Showing posts with label trichotillomania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trichotillomania. Show all posts


Trichotillomania (trick-o-til-o-MAY-nee-ah), sometimes called TTM or “trich”, is a disorder that results in individuals pulling out hair strands in various parts of their body. TTM is one of several behaviors that are identified as “body-focused repetitive behaviors” (BFRB). Other behaviors in this category include skin picking, scraping of skin, or biting of nails. According to the Trichotillomania Learning Center, “trich” impacts people of all ages, with one in 50 people experiencing “trich” in their lifetime. The majority of people begin pulling out their hair between the ages of 11 and 13. If hair pulling goes unnoticed by parents, children could move into adolescence with the compulsion. If you suspect that your child is struggling with trichotillomania, it’s important to take steps to help your child.

Signs and Symptoms
There are a few common signs that your child may be engaging in BFRBs, particularly trich. Your child may engage in hair pulling in front of you. Often, individuals are compelled to pull their hair during sedentary activities, such as watching television, surfing the web, or listening to a lecture. You may also notice thinning hair or bald patches on your child’s body, perhaps on the scalp, eyelashes, or eyebrows. A very common symptom of people struggling with “trich” is social isolation and withdrawal. Pullers will likely feel embarrassed and ashamed by their behavior, which causes them to isolate from people who love and care about them.

Treatment
TTM is a very real psychological and medical condition that requires treatment. The desire to pull out the hair is compulsive and may result in bald patches. Hair pulling varies based on the individual’s compulsion. Individuals may feel compelled only to pluck hair from a particular part of their head or eyebrows. Others may pluck hair from all regions of their body, unconcerned with the location. Teens are a particularly challenging TTM population because there are many other stressors in a teen’s life. Therapy for “trich” will address the hair pulling compulsion while discussing broader aspects of the child’s life.
The therapist, child, and parents determine parental involvement in therapy meetings. Depending on the age of the child and the presenting problems, the level of parental involvement will vary. Parents may be involved to a greater degree in some aspects of the therapy than in others. Living with a child who has TTM can be emotionally trying for parents as well as siblings. In addition to the individual therapy that your child receives, attending your own individual sessions may also be important.
If you notice that your child is engaging in hair pulling, you should make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician and a trained therapist immediately. Working to stop TTM requires a team approach that includes trained professionals. Supporting your child through this difficult situation is complex. Work with other adults that your child trusts to build a support team around him/her. Providing your child with resources and someone with whom to talk is a necessary first step.

“We Restore More Than Just Your Hair!”

Transitions of Indiana is a premiere hair replacement center. Whether you live in Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Speedway, Carmel or anywhere in the surrounding Indiana area, we offer FREE private, confidential consultations to help you determine which customized treatment option is best for your individual situation.  Our hair replacement solution options include Sensigraft, Reallusions, Graduated Enhancement, Laser Hair Therapy, Hair Extensions, and hair loss control products. Take the first step to a new you and schedule your free hair loss evaluation.

References

Everyone has habits! Whether its a good or a bad habit, we're all guilty of having them. But did you know that you could be losing your hair because of your everyday habits. Built up stress or even too many cheeseburgers may play a huge role in your hair loss.

Overwhelming Stress:
Have you recently went through a bad break up, divorce, or a loved one passing away. These built up emotions are causing stressors in life and this can cause you to lose your hair. It is known as Telogen Effluvium, which is also the same factor that can cause hair loss caused by infections, or having a baby. The one thing to determine if your hair loss is due to stress is to think about the past and current events you have faced. Hair loss from stress can occur up to 3 months after the stressful event took place. But there's good news. Once you relive the stress in your life, your hair will most likely grow back!

Too Much Heat:                                                                         
Are you always styling or fixing your hair with heating products like blow-dryers, straighteners, or curling irons? If so you could be damaging your hair. Too much heat applied to your hair may make your hair dry, frizzy, and even fall out. The best way to prevent hair loss, if you must use any styling tools that use excessive heat, is to use a heat protectant spray and to make sure your hair is completely dry before you try to straighten or curl it.  As far as blow-drying your hair, try giving yourself time to let your hair air- dry. This will allow you to use less overall heat on your hair.

