Types of Hair Loss : Infectious Agents

Ringworm

    Ringworm has nothing to do with worms, it is actually a fungal infection. Ringworm is first and foremost an infectious skin condition and can occur anywhere on the body, but if it develops on the scalp it can cause patches of hair loss. When it occurs on the scalp the professional term for ringworm is "tinea capitis". Ringworm is the same thing as athletes foot, and the same kind of fungal infection can affect the nails too. Ringworm of the scalp usually begins as a small pimple that progressively expands in size, leaving scaly patches of temporary baldness. The fungus gets into the hair fibers In the affected area and these hairs become brittle and break off easily leaving a bald patch of skin. The affected areas are often itchy, red and inflamed, scaly patches that may blister and ooze. The patches are usually redder around the outside with a more normal skin tone in the center. This may create the appearance of a ring, hence the name, ringworm.

Types of Hair Loss : Congenital Hypotrichosis

    Hypotrichosis is the term dermatologists use to describe a condition of no hair growth. Unlike alopecia, which describes hair loss where formerly there was hair growth, hypotrichosis describes a situation where there wasn't any hair growth in the first place. Hypotrichoses (plural) then are conditions that affect individuals right from birth and usually stay with them throughout their lives.

Types of Hair Loss : Scarring Alopecia

Scarring alopecia (Cicatricial alopecia)

    Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia, refers to a collection of hair loss disorders that may be diagnosed in up to 3% of hair loss patients. It occurs worldwide in otherwise healthy men and women of all ages.

Types of Hair Loss : Alopecia Areata

   Alopecia areata (AA) is probably the third most common form of hair loss dermatologists see, after androgenetic alopecia and telogen effluvium. The lifetime risk for AA is nearly 2%, or two in every 100 people will get AA at some point in their lives. It is not contagious; you can't catch AA from someone who has it.

Types of Hair Loss : Effluviums

Effluviums (defluviums)

    Some hair loss conditions go by the name "effluvium," which means an outflow. Effluviums characteristically affect different phases of the hair growth cycle.

Hair follicles on the scalp do not continuously produce hair. They cycle through a growth stage that can last two or more years, then regress to a resting stage for up to two months before starting to grow a new hair fiber again. At any time on a healthy human scalp, about 80% to 90% of the hair follicles are growing hair. These active follicles are in what is called the anagen phase. That leaves up to 10% to 20% percent of scalp hair follicles in a resting state called telogen, when they don't produce any hair fiber.

Types of Hair Loss

    The word "alopecia" is the medical term for hair loss. Alopecia does not refer to one specific hair loss disease -- any form of hair loss is an alopecia. The word alopecia is Latin, but can be traced to the Greek "alopekia," which itself comes from alopek, meaning "fox." Literally translated, the word alopecia (alopekia) is the term for mange in foxes.