Braids, cornrows, and weaves may cause peripheral hair loss.

Traction alopecia is the slow but steady loss of hair resulting from scalp trauma, inflicted by constant forceful pulling on the hair. Typically caused by specific hairstyles, traction alopecia is most common among African American women. It begins at the periphery of the scalp, including the anterior and posterior hairlines and behind the ears, and gradually recedes back until hair loss is noticeable.

Hairstyles That Cause Traction Alopecia

With constant or frequent wear, the hairstyles that most commonly result in this hair loss condition are:

• Braids
• Cornrows
• Weaves
• Extensions
• Ponytails

The abrasive hair pulling caused by these hairstyles exacts trauma to the scalp, leading to a diffuse scarring that results in permanent hair loss. Many women who notice traction alopecia starting feel trapped in a cycle, needing to continue with the braids, weaves, and extensions to conceal the hair loss that has begun. Ironically, this is the worst response, as it only worsens the condition. If traction alopecia is caught early, hair may have a chance to grow back.

FUE Hair Transplant Reversing Traction Alopecia

If you frequently wear abrasive hairstyles, the best way to reverse traction alopecia is to keep an eye on your hair health. If the hair seems to be thinning along the edges, immediately discontinue braiding, weaving, etc.

For people who decide to seek a solution too late, the only treatment is surgical hair restoration. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant is the leading method of hair transplantation in the hands of an experienced surgeon. Unlike other popular methods, FUE hair transplant harvests donor hair one follicular unit at a time, which minimizes scarring and maximizes hairline design. This is ideal for African American patients—the most common sufferers of traction alopecia—because of their tendency to have adverse scarring outcomes (namely keloiding) in response to wound healing.

Advanced FUE hair transplant, performed by a knowledgeable and skilled surgeon, additionally means there will be no linear scar a result. Linear scarring occurs with the popular strip harvesting method, wherein donor hair is harvested by excising a strip of flesh from the mid-rear scalp. This has become a commonly recognized pitfall of strip surgery. FUE avoids this pitfall while also proffering:

• Quick healing and recovery
• Natural-looking results
• Even coverage/density
• Discreet donor harvest (especially for female patients)

The best first step when facing hair loss is to seek counsel from a medical professional. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis from an experienced hair restoration practitioner will speed up the recovery process.

Testing For Pattern Baldness

Before writing any prescriptions or suggesting a surgical solution, a physician will conduct certain tests and ask specific questions. This will include:

• A detailed medical history
• A physical exam
• A scalp examination

These assessments are typically enough to determine whether the patient is experiencing androgenic alopecia (pattern baldness). This genetic condition is generally much easier to diagnose in men than it is in women. Female pattern baldness can be more elusive and tricky to pinpoint, since women are more likely than men to suffer hair loss for other reasons, such as hypothyroidism.

When Initial Assessment Goes Beyond Pattern Baldness

Testing for pattern baldness should be a relatively simple process, and the majority of hair loss sufferers will receive this diagnosis. Additional diagnostic assessment is not usually required for such patients. However, assessing other possible causes of hair loss may include the following scalp examinations (some of these are done only in extreme or highly unusual circumstances):

• Phototrichogram: a designated area of the scalp is shaved and observed by photograph for three to five days to assess the growth rate and quality of hair.
• Hair window: similar to phototrichogram, except hair growth is observed for 30 days.
• The hair pull: with a gentle pull of scalp hair, it is normal for a few hairs to come out. These are hairs in the telogen phase of the growth cycle. If more than 25 hairs come out in the hair pull it is an indication of some abnormality.
• Hair shaft evaluation: microscopic examination of a hair shaft that has fallen out, for example, during the hair pull.
• Hair analysis: an advanced laboratory test that provides no information on systemic disease or malnourishment of the hair follicle, but rather assesses various inherited abnormalities and drug or heavy metal pollution.
• Scalp biopsy: no relation to a cancer biopsy, this is one of the non-standard tests performed. It tells the physician what condition is affecting the hair follicles if other tests have not made this information apparent.