Hair Styles:
You wake up some mornings and your running late or just not feeling it, so you pull your hair up into a pony tail. Pony tails are cute, easy, and are perfect for the busy person or athlete. However, they can cause you to lose your hair if you wear your pony tail too tight. A tight pony tail breaks and splits your hair causing damage that can take a while to replace. The best way to wear a ponytail or braids every day is to rotate them between different spots on the scalp. For example, one day do a low pony tail and the next a high pony tail. This will relieve the pressure on the scalp reducing the risk of hair loss. Also. Never use rubber bands to tie your hair back with. Try to use a soft scrunchy or alternative. Rubber bands alone will damage the hair.


Let Transitions of Indiana help give your hair what it needs to grow strong and healthy. We encourage you to take the time and review your options then come in for a no cost, no obligation private hair loss consultation.

“We Restore More Than Just Your Hair!”

Transitions of Indiana is a premiere hair replacement center. Whether you live in Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Speedway, Carmel or anywhere in the surrounding Indiana area, we offer FREE private, confidential consultations to help you determine which customized treatment option is best for your individual situation.  Our hair replacement solution options include Sensigraft, Reallusions, Graduated Enhancement, Laser Hair Therapy, Hair Extensions, and hair loss control products. Take the first step to a new you and schedule your free hair loss evaluation.
It can be frustrating to hear about research that you might benefit from but is still in the “promising” stage. Such is the case with stem cell research related to hair loss. Yet, the glass is half-full because much progress has been and is being made. The apparent resolution to hair loss seems to have been hiding in our scalp all along.

Hair follicles may hibernate, but they do not die. Even after hair loss follicles retain viable stem cells (little fountains of life) that can, with the right kind of nudge, get hair follicles producing again. It’s like a miracle waiting to happen.

Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated (or pluripotent), meaning they can morph into any of the body’s 200 plus types of cells. Throughout life, they keep their ability to divide and become cellular specialists. If stem cells in dormant hair follicles can be reactivated, it is believed new hair will grow.

Our chameleon stem cells, which contain the template for all cells, start the creation process by producing “progenitor” cells. The progenitor cells can only change into a select few cell types. For those with male or female pattern hair loss, follicle stem cells have stopped producing progenitor (replacement) cells for those worn out or damaged.

Discovery: Follicle Stem Cells Cause Hair Growth

In 2004, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine thought that stem cells inside the bulge of a follicle were the instigators of hair growth. To prove this, they isolated some follicle stem cells and transplanted them into the skin of mice. The procedure produced new hair growth within four weeks.

The researchers looked forward to isolating stem cells taken from the adult human scalp and replanting them in other areas, hoping to produce similar results. They estimated another ten years before people would be able to heal resulting from the use of stem cell transplantation.

Discovery: “Fat” Stem Cells Tell Follicle Stem Cells What To Do

Fast forward to 2011. Though researchers had known stem cells in hair follicles need a signal from the skin to produce hair, where exactly the signal originated was a mystery. Then, in studies at Yale University, researchers located stem cells in the fatty layer of human skin that send out molecular messages prompting hair growth.

Those who have male or female patterned hair loss still have a reserve of live stem cells in their dormant roots, but the roots need a molecular jolt to resume hair growth. The Yale researchers are hoping to get the “fat” stem cells to transmit “grow hair” signals to the stem cells snoozing inside unproductive follicles.

In A Nutshell . . .

1.      Researchers stimulate fatty tissue stem cells
2.      Fatty tissue stem cells transmit the message “grow hair!”
3.      Dormant follicle stem cells receive the message, “grow hair!”
4.      Follicle stem cells wake up
5.      Follicle stem cells get busy creating progenitor cells
6.      Progenitor cells become hair producing cells
7.      Hair resumes growing
 
Let’s hope that soon stem cell therapy will become a routine procedure to alleviate hair loss.

“We Restore More Than Just Your Hair!”

Transitions of Indiana is a premiere hair replacement center. Whether you live in Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Speedway, Carmel or anywhere in the surrounding Indiana area, we offer FREE private, confidential consultations to help you determine which customized treatment option is best for your individual situation.  Our hair replacement solution options include Sensigraft, Reallusions, Graduated Enhancement, Laser Hair Therapy, Hair Extensions, and hair loss control products. Take the first step to a new you and schedule your free hair loss evaluation.



When pregnant, hormonal changes in a woman’s body prevent her hair from shedding as it did before pregnancy. So, her hair thickens and for a few months she enjoys having more luxurious tresses than before.

One to five months after delivering the baby, surprise! Some women experience a large amount of hair shedding, or hair falling out in clumps, as their hormones return to pre-pregnancy status.

While the hair loss may be disappointing or scary, it is a normal response to the body’s readjusting post-pregnancy chemistry. About 40 to 50 percent of pregnant women experience this type of extreme shedding known as Telogen Effluvium or TE, but fortunately it is a temporary condition.

