Alopecia and hair loss have been in the news a lot lately. If you don’t know why then you’ve definitely been living under a rock – no pun intended.
The incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at The Oscars has been well-documented, with everyone having an opinion on the joke made at Jada Pinkett Smith’s expense. She suffers from a form of alopecia, meaning she’s losing her hair. It’s got many people talking about women’s hair loss and the possible treatments for it. She herself has spoken about trying different treatments in the past but has decided to shave her hair off anyway.
It gets you wondering, is it actually possible to regrow your hair if you have suffered hair loss?
Yes, you can regrow your hair
It is technically possible to regrow your hair if it has fallen out. After all, we lose hair every single day, and most of it grows back of its own accord. But, if hair falls out and doesn’t grow back, you can find a hair loss treatment that encourages the follicle to grow again. Some of these treatments involve lasers, while others involve topical serums and solutions.
The key is that the follicle itself is still alive. Hair follicles can become dormant, meaning they don’t grow hair, but they still exist. This is why a lot of hair loss solutions revolve around waking up these follicles and making them grow hair once more.
Effectively, if you catch hair loss at an early stage, it is definitely possible to reverse the issue and encourage your hair follicles to be active again. You can also most definitely strengthen the growth of any existing hairs, which can cause thin areas to look thicker once more.
No, you can’t regrow your hair
On the other hand, it is impossible to regrow your hair in certain scenarios. If the follicle has closed or disappeared, then you will never be able to get it to grow again. This can also be the case if a follicle has been dormant for too long. Try as you might, you’ll never be able to wake it up and encourage hair regrowth.
Still, there is hope for people suffering from hair loss and without the ability to regrow any hair. There are plenty of other treatment options – like hair transplants – that have been shown to work really well. Scientists are also working on ideas like cloning hair follicles, meaning you can replace the ones that have closed or been asleep for too long.
Experiencing hair loss can be a really stressful time in your life. Ironically, stress will only speed up the rate at which you lose your hair. The best approach is to take good care of your hair from an early age, preventing many causes of hair loss. If your hair is already falling out, there are definitely lots of treatments available. At the very least, you can always wear a wig or embrace the bald look. It’s not the end of the world if you lose your hair, but it’s understandable if you’re worried and anxious.
