COVID-19 changed many things in our lives, but one prevalent change was hair loss among individuals who contracted the virus. Any fever or illness can cause hair shedding, but hair loss following COVID-19 illness lasted longer than anyone expected. Hair loss varies among individuals and each of us knows how much hair loss is “normal”. If you notice more than normal shedding, clumps of hair, or visibly thinning hair, it may be a sign that something is wrong.
UNDERSTANDING HAIR LOSS
Hair loss can occur for a variety of reasons. Thinning hair and hair loss can occur due to external factors such as taking certain medications, pulling the hair to tight, or overtreatments at the hair salon and over use of certain hair products. In other cases, certain conditions such as thyroid disease, a shift in hormones, nutritional deficiencies and an inflammatory conditions such as Lupus can result in hair loss and thinning. A third component of hair loss can be genetic in nature such as male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia. Hair loss can be sudden or happen gradually over time. Men typically report thinning of hair starting at the hairline and forehead, while for women, is usually starts at the part of their hair. The results of thinning and hair loss over time can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, reduction in work and sexual performance, and even depression.
PURCHASE DE|RIVE HAIR CARE ONLINE
COMBATING HAIR LOSS AND THINNING HAIR
Treatment of hair loss should start by identifying the underlying cause. For some conditions such as male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia, a multimodal approach may be necessary while other conditions such as hair loss following COVID-19, a single modality may be enough to help restore and replenish hair growth. Each modality is never a one time treatment. Retreatment and long term medications are often required to maintain hair growth.
Oral and topical medications can be used in combination with treatments such as PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections. Historically, men tend to require more than one modality for hair growth to restore.
Finasteride, taken daily, blocks testosterone from converting to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which is responsible for weakening hair follicles causing them to die. Finasteride is not safe for women. Minoxidil in the foam form is often used to treat hereditary hair loss in women and is advisable when the hair begins to thin.
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections and microneedling has proven effective in treating men and women with thinning hair. PRP is a natural alternative for hair loss utilizing your body’s own proteins and growth factors to help stimulate hair growth. A typical recommendation is to have a As a general rule, a patient will start with a series of 3-4 treatments; each spaced 4-6 weeks apart while gauging the patient’s response to treatment. Once this initial treatment series is completed, maintenance sessions are recommended every 4-6 months.
At Spindrift Aesthetics, we are excited to be one of the few practices to offer a noninvasive, natural, organic alternative to medication. Our topical DE|RIVE hair loss serum has been proven effective in not only restoring hair loss but improving overall maintenance of hair loss and thinning. The DE|RIVE treatment is performed in office once a month for three months and then again at month six. Our DE|RIVE hair loss package includes three months of at home serum to be used daily in between your treatments. Results from DE|RIVE can be seen in as little as one month!
