Alopecia – A Natural Approach that Addresses the Immune System!

Alopecia is the medical term for loss of hair usually in a circumscribed manner from the head, scalp or body, sometimes to the extent of complete baldness.

Types of Alopecia

Some of the commonly occurring types of Alopecia include:
- Androgenetic Alopecia (Male / Female Pattern Baldness)
- Diffuse Alopecia (diffused hair-loss over the scalp; This is a rare syndrome)
- Traction Alopecia (this occurs most at the hair-line due to frequently tying hair too tightly in ponytails, braids, etc.)
- Cicatricial Alopecia (hair loss that occurs in areas where there is scarring or other tissue damage. Hair loss in such areas is usually permanent).

- Alopecia Areatea – With hair loss occurring most commonly on the scalp, this condition can cause temporary or permanent hair loss anywhere on the body. It affects both men and women. The reasons for Alopecia areata have been obscure, however, in most cases, heredity plays a major role. Alopecia areata is also considered to be an auto-immune disorder.* Alopecia Areatea is further classified into Alopecia
Totalis and Alopecia Universalis.

Alopecia Totalis – This is an autoimmune disorder, in which there is complete loss of hair on the scalp.
Alopecia Universalis – Here the person experiences loss of hair all over the body, e.g. eyelashes, pubic hair, etc.


Causes of General Hair Loss
There are many known causes of general hair loss including hereditary predisposition, hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiency, abnormalities in the immune system, psychological stress, infections, etc.


What are the Treatment Options for Hair Loss and Alopecia?

There are many options available to treat or manage hair loss today. While conventional medicine advocates the use of hormones and steroids, traditional natural therapies are aimed to act on the root causes of hair loss and thus indirectly help to promote re-growth.

Treatment options for Alopecia are limited. Application of strong topical and systemic corticosteroids help induce re-growth, however, hair is generally lost once the treatment is stopped.

Conventional System of Medicine:

Some of the Allopathic Medicines commonly used to treat Alopecia and promote hair growth include Minoxidil, Celestone and Diprolene. Unfortunately, these are steroids and may result in side-effects like thinning of the skin, and many more with long-term and repeated use.

Hair Restoration Technologies today, offer many cosmetic alternatives for aesthetically correcting hair loss.

The following are some of the methods of Hair Implantation:

Strip Incisions - Small strips of skin with hair are transplanted from a healthy area to an affected area.
Follicular Unit Extraction - Grafts of 1-4 hair follicles are placed into the receptor sites.
Mini / micro grafting - Donor tissue is cut into small pieces; those that contain
1-2 hairs are referred to as micro-grafts and those that have 3-6 hairs are called mini-grafts.
Laser Grafting - Graft receptor sites are made with a laser


Complementary Natural Systems:

Ayurveda as a Complementary Natural System

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medicinal system that uses plants and herbs with curative properties. It focuses on the three doshas which are vata, pitta, and kapha and the disease is viewed as a state of imbalance in each person’s doshas. Ayurvedic treatment for Alopecia centers around balancing the manifestations of 5 elements that govern all functions of the body and promote healthy hair follicles, resulting in re-growth.
Clinical research suggests tremendous success of this system, which includes both oral therapies as well as local applications for Alopecia.



Homeopathy as a Complementary Natural System

The crux of effective alopecia treatment is in making the immune system stop looking at hair as a foreign body.* Homeopathy, by managing to do this, has produced astounding results with both Alopecia and general hair loss.

In the case of Alopecia, Homeopathic remedies including sarcodes are used to promote balance in the body. Sarcodes are basically potentized bioenergetic impressions of healthy organs, glands, tissues and secretions, which when administered, are believed by traditional Homeopathy, to be of benefit to normal structure and function of the corresponding body systems.

Natural Dietary Supplements

When a person goes to the doctor complaining of hair loss, generally the first thing the doctor does is to recommend some vitamin or iron supplements. Certain dietary supplements like Vitamin E, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Gelatin and VitaminB3 are known for reducing falling of hair and promoting its re-growth.

Today, dietary supplements are available in a natural form that is both free of chemicals as well as very easily absorbable by the body.

Blending of Homeopathic Ingredients and Natural Dietary Supplements – A Winning Combination!

Great naturalistic minds have now realized that when is comes to arresting alopecia and general hair loss, there are two basic requirements from the immune system – 1) To stop it from responding to hair follicles as though they are foreign bodies; 2) To strengthen it. The resultant blend of Homeopathy and Natural Dietary supplements has offered hope to a lot of relapsing cases of alopecia and general hair loss.