What is Alopecia?

Alopecia (scarring and non-scarring alopecia)

Hair loss can be depressing and have a negative impact on a patient’s quality of life. Regardless of the cause, hair loss is referred to as alopecia. It does not only affect the scalp; it can affect any part of the body. Every person is born with approximately 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp on average and around 5 million on the entire body. Alopecia, or hair loss, is defined as a decrease in this number for whatever reason.
Heredity, hormonal fluctuations, medical disorders, autoimmune responses, trauma, and hair grooming habits among others can all cause hair loss. Hair loss is something that can happen to anyone and can manifest itself in a variety of ways, depending on the cause. It might occur abruptly or gradually, and it can affect only your scalp or other regions of your body. There are majorly two types of hair loss namely scarring and non-scarring alopecia.

What is scarring alopecia?

Scarring, also known as cicatricial alopecia is an inflammatory scalp disorder that causes scarring and permanent hair loss by destroying hair follicles. Inflammation affects the hair follicle by impinging on the hair follicle stem cells, resulting in cicatricial alopecia. Trauma and stress can further exacerbate the scarring alopecia. It usually may start as little patches of hair loss that can spread over time. Cicatricial alopecia affects both men and women. Different people’s cicatricial alopecia progresses in different ways.

Inflammation is believed to damage hair follicle stem cells and oil glands, causing scarring and hair loss. Stem cells and sebaceous glands are located at the top of the follicle, where inflammation occurs. If they are destroyed, the follicle can’t regenerate, leading to permanent hair loss. Cicatricial alopecia is not spreadable. Hair loss can occur gradually, without causing apparent signs, and go undiscovered for a long period.
In some cases, hair loss is accompanied by intense itching, burning, and discomfort, and it progresses quickly. Diagnosing cicatricial alopecia requires a clinical examination and obtaining a scalp sample for histological analysis. The biopsy can reveal the kind, location, and degree of the inflammation. Treatment options include systemic, topical, and injectable anti-inflammatory medicines, depending on the situation.

What is non-scarring alopecia?

Nonscarring alopecia, also known as non-cicatricial alopecia, is hair loss that occurs without any scarring. The capillary cycle disrupts, but the hair follicles remain intact. It is feasible to distinguish various disorders in this group based on hair distribution in specific locations of the scalp.
Hair loss can be either diffusing or show a distinct pattern; while in other cases can lead to total baldness. It causes minimal skin irritation but may result in considerable hair loss. Age, hereditary factors, some drugs, additional medical disorders, stress, and other variables can all contribute to this condition. Non-scarring alopecia can affect men, women, and children.

How can I differentiate scarring and non-scarring alopecia?

Your hair is like the body’s barometer reflecting back exactly the condition that the body is in. You should take any changes on the hair and scalp with utmost keenness. From itching, sensitivity, loss of hair in patches to painful scalp or hair shedding- visit your scalp specialist to determine the cause and receive early intervention.
When it comes to hair loss a stitch in time saves nine. We cannot underestimate the importance of a scalp and hair consultation. Your hair and scalp specialist will deduce what is going on by obtaining a medical history, as your current health condition might provide detailed information about your hair and scalp health. After establishing a diagnosis through the consultation process, the specialist knows how to best treat the scalp or hair condition.

In some cases, a hair and scalp specialist will recommend appropriate tests to confirm or rule out any possible diagnoses. An expert understands that accurate diagnosis requires careful history taking,
suitable investigations, and a thorough physical examination. When it comes to treatment, there is no
one size fits all remedy for either scarring or non-scarring alopecia. We address every case uniquely and from an individual point of view.