All about seborrheic alopecia: what it is and how to treat it

What are the symptoms of it

While we often hear about all the other recognized forms, seborrheic alopecia is always underestimated yet it can produce similar effects to androgenetic alopecia, thus paving the way for baldness.

Seborrheic alopecia, how to recognize it and how to treat it? Let’s try to get this clear as best as possible in order to fight this issue in the best way.

Let’s take a closer look at seborrheic alopecia

If your hair falls out, it could be because of seborrheic alopecia (baldness), but not everyone can recognize it, also because it shows up in a very similar way to other more well-known forms. Let’s see, therefore, what it is. Seborrheic alopecia can cause early hair loss and can occur even earlier than the age of 20. Here is what may be the first difference with other forms of alopecia, although they can show up early, it is going to be at a slighty older age.

What is the cause of seborrheic alopecia? The name itself says it all: it is seborrhea, or the excessive production of sebum by the scalp. Although this is a protective substance of the scalp itself, when there is an over-secretion there can be problems of no small importance. One has to wonder why this happens. The sebum is formed by fatty acids, triglycerides and other substances that alter the pH of the skin, making it acidic. This affects the life cycle of the hair and causes what is known as dandruff. Excessive dandruff along with desquamation, itching or pain on the scalp may be symptoms that set off alarm bells.

As mentioned, it often happens that cases of seborrheic alopecia are confused with cases of androgenic alopecia. What are the differences and how to recognize one from the other?

The causes of seborrheic alopecia are linked to hormonal factors such as, for example, the action of the already known enzyme 5-alpha-reductase that transforms testosterone into dihydrotestosterone which, in turn, attacks the hair bulbs destroying them. This could be a similarity with androgenetic alopecia which is triggered by the same enzyme. What changes is that in this case the hair tends to fall more in the frontal area and on the vertex. We can add that seborrheic alopecia affects men almost exclusively, while women are almost completely immune to it.

As far as the care of seborrheic alopecia is concerned, the first thing to do is to understand if it is associated with dermatitis. In that case it may be necessary to take care of this problem first, which could worsen the situation. In some cases, 5 alpha reductase inhibitor therapy is recommended in order to reduce its activity. However, the results may not be as hoped and, above all, may not arrive. Here, then, that the hair transplantation could be the ultimate solution to consider if you want healthy and strong hair back.