If you’ve noticed round spots of baldness on the sides of your head and the scalp, you are suffering spot hair loss or often called spot baldness. This is a form of alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles. It may occur due to hormonal imbalance, serious illness, poor diet, stress or as a result of genetic inheritance. If diagnosed in time and treated properly, hair may regrow. If left unattended, chances of regrowth drastically decrease and end result is total baldness.
Here’s what you should do if you notice spot hair loss.
Visit A Hair Care Professional
If you notice spot hair loss, visit your doctor, dermatologist or a hair care professional as soon as possible. A qualified professional will tell the difference between minor and more serious form of alopecia areata and prescribe proper treatment.
Change Your Hair Care Routine
Although there are many factors that can cause alopecia, the most common one is improper hair routine. Explain in detail your daily hair routine to your doctor so he/she can tell you if you need to change anything. If so, implement a healthy hair care regimen, which is shampooing, conditioning and moisturizing your hair and scalp. Use a sulfate-free shampoo as it removes dirt and product residue creating an optimal condition for hair growth. Also choose a protein deep conditioner for an increased hair rebuild.
Cut Back On The Use Of Direct Heat
Your hair is in a very fragile and frequent use of direct heat tends only worsens the spot hair loss problem. So limit or if possible completely eliminate blow dryers and other styling tools that produce heat.
Opt For Low Manipulation Or Protective Hair Styles
As mentioned above, spot hair loss is commonly a result of over-manipulation. So choose protective hairstyles that reduce daily manipulation, thus hair damage and breakage.
If your spot hair loss problem is something not to be concerned about it, you can try natural remedies such as castor oil, olive oil, hibiscus oil, etc., to treat your condition. These essential oils, are highly known to encourage hair regrowth. Still, consult your hair care professional before use. In case your hair loss problem is more serious, ask your doctor for best possible solution. He/She may recommend medicine, hair transplant surgery or other alternative such as scalp micropigmentation.
Medication Choises
- Minoxidil – Sprayed and rubbed on the bald spots twice a day.
- Finasteride – Comes in a form of a pill and is taken once a day. This medication is available by prescription only.
Alternative Treatments
Although fairly new procedure, scalp micropigmentation or hair tattoo is a very popular way of camouflaging spot hair loss. Not as expensive nor painful as hair transplant surgery, hair tattoo is basically the injection of natural pigments into the epidermal skin layer of the scalp. The end result is shaved-head look. The best thing is that results are visible even after the first session, there is no pain nor side effects and patient can resume to normal activities right away. It can cost between $1,000 – $3,000. It is definitely a more affordable hair loss treatment compared to hair transplantation which costs about $15,000 or more depending on the number of grafts.