Universalis. The most severe version of the set, involving a total loss of hair on your entire body. People who have it are born with hair, but it quickly falls out. Often those diagnosed might also have thyroid disease or vitiligo, but that’s not necessary; those who suffer from it can also be otherwise completely healthy. It’s not entirely known what causes Alopecia Universalis, but research indicates that the disorder is inherited, and a gene mutation is involved.
Those with the condition must protect themselves from the sun, bacteria and other potential dangers, as their lack of body hair leaves many areas on their body, including the scalp, eyes and nasal cavity,  particularly vulnerable to harm.

According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, fingernails and toenails can also be affected. Symptoms in the nails can range from pinprick-like indentations, to severe distortion of the entire nail. Alopecia Universalis may be acute and short-lived or remain permanently.

Areata. A very common condition where bald patches appear on the scalp, often trigged when your body’s autoimmune response decides your hair follicles are foreign elements that must be rejected from your system.  The potential causes of Alopecia Areata are many, ranging from pregnancy, use of birth control pills, thyroid disorders, anemia, syphilis and arthritis.

The good news it that it can often be reversed if the case is not too severe, and hair will return once the immune balance is restored. A careful review of your medical history is key to determining the proper approach for treatment, and while there is no total guaranteed cure, many with this condition are good candidates for hair restoration with Follicular Unit Extraction.

Totalis. A condition where the entire scalp loses all of its hair, resulting in total baldness. Sometimes it happens all at once, sometimes it begins with patches of hair loss that expand over time. Though it can affect people of all ages, most of those suffering from Alopecia Totalis are children and adults under age 40.

As with Areata, it’s triggered when your body’s autoimmune system attacks your hair follicles. Like alopecia areata, these autoimmune conditions are not treatable by hair transplantation since the immune system would again attack the newly grafted hair. The most effective therapy remains medical.

Have more questions about your hair loss pattern? Contact Dr. Umar for a free online consultation today.

Although the causes are undetermined, alopecia totalis is believed to be an autoimmune disorder in which the white blood cells attack the hair follicles. This means that the body reacts to the hair follicles as intruders, like a sickness, and must get rid of them. Stress, another autoimmune compromiser, may exacerbate hair loss for someone suffering with alopecia totalis.

Alopecia totalis can affect people at any age, but generally targets both men and women less than 40 years of age. Children and young adults are most often victims of this traumatic hair loss. Research has found that, in Western society, approximately one in 250,000 women and one in 125,000 men will suffer with alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis.

For those with alopecia areata, hair loss may correct itself within about one year. However, those suffering complete hair loss from alopecia totalis may not be so fortunate. While there have been instances of total hair restoration, the chance of hair recovery is slight in the majority of alopecia totalis cases.

There is good news, yet. There are several hair loss treatment options for alopecia totalis, universalis, and especially areata. This includes:

1.     Topical steroids (creams, lotions, etc).

2.     Injectable steroids or intra-lesional steroid injections where the doctor injects low concentrations of steroids directly into the bald patches.

3.     Oral steroids. This is often used briefly in patients with hair loss from alopecia totalis or universalis.

4.     Contact allergy inducers or irritants: akin to inducing poison IVY in the hair loss areas, chemicals are applied to the area and the changes in immunity may resolve the condition.

The white cells that attack the native hair causing alopecia totalis would also attack grafted hair; hence hair transplantation is not advised as a treatment for this condition. The Hair Peace Foundation and other hair loss organizations can be a valuable resource for more information on alopecia totalis, alopecia areata, and alopecia universalis.

While Propecia can slow down hair loss, it cannot cure baldness and is not an effective approach if you are in search of a permanent solution. The best way to restore hair loss is through Follicular Unit Extraction, a minimally invasive method that brings your head back to life through precise transplantation of hair from a part of your body to the balding areas of your head. If you undergo a hair transplant, Propecia should only be used cautiously, and only after consultation with your transplant surgeon.

Curious about your options to fight baldness? Contact Dr. Umar for a free online consultation today.

For this patient, Dr. Umar performed a series of plug extractions to remove the plugging, reduce the ridging and make room for the placement of new natural follicular units in the hairline. Subsequently, the hairline was recreated using head and nape hair. The strip scar was camouflaged with the patient’s beard hair.

