop treatment for all hair loss in all people – it’s not for everyone. Speak to your cosmetic dermatologist who can help you determine the cause of your hair loss and establish the best treatment strategies for you.

We have female hair-loss treatments.
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We associate grey hair with getting older (despite the trend currently for young people to dye their hair silver or grey). But why do we go grey in the first place, and is there a way to stop it?

Whilst there is no cure for grey hair (aside from hair dye!) ENRICH Clinic is home to several anti-ageing and rejuvenation techniques to keep you looking and feeling young.

Medical researchers have identified the elements our hair shaft matrix comes from, which appear to be specific to the hair shaft, not to normal follicle cells. A certain growth factor then causes the necessary stem cells to be produced that cause hair to have pigmentation – these factors maintain the melanocytes, our melanin-producing (pigment) cells that cause both tanning, dark skin, and hair colour. When this factor is depleted, hair growth stops and hair turns grey.

Another way hair turns grey is due to oxidative stress to the melanocyte stem cell or at a particular point in the hair melanocyte, which can cause death of the melanocyte. This means no pigment is produced, resulting in a grey hair.

Certain genetic mutations (like those seen in Chediak-Higashi syndrome) and ageing reduce and downregulate some antioxidants, which results in more melanocyte malfunction and death.

There is also a gene involved in grey hair, which is a gene involved with the storage and production of melanin.

Does this mean if we eat more antioxidants, we won’t go grey?

Not exactly. The only ‘therapy’ designed for greying hair is to dye it or let it go for it, which could be argued are not treatments or cures at all. These gene pathways may prove a good starting point for figuring out how to stop or slow the greying process.

What about platelet-rich plasma?

PRP treatments are being used as a novel hair-loss treatment, with some physicians reporting a reversal of greying in those whose scalps have been injected with PRP, however the results are not universal. There are currently no published studies regarding PRP as a treatment for greying hair, nor any other growth factors for that matter, though watch this space.

We do PRP scalp treatments for hair loss.
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