Why some new moms return to their regular pre-pregnancy hair cycle immediately after birth and others do not, is unknown.

Why Hair Loss after Pregnancy occurs

1.      At any given time, other than pregnancy, around 90% of our hair is in a growth, or anagen phase. The other 10% is taking a break from growth and resting in what is called the telogen phase.
1.   Every eight to twelve weeks, the resting hair sheds. We find it in our brushes and shower drains. Once hair is lost, the “empty” hair follicles can begin to produce a new shaft.

2.      During pregnancy the increased estrogen keeps hair growing strong. The hair does not rest and fall out as before, leaving some moms-to-be with hair so thick it might be difficult to comb.

3.      When estrogen levels plummet after birth, up to 60% (usually less) of the mother’s hair can enter the resting phase and be lost through shedding. It may take six to twelve months for the hair cycle to return to its pre-pregnancy routine. Women who breastfeed may keep their extra locks a bit longer.

Any time a woman’s estrogen levels change there is a possibility of hair loss. Besides pregnancy, other triggers are miscarriage, stopping any hormonal form of birth control, or out of balance hormones.

For Healthy Hair During and After Pregnancy

• Eat three to four servings of fruit and vegetables every day. Make sure that some of the daily veggies are dark green and leafy.

• Talk to your doctor about supplementing your diet with Vitamins C, E, the B complex, biotin, and zinc.

• Shampoos containing biotin and silica are recommended, followed by a good conditioner.

• Be gentle with your hair. If you blow dry your hair, use the dryer’s cool setting. Use wide tooth combs after shampooing, and do not stress-out your hair with tight rollers, curling irons, pigtails, weaves, or cornrows. Consider putting off chemical treatments such as perms, dyes, or straightening.

Women should inform their doctors of excessive postpartum hair loss since there is a possibility of other underlying causes for it, especially if the shedding does not resolve within a few months. For example, a vitamin deficiency can trigger hair shedding as can changes in the thyroid after giving birth.

Let Transitions of Indiana help give your hair what it needs to grow strong and healthy. We encourage you to take the time and review your options then come in for a no cost, no obligation private hair loss consultation.

“We Restore More Than Just Your Hair!”

Transitions of Indiana is a premiere hair replacement center. Whether you live in Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Speedway, Carmel or anywhere in the surrounding Indiana area, we offer FREE private, confidential consultations to help you determine which customized treatment option is best for your individual situation.  Our hair replacement solution options include Sensigraft, Reallusions, Graduated Enhancement, Laser Hair Therapy, Hair Extensions, and hair loss control products. Take the first step to a new you and schedule your free hair loss evaluation.


People are always seeking answers to their receding hair lines. Most spend an absorbent amount of money on products and hair care before they even consult a professional. The shear fact is, everyone wants to pretend they are in control of their hairs destiny and its hard to find the right type of help. It also doesn’t help when there are countless misconceptions out there about hair loss. Its important to separate fact from fiction, therefore this month, Transitions of Indiana in Indianapolis gets to the bottom of myths about hair loss. Here’s the bald truth.

“Hair Loss is Passed Down From Your Mother’s Side of the Family”
For years now, it has been thought that hair loss was inherited from the mother’s side of the family. This myth is FALSE. The primary baldness gene is on the X chromosome, which men only get from their mothers; however there are other factors that come into play. For instance, research shows that men who have bald fathers are more likely to develop male pattern baldness.

“Wearing a Hat for Years has Resulted in My Hair Falling Out”
From helmets to ball caps, rumor has it that hats cause eventual hair loss. This myth is also FALSE. This theory comes from the idea of excess stress and tugging on hair follicles. However, wearing a hat is not considered, “excess” on the follicles like hair braids hair extensions and other hairstyles can be. As long as you keep the hat clean by rotating their use and/or washing them, they should not result in stress or scalp infection. Take care of your hair and make sure that your scalp and hair are always clean. Dirt has the ability to clog follicles. Shampoo 2-3 times per week and condition daily and you shouldn’t encounter any problems.

“Substantial Sun Exposure On My Head Has Resulted In My Hair Loss”
This applies mostly to those individuals living down south. This statement is simply FALSE. Your hair actually acts as a shield against your scalp. Hair loss in both men and women appear at the follicle level and the sun would have to penetrate at this depth in order to truly contribute to any damage.

