Alopecia in women, an unsolvable problem?

For human beings, especially for women, hair is an important element for their well-being and as a social connotation. When a woman suffers from alopecia , her social image is affected. The affectation will go through both the work environment and the sexual one.

The Psychologist and author of the essay “Psychology of clothing and adornment”, Don Gregorio Marañon, makes special mention in his studies of the sexual importance of hair. The fact of suffering alopecia psychologically affects those who suffer from it, even more so to women who look different and less attractive than those who do not suffer from it. This physical change can lead to depression and a lowering of the patient’s self-esteem.

It is common for women who suffer from alopecia (not so much men, although more and more) go to Medical Centers, often of dubious reputation, which promise miraculous results and an end to their problems. It is necessary to inform that these results are never those offered and this creates greater frustration for patients who believed their problem was solved.

Although female alopecia leads to many more social and psychological problems than hair loss in men, being less common, there is also less information and less help. It is then when you should go to a specialist in Dermatology , who will analyze the root of the problem, without promising solutions before a detailed individual study of each patient.

The causes of alopecia can be multiple, being very important to rule out a disease in the scalp, such as Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia or Lichen Planus Pilar. Diseases only detectable for a dermatology specialist.

It should be said that up to 40% of women are affected by common baldness , typically associated with men. These women are usually mostly in the perimenopausal age.

Yes, there are medical treatments to prevent hair loss such as Antiandrogens and estrogens. A treatment that is currently used in some Centers is the stimulation of the hair bulb with Platelet Activation Factors, a novel system with very good results. It consists of the use of growth factors that are extracted from the patient’s own blood.

On other occasions, a Hair Microtransplant will be necessary, when the patient does not respond to dermatological treatments. It is a minor surgery and can lead to very satisfactory results, leaving hair in natural view.