Types of Hair Loss
Hair loss, also called alopecia, is a disorder due to an interruption in the body’s cycle of hair production. Hair loss can occur anywhere on the body, but most commonly affects the scalp. On average, the scalp has 100,000 hairs that cycle through growing, resting, falling out, and regenerating periods.
A hair growth cycle consists of three phases. During the anagen phase, hair grows actively. This phase may last for years. During the catagen phase, hair stops growing and separates from its follicle, which is the structure beneath the skin that holds the hair in place. The catagen phase lasts about 10 days. During the telogen phase, the follicle rests for two or three months, and then the hair falls out. The next anagen phase begins as new hair grows in the same follicle. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle.
If this cycle is disrupted, or if a hair follicle is damaged, hair may begin to fall out more quickly than it is regenerated, leading to symptoms such as a receding hairline, hair falling out in patches, or overall thinning.
Hair loss may be linked to a person’s genetics, although many medical and behavioral conditions may interrupt the growth cycle and cause hair fall. At NYU Langone, dermatologists specialize in hair and scalp disorders and can identify the type of hair loss and its cause.
Male pattern hair loss:
Male pattern hair loss is the most common type of hair loss and balding that occurs in adult males.
Androgenetic Alopecia:
Androgenetic alopecia is a common form of hair loss in both men and women. In men, this condition is also known as male-pattern baldness
Female Pattern Hair Loss:
Female pattern baldness is women’s most common type of hair loss. Female-pattern baldness is a pattern of hair loss (alopecia) caused by hormones, aging, and genetic
Telogen Effluvium:
Telogen effluvium is a form of temporary hair fallthat usually happens several months after a person experiences a traumatic event or stress
Anagen Effluvium:
Anagen effluvium is a kind of hair loss in which hair growth is hindered during the anagen or growth phase of the hair cycle.
Alopecia Areata:
Alopecia areata: Alopecia is the medical term for bald. Areata means patchy. This patchy baldness can develop anywhere on the body, including the scalp, beard area, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits, inside your nose, or ears. The person loses all hair on the scalp, so the scalp is completely bald
Tinea Capitis:
It may cause scarring and permanent hair loss. The non-inflammatory type of tinea capitis doesn’t usually cause permanent hair loss. It can cause black dot tinea capitis, which means your child’s hair shafts break at their scalp surface.
Cicatricial Alopecia:
Scarring, or cicatricial alopecia, is an inflammatory condition that destroys hair follicles, causing scarring and permanent hair loss.
Lichen Planoplanopilaris:
Planopilaris is an uncommon inflammatory condition that can lead to permanent hair loss. Symptoms may include scaly skin and redness around hair follicles, bald patches, and pain
Discoid Lupus Erythematosus:
An autoimmune disease that affects the skin. It can lead to inflamed sores and scarring on the ears, face, and scalp. Hair fall is one symptom of the disease.
Folliculitis Decaldecalvans:
Loss caused by folliculitis decalvans, an inflammatory disorder that leads to the destruction of hair follicles, is often accompanied by redness, swelling, and lesions on the scalp that may be itchy or contain pus, known as pustules.
Dissecting Cellulitis of the Scalp:
Dissecting cellulitis of the scalp, a rare condition, causes pustules or lumps to form on the scalp.
Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia:
Frontal fibrosing alopecia typically occurs in a receding hairline pattern and may also result in hair fall in the eyebrows and underarms
Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia:
Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia may occur as a result of hair products or styling techniques that damage hair follicles.
Hair Shaft Abnormalities:
Several types of hair shaft abnormalities can lead to hair fall. These conditions cause strands of hair to thin and weaken, making them vulnerable to breaking. The loss doesn’t occur in the follicle but is a result of a break somewhere along the hair shaft, which is the visible part of a hair strand. This can result in overall thinning, as well as in many small, brittle hairs.
Loose Anagen Syndrome:
Loose anagen syndrome, which most commonly presents in young children, occurs when hair that is not firmly rooted in the follicle can be pulled out easily. Most of the time, hair falls out after it has reached an arbitrary maximum length. Children with loose anagen syndrome often cannot grow hair beyond a relatively short length. The condition more commonly affects girls with blond or brown hair
Trichotillomania:
People with trichotillomania pull their hair out and find it difficult to stop. This results in hair loss on the scalp or elsewhere on the body. The best treatment for this condition may be psychotherapy.
Traction Alopecia:
Some hairstyles, including tight ponytails and braids, pull hair away from the scalp with such force that hair strands are damaged and fall out. Unless the hairstyle is changed, traction alopecia may lead to thinning hair or bald spots. Most of the time, hair regrows after you alter the hairstyle.
Hypotrichosis:
Hypotrichosis is a rare genetic condition in which very little hair grows on the scalp and body. Babies born with this condition may have typical hair growth at first; however, their hair falls out a few months later and is replaced with sparse hair.