“Stress Has Resulted in My Hair Loss Over the Years”
This myth is TRUE. Severe amounts of stress has the ability to cause temporary hair loss (alopecia areata) However, the scalp has the ability to recover and hair can grow back as a result.

“Smoking Can Cause Hair Discoloration and Hair Loss”
This myth is TRUE. According to J. G. Mosley of the Leigh Infirmary in Lancashire, England in an article in Science News (January 11, 1997) smokers are four times more likely to have gray hair than non-smokers. Even worse, smoking has been conclusively connected to accelerated hair loss.

Let Transitions of Indiana help give your hair what it needs to grow strong and healthy. We encourage you to take the time and review your options then come in for a no cost, no obligation private hair loss consultation.

“We Restore More Than Just Your Hair!”
www.transitionsindy.com

Transitions of Indiana is a premiere hair replacement center. Whether you live in Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Speedway, Carmel or anywhere in the surrounding Indiana area, we offer FREE private, confidential consultations to help you determine which customized treatment option is best for your individual situation.  Our hair replacement solution options include Sensigraft, Reallusions, Graduated Enhancement, Laser Hair Therapy, Hair Extensions, and hair loss control products. Take the first step to a new you and schedule your free hair loss evaluation.



For most men and women, thinning hair and hair loss can be a catastrophic experience.  Generally speaking, hair loss is more prominent in men, but women may also experience hair loss at extreme levels. Whether you’re a man or a woman, chances are you may experience some level of hair loss, hair thinning, or hair breakage in your lifetime.  For most of us, we can only hope it comes later in our lives, but for some individuals it’s important to take an active approach to combating your hair problems. The good news is nowadays, there are solutions for just about every problem. 

Female hair loss may occur for various reasons including the following:

Female Pattern Hair Loss
With female pattern hair loss, gradual thinning across the top of the head is caused by an abnormal reaction to the male hormone, testosterone. It takes longer for a hair to grow back in after it is shed and thicker, longer hairs are replaced by shorter, thinner hairs.

Stress
Emotional and physical stress may lead to increased cortisol levels which affect hormonal levels and may cause hair loss.

Alopecia
This is an autoimmune disease that makes hair fall out in small patches. In many cases, it may lead to total baldness.

Hormonal Changes
Hormonal imbalance occurs in every woman to some degree as she ages and estrogen levels fall. When estrogen levels fall, the body allows more available testosterone without opposition. When this happens, hair loss may be the victim.

Diet and Nutrition
A common cause of hair loss in women is nutritional deficiency. A diet that is right for your hair should include proteins, iron, sulphur, zinc and Vitamin B and leave out the refined sugars that have a high Glycemic Index.  These foods include processed foods like white bread, French fries, sodas and beer to name a few.

Chemotherapy
Hair loss occurs during chemotherapy because it targets cancer cells as well as healthy cells and structures filled with tiny blood vessels that make hair are some of the fastest growing cells in the human body. As the chemo is battling the cancer cells, it also destroys hair cells.

Hair Products and Styling
Hairstyles such as ponytails, dreadlocks and tight rollers can cause constant pulling on the hair and therefore damage the hair follicles. 

Tinea Capitis
Tinea Capitis is a fungal infection of the scalp and is often referred to as ringworm of the scalp. Fungi can live on dead tissue of hair and skin layers and grow well in warm, moist areas. Your health care provider may prescribe medicine to help combat this scalp infection.

Trichotillomania
This is a mental disorder where an individual pulls out their hair frequently, which may cause bald spots on their scalp.

Menopause
As with most menopause symptoms, an imbalance of the body’s hormonal levels may lead to hair loss. The good news is that if this is the reason, it may not be permanent.

If you feel that any of these symptoms exist, you need to immediately consult a professional. This is the only step to finding the true culprit of your hair loss. Professionals may test hair samples and get to the root of your problem.

Let Transitions of Indiana in Indianapolis help give your hair what it needs to grow strong and healthy. We encourage you to take the time and review your options then come in for a no cost, no obligation private hair loss consultation.

“We Restore More Than Just Your Hair!”

Transitions of Indiana is a premiere hair replacement center. Whether you live in Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Speedway, Carmel or anywhere in the surrounding Indiana area, we offer FREE private, confidential consultations to help you determine which customized treatment option is best for your individual situation.  Our hair replacement solution options include Sensigraft, Reallusions, Graduated Enhancement, Laser Hair Therapy, Hair Extensions, and hair loss control products. Take the first step to a new you and schedule your free hair loss evaluation.


Powered by Blogger.

Popular Posts

Labels