Preventing Progression: Early Intervention Strategies for Scarring Alopecia

Hair grows on your skin because of hair follicles. Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia, is a type of hair loss that results from the destruction of your hair follicles. Hair loss due to scarring alopecia can be permanent, because without healthy hair follicles your hair cannot grow back.

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Scarring alopecia can affect any part of your body, but it usually affects the hair on the head. Scarring alopecia can also have emotional and psychological effects on a person due to hair loss and baldness.

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Due to Scarring Alopecia, a patch of baldness starts appearing in the area where hair starts falling. These hairless patches can be one or many. Scarring alopecia can look different on different people. Apart from hair loss, some people may also suffer from skin problems like –

• To Bleed.
• Blisters
• Feeling Jealous
• Formation Of Crust Or Scaling
• Itching, Tingling Or Sensitivity.
• Appearance Of Pimples
• Appearance Of Red Or Dirty Patches.

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Scarring alopecia is permanent hair loss due to the destruction of hair follicles. In nonscarring alopecia, hair may fall out or become thinner, but your hair follicles are not destroyed. So nonscarring alopecia may be temporary and your hair may grow back. Androgenetic alopecia, also called male or female pattern baldness, is the most common type of nonscarring alopecia.

There are two types of scarring alopecia –

• ​Primary Scarring Alopecia – This is caused by an autoimmune disorder, which directly targets and destroys the hair follicles.
• Secondary Scarring Alopecia – This can be a side effect of injury or damage to the skin. In this, hair fall can occur due to burning, spread of infection, radiation or tumor.

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As we mentioned, most types of scarring alopecia involve inflammation around your hair follicles. This part of the hair follicle contains stem cells and oil glands, which are necessary for new hair growth. Due to inflammation, this part of the hair follicle gets destroyed and these dead skin cells form a circular fibrosis, which becomes visible as bald spots. Typically, in people with scarring alopecia, the follicular ostia, or the pores in your skin where hair follicles are, become clogged. In nonscarring alopecia, the base of your hair follicle is usually damaged, not the tip. This is why if someone has non-scarring alopecia, hair can often regrow.

Doctors may perform some tests to diagnose scarring alopecia, which may include the following testing techniques:

In this the doctor looks at the location and pattern of your hair loss. They also examine your skin where your hair has fallen. He will thoroughly examine the hair follicles to see whether they are swollen or not.

To diagnose this problem, the doctor evaluates your age, gender, hair care methods and overall health. If you have any medical problems, such as lupus, anemia or thyroid, tell your doctor about the disease. They can do blood tests to check for some diseases that may cause hair loss.

Skin biopsy can confirm scarring alopecia. A small sample of skin is taken from the area where you have the problem and the doctor looks at the sample under a microscope. They test how effective the immune cells are at fighting inflammation. After this type of test, the doctor can tell you what type of cicatricial alopecia you have. Sometimes scar tissue (affected tissue) is visible in the biopsy, but the cells that fight inflammation are not visible. Doctors may diagnose it as end-stage scarring alopecia (ESSA). This means that the condition has progressed beyond active inflammatory immunity, so treatment may be less effective.

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There is no cure for scarring alopecia. In this only the symptoms can be reduced or the process of hair loss can be slowed down. There are some cosmetic treatments that can cover the patches caused by hair loss, such as hair transplant. To reduce its symptoms, doctors can give anti-inflammatory medicines. Anti-inflammatory medicine fights the cells causing inflammation in the hair follicles. Some anti-inflammatory medications may come in the form of creams or oils that can be applied to the skin. Scarring alopecia caused by bacterial infection requires antibiotics, such as doxycycline or minocycline.

Most people take the medicine for six to 12 months, until symptoms improve and hair loss slows or stops. If you start losing more hair, you may need to start taking the medicine again.

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So you learned what Scarring Alopecia is and how it affects your hair. There is no permanent treatment for this problem, so adopt methods to prevent it. Wash hair regularly with chemical free shampoo. Hair should be protected from heat, sun rays and harmful colors. If you notice bald spots, get them treated in time, so that scarring alopecia can be prevented from spreading to the rest of the hair.