Traction alopecia, as its name suggests, the hair loss due to traction or pulling.
While alopecia is referred to as the uncountable hair loss condition, this type of condition is under your control that you can not only stop it but also regrow the lost hair.
Causes of traction alopecia
Traction alopecia is a kind of hair loss that occurs due to the excessive stress on the hair follicles. It is normally caused by putting the hair under constant pressure. Moreover, it can also be caused by tension, stress and physical trauma or injuries.
Here are the things that can play their roles in causing hair loss due to traction alopecia.
- Tightly held hairstyles
- Keeping dreadlocks
- Hair extensions
- Rubbing and scratching of hair
- Using rough pillows while sleeping
- Unnecessary pulling of the hair (trichotillomania)
There can be any of the above-mentioned reasons for your hair loss conditions.
Symptoms
If your hair feels relief when untying from a tight hairstyle, it is a possibility that you are suffering from traction alopecia. Moreover, if your scalp gets itchy after you have braids, then this is another indication that you are suffering from traction alopecia.
If you are suffering from traction alopecia, you can clearly see from the frontal hairline, as in most of the cases of traction alopecia, the hairline recedes backward.
Can the traction alopecia be reversed?
If you have already indicated some signs of the traction alopecia and you want to stop it from developing further, then avoiding the activities that are putting stress on your scalp may help you avoid the condition from expanding further.
But in the case the hair follicles have been damaged severely, then you may need to undergo some hair restoration therapies to repair the damaged hair follicles and help them grow hair.
There exist both invasive and non-invasive ways of dealing with hair loss caused by the traction alopecia. It is recommended to consult a dermatologist or trichologist in order to find out either your traction alopecia has caused a permanent hair loss condition or not.
Treating Traction Alopecia
Treatment for traction alopecia is effective only if the hair loss caused by it has not become the permanent solution. Moreover, in the permanent hair loss condition, if you have the sufficient amount of donor’s hair available on your scalp, you may go for the surgical hair restoration treatment.
Preventing Traction alopecia
Adopting the right hairstyle
Since wearing a tight hairstyle pluck out the hair follicles and damage them, which ultimately leads to hair loss, correcting your hairstyle may be the immediate remedy in order to sort out the hair loss and hair thinning issues.
Wearing the loosely held weaves can be a better solution to avoid the pulling of hair and developing the traction alopecia condition.
Keep changing your hairstyle
In the case you are wearing ponytails, make sure to keep their location after few days. If you are keeping it high today, you can make it low the other day and vice versa. This will help you avoid putting extra stress on your hair that can harm the hair follicles.
Avoid brushing the wet hair
Wet hair is more prone to the damage and breakage so brushing in such a situation will lead to severe damage. Let your hair be dry naturally before brushing or styling it.
Keep your hair hydrated
Dry, rough and frizzy hair is more common in people living in the areas where there is minimum moisture. In such a case use some conditioners that will you moisture your hair keep the hair hydrated for a longer period.
Don’t go for poor brushing routine
Some people would advise you to style your hair with soft brushes and some would say a harder one is more suitable. The best way to brush your hair to do it gently making sure that there is no stress occur to your hair in response to that.
Avoid coloring your hair so frequently
Coloring and bleaching the hair makes it more prone to the breakage as these contain chemicals that are not suitable for the hair. So, if your hair coloring your make sure to avoid doing it so frequently.
Avoid heating tools for styling
In the case you are styling or straightening your hair with the tools that are exerting heat on your hair, continuously doing can damage the hair or make it more prone to the damages. Try to use the heating tools by keeping them at a fair distance so that it does not affect your hair.
Treating Traction alopecia
Treating traction alopecia requires to deal with the culprits behind the condition and to adopt a suitable hair care routine. Here are the options
Minoxidil
It is a topical solution that is used to deal with hair loss and hair thinning conditions in both men and women. It can also be used for the people who are suffering from the traction alopecia. It can either be applied directly to the bald or thinning areas of the scalp or injected through a series of injection. It helps to boost up the health of hair follicles and grow more hair.
Non-invasive hair restoration therapies
Non-invasive therapies such as PRP therapy in Dubai and Mesotherapy can help to restore the hair to a great extent.
In these treatments, a fluid enriched with growth factors is injected into the scalp through a series of injections. This fluid nourishes the scalp with the required growth elements and helps the hair follicles to restore a good quantity of hair back.
Surgical hair restoration
In the case you have lost plenty of hair and go bald from a few places of the scalp, then you may need to undergo a surgical treatment for that. A surgical hair restoration treatment includes the extraction of hair follicles from one part of the scalp to place them at the other parts.
You can choose from Follicular Unit Extraction and Follicular Unit Transplantation techniques for your baldness and hair thinning concerns.
