Traction Alopecia

People who commonly suffer from traction alopecia are often those who wear tight braids, hair weaves and cornrows. This leads to the hair getting exposed to constant pulling and tension, as mentioned above. This in turn, leads to the damage of the dermal papilla (extensions of the dermis into the epidermis) and hair follicle and thus, hair breakage becomes eventual. Traction alopecia is a common hair loss condition in African-American women, Sikh men and Japanese women. It is evidently more common in children, teenagers and young adults. It is however, less, in older adults. Apart from the above causes, other factors which may lead to it include frequent application of hot combs, use of dyes, bleaches and straighteners, over use of hair solutions and telogen conversion.

What Symptoms Indicate Traction Alopecia?

Itching, dandruff and thinning of hair (large strands of hair coming out while combing) are the symptoms which occur in the early stages of this condition. These symptoms may be followed by scarring of the new hair follicle and permanent hair loss. Many may feel a tingling sensation or pain in the area where the hair loss has occurred. Mild or moderate pain may also be felt on the scalp. In men, tenderness in the areas of the jaw or cheek may indicate traction alopecia. Patchy areas of hair loss, perifollicular erythema, scales and pustules on scalp are the other symptoms. Pitting in fingernails is also one of the many signs, which is indicative of severe traction alopecia in women and men.

Treatment

Early diagnosis can keep the condition from progressing to an irreversible stage, for which there isn't any treatment available except for hair transplant. The best treatment method which can be taken up in the early stage of this condition, is to loosen the tension the hair. People must do away with all forms of styling their hair, so as to remove the stress for the hair follicles to normalize. It must be taken a note of that, the hair needs to remain loose in order to grow properly.

Hair regrowth is not a matter of a few days or months. It may take anywhere from 3 - 6 months or even a year or longer for the hair to retain their natural growing process and recuperate from the damage that they have suffered. Some people chose to cut off the damaged part of their hair and keep short and loose hairstyle, while some prefer to keep their hair loosely wrapped in a hair wrap. In some cases, people may also be advised to use wigs, until their hair has started to improve in appearance.

Treating traction alopecia may also comprise medications such as oral or topical antibiotics. These medicines are considered by the doctors in cases, wherein, the condition involves infected hair follicles, and prolonged traction. Medications may also involve the administration of cortisone injections and/or topical cortisone cream to reduce the inflammation that is damaging the follicles.

As aforesaid, hair transplant surgery becomes an option when the condition has reached a state where the follicles are damaged beyond repair. The surgery may be taken up in order to restore the hair line or any missing patches. However, it is very essential to sought for an expert to take up such a kind of surgery as the different hair textures of different people may influence the treatment.

To conclude, traction alopecia is an easily preventable problem. All you have to do is avoid adopting hairstyles which cause a great amount of tension or stress on your hair. As there is no treatment available for a permanent stage of the disease, prevention is the only key to save your hair from complete damage. It is better to have healthy and beautiful curls for life, rather than flaunting a fancy hairstyle for a couple of years.