From research and observation, we know a lot about hair growth. We know there are multiple stages of hair growth and that while we may think all our hair is growing at the same time… that just isn’t true.
Typically, hair has a four-to-seven-year lifecycle with the anagen phase lasting between three and five years, according to Healthline. But sometimes, the unthinkable happens. Even though your hair is supposed to be growing, it starts falling out instead.
This is called anagen effluvium. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Anagen effluvium is a form of non-scarring alopecia commonly associated with chemotherapy. As part of chemotherapy, antimetabolites, alkylating agents, and mitotic inhibitors can cause anagen effluvium, which is also known as chemotherapy-induced alopecia. In this disorder, the affected anagen hairs suffer a toxic or inflammatory insult, resulting in a hair shaft fracture.”
Translation? Just when chemotherapy is working the most to cure the disease it was prescribed for, it is most likely to cause damage to your hair follicles and make your hair fall out.
What Causes Anagen Effluvium?
As noted, chemotherapy is the most common cause of anagen effluvium. But it is not the only cause.
DermNet offers a complicated explanation that “any insult” that interrupts the mitosis of the hair follicle can cause anagen effluvium. In this case, “insult” means any infection, a drug, a toxin, radiation, or an autoimmune disease. Chemotherapy and other harsh treatments for cancer are primary causes, but there are others as well.
One of the primary concerns about this is that it interrupts the normal lifecycle of the hair, but it may or may not verify to the body that the cycle has been changed.
Does Hair Grow Back After Anagen Effluvium?
Technically, anagen effluvium is considered a non-scarring form of alopecia. That means that if the hair follicle is not permanently damaged from the insult that caused it in the first place. The hair follicle might recover once the treatment is done.
But this result is still unpredictable. That is why some cancer patients see their hair grow back and some never do. And it could just be delayed until your hair gets the message that it is not growing like it should be.
According to Cancer Research UK, it is unusual for cancer patients who are not receiving chemotherapy to have total hair loss. And it is even more unusual for the hair not to grow back once the chemotherapy stops. But almost two-thirds of cancer patients have some form of anagen effluvium, sometimes called chemically induced alopecia, during their treatment.
What Does Anagen Effluvium Look Like?
Most often, anagen effluvium looks a lot like normal hair shedding, but with a lot more of it. The shedding though is not typically in patches or coming out in clumps. It is widespread hair loss.
There is some research indicating ways to make it less extensive. These include tourniquets to keep the scalp from receiving as much blood flow while receiving an infusion of cancer-fighting drugs and minoxidil treatments during cancer treatment. Each comes with inherent risks and are not appropriate for everyone.
Precision Hair Restoration Are the Hair Loss Experts
Whether it is minoxidil for anagen effluvium or a wide range of options for androgenic alopecia, Precision Hair Restoration has the treatments and procedures you need. We understand that life is difficult enough without also facing hair loss and we can help. Call us today.
