There are many men who suffer from seborrheic alopecia. It is an early hair loss that can affect any type of man between the ages of 20-30 years and usually appears in the frontal region and the vertex. The cause of seborrheic alopecia is related to an excessive production of sebum that causes and accelerates hair loss. We must know that this production in this way will be through another disease known as seborrheic dermatitis.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about seborrheic alopecia and how to treat it.
Seborrheic alopecia and dermatitis
The first thing to keep in mind is that seborrheic alopecia occurs as a consequence of seborrheic dermatitis. It is not that this hair loss is a disease itself. It is a consequence of the previous illness. Seborrheic dermatitis It is a disease that causes inflammation in the scalp and other areas of the body. These areas that are affected cause a strong itch. Often in some characteristics similar to the disease known as rosacea and can be more difficult to diagnose. Some of the two diseases that we have mentioned can occur at the same time and make their diagnosis difficult.
It is a chronic and recurrent disease that, if properly treated, can lessen symptoms and prevent a worsening. However, it is very difficult to cure completely since there are some diseases that become more serious in winter while others decrease in summer. In this case, seborrheic dermatitis can occur more fully and intensely in the winter months. Therefore, it is convenient that people who have this seborrheic dermatitis have a deep knowledge about the characteristics of the disease to be able to live with it and combat its symptoms as much as possible.
Main symptoms
Among the symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis we have the following:
- Painful symptoms
- Dandruff can appear on hair, beard hair, and eyebrows.
- The skin becomes more oily and reddened in different parts of the body.
- Scabs appear on the scalp.
- The skin of the eyelids can become inflamed and this is known as seborrheic blepharitis.
- If it occurs in babies, you will see milk fringes form on the scalp.
- One of the main symptoms is redness, inflammation or the appearance of small scales in areas such as the nose, cheeks, ears, armpits, groin or shoulder. Typically, most people with seborrheic dermatitis have it on the cheek. They usually have a generalized redness that gives the feeling of having been burned on the beach.
Why seborrheic alopecia occurs
We know that seborrheic alopecia is early hair loss that it usually affects young men between the ages of 20 and 30. This excessive production in sebum causes and accelerates hair loss. Some of the symptoms that accompany this seborrheic alopecia are liquor, pain in the scalp and oily dandruff that flakes.
The reason for seborrheic alopecia comes from the excessive activity of the sebaceous glands. These glands increase their activity due to hormonal decompensations or due to the activity of an enzyme known by the name of 5alpha-reductase.. This enzyme is what converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. The amount of enzymes that are responsible for converting one into another and the amount of receptors to capture androgens present on the scalp varies. These hormonal changes are manifested in the amount of sebum it produces. The severity with which seborrheic alopecia manifests depends on how the enzymes and receptors are distributed throughout the scalp.
It happens that the levels of this enzyme are higher in the follicles of the temporal, frontal and vertex area. This occurs both in men, women. However, in the parietal and occipital area they are smaller. The difference that exists from this is that the number of receptors that are present in the follicles is much higher in women than in men. Thus, women are less subject to seborrhea and greasy hair. This defect usually happens in women who have hormonal problems and some digestive problems. For this reason, if we see hair loss that is accompanied by excess sebum, we cannot reduce this explanation of the extent to which dihydrotestosterone can cause these phenomena.
Posibles tratamientos
The thing becomes more serious when seborrheic alopecia have the ability to build follicles, altering hair recovery. If the hair seta, but can be recovered again, the problem is not so serious. Passing all this some practical cases we can see that there are quadrant androgenetic alopecia that overlap and coexist with seborrheic alopecia. Usually the components of sebum are cholesterol, triglycerides, borderline fatty acids, squalene and sphingosine. All these components are responsible for producing a reduction in pH and, therefore, produces an alteration of the metabolism of the skin cells of the scalp.
Another cause that can produce this pathology is related to the fungi of the Malassezia class. These fungi are found in large quantities and can affect areas that have more sebum. Despite this, scientists have not yet directly related this fungus to the appearance of dermatitis.
The possible treatments for this disease are trichological. It means that it is best to have good hygienic properties you want to have before in order to eliminate excess sebum that forms the basis of hair loss. There is a common low frequency seat treatment sanitizing and antibacterial properties. This is quite useful to revitalize the scalp and maintain the metabolic activity of the hair follicles and bulbs.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about seborrheic alopecia and its consequences.