As cases of hair loss among young women increase, interest in the causes and treatments is growing. In fact, according to data released by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 4 out of every 10 patients who visited medical institutions for hair loss treatment were women. In particular, many young women experience hair loss at an early age due to excessive stress and irregular lifestyle habits.
Female hair loss has the clinical characteristic that hair on the crown becomes thinner and decreases in number. It occurs mainly around the part line, and in the early stages fine, weak vellus hairs appear while the number of hairs underneath gradually decreases.
One risk factor that contributes to female hair loss is a decline in the secretion of the female hormone estrogen. Estrogen suppresses the function of the male hormone androgen, but when the body's hormonal balance is disrupted for some reason, hair loss is promoted. In addition, nutritional imbalance from single-food diets, extreme stress, and alcohol consumption are also cited as causes of female hair loss. Frequent perms and hair coloring are also considered causes that worsen hair health.
Experts emphasize that among these, extreme weight loss is the factor with the most adverse effect. The matrix cells located in the hair follicle grow 1 to 3 hair roots, and this process requires key minerals, protein, essential fatty acids, and vitamin B. If dietary intake is excessively restricted, follicle function may decline due to nutritional imbalance. As a result, hair becomes thinner and even the hair growth cycle shortens, leading to hair loss.
In addition, when suffering from stress, the sympathetic nervous system remains in an excited state, disrupting the balance of the autonomic nervous system and further promoting contraction of the scalp muscles and blood vessels. Moreover, as the stress hormone cortisol is secreted, nutrient supply to the scalp and blood circulation become difficult, which may reduce hair root growth.
Pregnancy and childbirth are also issues that drive hair loss in young women. Known as postpartum hair loss, it is typically characterized by the shedding of 30 to 40% of all hair during the 3 to 6 months after childbirth. After 6 months, hair loss gradually stops and a normal state is recovered after about a year, but in rare cases hair loss symptoms continue even after a year has passed. This is because estrogen levels drop sharply after childbirth, causing postpartum telogen hair loss symptoms to persist over the long term.
For women who are sensitive about their appearance, the psychological shock from hair loss can be considerable, and if hair loss symptoms persist, avoidance of social contact and depression can make it difficult to carry on a normal daily life. Furthermore, some feel ashamed of the very fact that they are experiencing hair loss and resort to unverified folk remedies. Since this can become a cause of side effects that actually worsen hair loss, it is advisable to visit a dermatology clinic for a detailed diagnosis and customized treatment.
If hair loss is not severe, improvement can be expected with medication and laser treatment. However, if the condition has worsened somewhat, a thread lifting procedure using poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) may be considered. The principle is to insert threads made of 100% PLLA into the scalp to improve female pattern hair loss.
Yoo Hwa-jung, Director of Modi Hair Plant Clinic, said, "PLLA treatment is a method of directly inserting 100% PLLA threads into the scalp to produce a localized care effect," adding, "It is characterized by minimizing concerns about systemic side effects, a long maintenance period, and treatment effects that last for 1 to 2 years."
She continued, "Above all, the PLLA procedure works on the principle of promoting microcirculation in the scalp to revitalize the hair follicles, and since it takes about 1 to 2 years to be completely broken down, it can somewhat reduce the inconvenience of repeat procedures."
Source: Segye Biz │ Published 2021.02.15