How Dermatologists Treat Hair Loss and Alopecia

When faced with hair loss or alopecia areata, it can be tough to know where to turn for help. Fortunately, there are plenty of treatment options out there. Keep reading to learn how your dermatologist can help treat your hair loss.

What Causes Hair Loss?

Before we get into how to treat hair loss, it’s important to cover what causes hair loss. While the number one cause of hair loss — specifically male- and female-pattern baldness — is genetics, there are plenty of other hair loss causes. Some of the most common hair loss causes include alopecia areata, childbirth, some medications, chronic illness, and excessive stress. If you notice hair falling out in clumps when you comb, wash, or even run your fingers through your hair, it could be time to see a dermatologist for treatment. Now, let’s review a few ways we can help you treat hair loss.

PRP Therapy

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy is one of the most fascinating methods of treating hair loss. Essentially, this treatment is using the power of your own body to help regrow healthy hair. This procedure involves having blood drawn and separating out the PRP. Once separated, the PRP from your own blood is injected into the area of your scalp that’s being affected by hair loss. One of the biggest reasons this treatment is popular is that it utilizes growth factors that your body naturally produces to help stimulate and sustain hair follicle function. If you’re comfortable with injections, this could be an excellent treatment option for you.

Corticosteroids

This treatment, in particular, is used to treat alopecia areata. While ordinary hair loss treatments may be purely topical, alopecia treatments often need to perform another duty. Since alopecia is an autoimmune disorder, some treatments involve anti-inflammatory medications that serve to suppress the immune system. These corticosteroids do exactly that. In addition, it’s important to note that this is one of the most common treatment options for alopecia. If you choose to invest in this type of treatment, there are several ways to administer it. Corticosteroids can be administered via injections, topical ointments, or taken orally in the form of pills.

Red Light Therapy

Light therapy can be used to treat a wide variety of issues, hair loss being one of them. Red light therapy, specifically, is commonly used to treat hair thinning and hair loss. This therapy works by administering concentrated wavelengths of UV rays to the areas affected by hair loss. The particular wavelengths in this form of light therapy can help stimulate dermal papilla cells, which play a big role in regulating hair growth cycles. There have even been studies that revealed hair thickness and strength were both improved after red light therapy.

Hair loss can take a toll on your stress levels and your self confidence, which means finding the right treatment is of the utmost importance. If you want to know more about how one of these treatments can help with your hair loss, set up a consultation with a member of our team at SE Dermatology Specialists today.