Hi, welcome to the post three of my blog. This time I
will talk about the types of hair and hormones influencing the hair. Not
everyone will get this condition, but there are several people that have it and
didn’t know the trigger of the condition, so I want to share some of my
education for you guys.
There are 3 classifications of
hair:
The first one is terminal hair, it is our hair that
grows on our head, in pubic and axillae region and for some people it might be
in all part of your body. It is controlled by androgen hormones therefore it
often called as androgenic hair.
The second type is vellus hair and it usually called
as “peach fuzz”. It is soft, fluffy, short and fine and can be found all over
the body, during puberty it can turn into intermediate or terminal hair.
The last one is the lanugo hair, it is the downy hair
when we were a baby and it will slowly replace by vellus and terminal hair.
There are several hormones that
can affect the hair growth:
·
Androgen
It is a primary hormone regulating the hair growth in
our body. The main function is to change the villous hair into terminal hair in
certain areas post puberty. The imbalance may cause some conditions.
·
Estrogen
It is the dominant female hormone and can cause
telogen effluvium in pregnant women because the excess of this hormone. It
causes shedding of hair spontaneously by changing the anagen hair into telogen
stage. It can return to normal when the oestrogen level is back to normal.
·
Testosterone
It is the main male androgen hormone, it is converted
via enzyme 5a-reductase into dihydrotestosterone which has the higher affinity
compared to testosterone. It can be the precursor of hair loss in men.
·
Prolactin
The excess of this hormone may cause hair loss such as
hyperprolactinemia which cause progressive pattern hair loss due to the
increase free testosterone level and it stimulates testosterone secretion in
Lutenizing Hormone receptors.
·
Cortisone
It is a hormone produced in adrenal cortex to reduce
inflammatory and as anti-allergy. It is known as stress hormone as it is
produced in response to acute stress.
·
Thyroid
It is a hormone secreted by endocrine gland located in
the neck. Both hypo- and hyperthyroidism may cause hair loss and may normalize
after stabilizing the hormone.
·
Insulin
This is hormones that use sugar from our diet to be
stored as energy. The imbalance of this type of hormones may slow down the hair
growth and causing hair loss. Often seen in people who had diabetes and the
condition is called alopecia areata.
·
Growth hormone
It is a hormone produced in pituitary gland that used
in metabolism and aid in hair growth development.
How androgen changing the hair
follicles:
·
It
alters the particular cell activity (epithelial matrix cell) diving
capabilities
·
It
also determines if the hair should differentiate into medulla
·
Alter
Melanin production and melanocytes ability to transfer melanin
·
Changing
the size of dermal sheath of the hair to increase the follicle size
·
The
appearance of androgen receptors in dermal papilla and dermal papilla
·
Enlarge
sebaceous gland and the production of the sebum
There are some hair conditions
regarding to hormone changes: (WARNING upsetting image may be presented)
·
Androgenic Alopecia
It is a male pattern hair loss that is induced by
androgen stimulation and it is genetically predisposed (hereditary) both in
women and men. It is the common cause of hair loss shown as transition of
terminal hair follicles into miniaturized hair follicles (from terminal into
vellus hair) and the shortening of the anagen phase
·
Alopecia Areata
It is a hair loss in a round pattern caused by
autoimmune disease (genetic or stress). Usually characterized by hair loss in
the scalp, face, or body and may grow back if the stress is reduced.
·
Telogen Effluvium
It is hair loss caused by endocrine system (hyperthyroidism
or hypothyroidism), stress, certain drugs, organ dysfunction, nutritional
problem and disorder of the hair cycle. It is more common in women and the loss
would not be more than 50% of the hair in scalp.
·
Hypertrichosis
It is the excessive hair growth of terminal hair,
often found in women (as Hirsutism) and caused by the increase of the androgen
hormone level. Mostly affect premenopausal women and can be linked to PCOS
(Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).
·
Hirsutism
Excessive hair (coarse and terminal) that is present
in woman only in the androgen dependent site. It can also happen to men because
the excess of the androgen dependent hair usually around upper chin, chest,
inner thighs, back and abdomen. It caused by excess androgen or certain
medication. PCOS may be associated.
·
PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Disease)
It is a genetically complex endocrine and metabolic
disorder in women of reproductive age. It is hard to diagnose and a thorough
diagnostic is needed (biochemical testing for excess androgen hormone,
anovulation and ultrasound of the ovaries). The clinical presentations of this
condition are oligomenorrhoea (light or irregular menstruation), overweight,
risk of having Type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypernadrogenism that can lead to
acne and hirsutism. This can be prevented with weight loss, using oral
contraceptive pill for irregular menstruation, hair reduction methods, skin
management and medication for hirsutism with oral contraceptive pill to reduce
androgen level.
·
Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB)
It is commonly affects African-American population,
especially in tight curly hair. It can occur when they experienced cut in the
areas and induced an inflamed reaction or so called ‘razor bumps’ caused by
shaving. The area affected usually around the face and neck. It present with follicular
erythema (redness), hyperpigmented papules and pustules, and secondary
infection may be present. It is a hereditary condition and can be treated with
good technique of shaving, Nd:YAG laser and a home care routine.
·
Acne Keloidalis Nuchae (AKN)
It is characterized by chronic folliculitis and
scarring. It occurs due to the hair shaft trapped inside the connective tissue
and causes inflammation. The severity may increase causing a mass of hairless
keloid type lesion and can lead to secondary infection. This condition mainly
affects man and often seen in scalp and posterior region of neck. It affects
person in all races and commonly on men, post puberty, before 50 years and
around 14-25 years old. The treatment including laser hair removal with effective
cooling system, sunscreen, topical or systemic antibiotic such as
Corticosteroid, Oral antibiotic and mild topical isotretinoin cream, CO2 laser
if its severe, and intra-lesional steroid injections can be beneficial.
·
Dissecting Cellulitis
It is the inflammation of the hair follicle caused by
infection. It appears with flesh colour with a painful nodular shape mostly on
the scalp. The treatment includes laser therapy for treating overall condition
and using Nd:YAG laser to reduce pain and pus formation.
·
Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS)
It is an inflammatory cutaneous disorder involving the
infundibular terminal follicles of the hair. The precursor is unknown and can
be a multifactorial condition which begins post puberty, can be associated with
apocrine glands (inflammation of sweat glands), bacterial infection, smoking
and obesity, and frictions from tight clothing or body folds. It is often seen
in axillae, groin, genitals, and breast. Women are the most affected with this
condition, it can be large, painful, deep seated nodules and may lead into
hyperthrophic scar. This can be treated with laser hair removal.
I hope this post didn’t scare you, and if you happened
to have one of these condition and don’t know what to do, you may want to
search some help from your GP. Not everyone can develop these condition because
mostly are hereditary. The next post will be discussing about the alternative
treatment for hair removal and their pros and cons. Thank you again for
visiting my blog, reading my post and for your comments as well, so stay tune
for the next post. If there are some words or terminology that you don’t know
or not sure what it is about, please don’t hesitate to ask me in the comment
section below. Thanks for reading this blog and may you gain some knowledge
after reading thisJJJ.
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