Disorders of the Scalp & Nails

The hair growth problems we see most often in clinic are diffuse, hormone-related hair loss (androgenetic alopecia), stress related hair loss (telogen alopecia) and patchy hair loss (alopecia areata).

Androgenetic alopecia: Hormone-related hair loss is a very common and distressing problem that can occur in either sex, but even more so in men. For women, we can do blood tests to assess your hormone levels. Results though, are often normal as in androgenic hair loss; the hair follicles often simply 'over-react' to regular levels of male hormones in everyone's bloodstream.

We offer topical and systemic treatments to help improve hair growth. One of our topical solutions is a prescription strength scalp tincture specially mixed for you by our partner pharmacy. It contains a number of different, highly effective active ingredients to help combat hormonal hair loss and is only available via our Dermatologists.

It's important to know that due to the length of the normal hair growth cycle, it will take at least 2-4 months for any disturbance to respond to treatment. Success takes patience and perseverance.

Telogen alopecia: In some cases, diffuse hair shedding is caused by a 'shock to the system' a few months prior. We call this type of hair loss 'telogen effluvium'. This is a non-scaring, temporary form of hair loss, which will in most cases recover spontaneously after a few months.

It is normal to lose up to 100 hairs each day as a result of the normal hair cycle. In a healthy scalp approximately 85% of the hair follicles are actively growing (so-called anagen phase) and 15% are resting (so-called telogen phase). If there is some shock to the system (think feverish illness, surgery, accident, emotional stress or shock, extreme dieting, excessive travel with jet-lack etc.), as many as 70% of our anagen hair can be pushed into telogen phase, thus reversing the normal ratio. Interestingly, excessive sun exposure may also be the trigger for telogen hair loss, so can not only harm your skin, but also your hair.

Alopecia areata: This patchy hair loss is a common form of hair shedding in both children and adults. It can arise spontaneously or be triggered by stressful life events. Hair loss occurs very suddenly and can be localised with only one or just a few patches, or it can be quite widespread, sometimes even affecting body hair.

The good news is that alopecia areata is not a scaring form of hair loss and in the majority of cases, the hair grows back after some time. We can't predict when this will happen, but we can certainly offer a topical and/or systemic treatment to try and kick-start the process or prevent further spreading.