It is important to take extreme caution and extensive research before deciding upon which hair restoration surgeon to trust to perform your hair transplant. This is an especially major precaution because it is better to be bald than to end up with an odd look due to having a less qualified and experienced hair surgeon perform the transplant. Hair transplants cannot be reversed after it is completed. For instance, for this patient, even if the entire plugs were successfully removed, the area would still reveal the ridging and irregularity of the scarred pitted surface, which cannot be reversed. Fortunately, with Dr. Umar’s expertise and perfected method of repairing even the worst hair transplants, the patient achieved results that he is extremely happy with, and he no longer has to clip his plugs or resort to creative combing or hide under hats.

For more information on Dr. Umar and his breakthrough BHT hair transplantation methods, please contact DermHair Clinic in Los Angeles at (310)318-1500, or visit

To solve the problem, Dr. Umar used the Follicular Unit Extraction technique to transplant hairs from elsewhere on the patient’s body. In all, 10,000 hairs from his beard, chest and stomach were moved to the damage area, and only about 2,000 hairs moved from his head for the restoration.

The patient knows there’s more to come, but already he’s very happy with the results.

Until Dr. Umar pioneered the use of body hair for transplant needs, patients suffering severe baldness had few options. They could resort to a toupee, or continue trying outdated techniques that already failed them. Now, a new world has opened up, giving patients such as this one hope, and new hair.

Have more questions about your severe hair loss options? Contact Dr. Umar for a free online consultation today.

For this patient, Dr. Umar first transplanted 3,000 grafts of gray and dark body hair to the balding areas on the crown of the patient’s scalp. Over the next seven months, he noticed that the transplanted hair was turning darker. For the next step, Dr. Umar transplanted only gray hairs from the patient’s chest to his head, a total of 1,354 of them. At 20 months, he noticed that those hairs also started growing in darker. In all, a total of 6,000 hairs were moved from the patient’s thighs, chest and abdomen to his head, with a result that made the client very happy.

Have more questions about your severe hair loss options? Contact Dr. Umar for a free online consultation today.

(2.) At this age most are not certain of the hair styling options they would come to adopt when they get older.

(3.) A hair transplant quick fix of a receding hairline for instance would leave the patients with an odd look as an isolated horse shoe (for full hair line implants) pattern or devils horn (for temporal recess filling), which will become more evident as hair loss advances. Because of this factor, young patients must understand that another transplant will be necessary in the future or else an odd look may result in the future as the hair loss progresses.

For more information regarding receiving a hair transplantation at a young age, contact Dr. Umar at the DermHair clinic in Los Angeles at (310)318-1500, or visit http://www.dermhairclinic.com for a free consultation.

Baldness is largely due to the interaction of certain hormones reacting over time with those hair follicles that are vulnerable to their effects. Both men and women produce hormones that are classified as male hormones. Hair follicles, as well as the sebaceous glands, contain high levels of an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase, which is an enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), via the blood. DHT is the source of most male pattern balding because the receptors in the scalp specifically react to DHT, which leads to the hair becoming thinner until it is completely bald. In addition, DHT causes the hair follicles to lose nutrition over time. For that reason, in some individuals hair follicles in certain areas of the head are genetically vulnerable to baldness. Over time, these genetically vulnerable hair respond to DHT. DHT acts by binding to special receptor sites on the cells of the hair follicles to cause the specific changes associated with balding. Over time, the action of DHT causes the hair follicles to shed faster by shortening the anagen phase. DHT successively diminishes or miniaturizes follicle size, thus causing hairs to grow back weaker. As anagen growth phase shortens, more hair is shed with the hair getting thinner and thinner until they become too fine to survive daily wear and tear.

The main factors that need to be present in order for hair loss to occur are:

1. The presence of androgens, or male hormones.
2. A genetic pre-disposition to balding.
3. Time for the DHT to degrade the vulnerable hair follicles.

The good news, there are also many ways to prevent hair loss and even reverse its effects. Dr. Umar is a pioneer in many innovative and effective hair restoration methods. For more information, please contact Dr. Umar at the DermHair Clinic in Los Angeles at (310)318-1500, or visit http://www.dermhairclinic.com