The finer and softer the hair, the more prone it is to falling out? Hair loss is due to physical weakness and requires major tonics? Frequent use of hair masks can make hair more resilient? Summer is a "black season" for those with hair loss, and there are certainly many questions about hair. Everyone's constitution and the cause of hair loss are not the same, so it cannot be generalized. However, the principle of "relax, get more rest, eat less sweets and greasy food, and quit smoking and drinking" is generally applicable to those with hair loss.
Identification
Check the amount of hair loss upon waking and after washing
"Hair loss is not scary. I've had it myself. The key is to treat it in time and be good at maintaining the status quo." Xian Guowei, who is famous for treating hair loss nationwide, is over 70 years old. Although he has white hair, it is very dense. Xian Guowei introduced that under normal circumstances, everyone loses hair, about 70 to 100 strands per day, but patients with hair loss disorders shed much more. "There is a way to identify it: when you wake up and after washing your hair, see if you are losing significantly more hair than before."
Clinically, the most common types of hair loss are alopecia areata and seborrheic alopecia. "Patients with alopecia areata are of all ages, while patients with seborrheic alopecia are mostly young people," Xian Guowei said. In recent years, hair loss has become more and more common, especially among people in their twenties and thirties, with the youngest patients being under 20 years old. The degree of hair loss in patients in their 20s may vary; some people's hair changes from thick to thin and from dense to sparse, while others have obvious local hair loss.
According to reports, the most common sites of hair loss in men are the sides of the forehead and the top of the head, with the frontal hairline receding in a V-shape or a "bald spot" in the shape of the Mediterranean on the top of the head. In adult women, especially after childbirth, in addition to the two types mentioned above, the overall amount of hair decreases, appearing sparse.
Causes
Seventy to eighty percent of alopecia areata patients are due to liver and kidney deficiency
From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, liver and kidney deficiency, qi and blood deficiency, blood deficiency with wind-dryness, and liver depression and blood stasis can all cause alopecia areata, with liver and kidney deficiency being the most common, accounting for about 70 to 80 percent of patients. Alopecia areata caused by liver and kidney deficiency has its own patterns. "Patients usually have dry, yellow, or grayish hair. When the condition occurs, hair falls out in large, even patches. In severe cases, all body hair, including eyebrows, can fall out completely. Some have a family history of hair loss." According to Xian Guowei, patients of this type often experience symptoms such as soreness in the lower back and knees, dizziness, tinnitus, spermatorrhea, insomnia with many dreams, aversion to cold with cold limbs, etc.
Female patients with alopecia areata are mostly of the qi and blood deficiency type. This is especially true for postpartum women, who experience progressive hair loss. The area of hair loss becomes larger and larger, the scalp becomes shiny and soft, and residual hair can be seen scattered in the bald areas, but it falls out with a light touch. At the same time, patients will have pale lips, palpitations, mental fatigue, shortness of breath, reluctance to speak, dizziness, blurred vision, drowsiness, or insomnia. Some men may also become this type of patient after a serious illness or a long-term illness.
In addition, the blood deficiency with wind-dryness type of alopecia areata is characterized by sudden hair loss in patches, sometimes with scalp itching or a feeling of heat in the head. Patients are often irritable and prone to anger. In individual cases, both eyebrows and beards fall out. The liver depression and blood stasis type is characterized by headaches, scalp pricking, or chest pain before hair loss occurs. Patients often have nightmares, irritability, insomnia, and are full of anxiety. In severe cases, it can lead to total alopecia.