Hair loss
and illness...

Hair loss can be the result of many factors.

Hair loss is very often linked to an event: stress, fatigue, emotional shock, pregnancy. But it can also be caused by an illness or by the drugs prescribed to deal with it.

But when the subject of disease-related hair loss comes up, one immediately thinks of the effects of certain drug treatments on hair, such as chemotherapy.

Certain pathologies such as autoimmune disease, as well as alopecia, lupus and lichen planus are also likely to cause hair loss. Children's hair may suffer as a result of the disease or the treatment prescribed.

Determining the origin of hair loss

When the cause of hair loss is not obvious, it may be helpful to consult a dermatologist. If deemed it necessary, they might decide to proceed with a biopsy of the scalp in order to analyze it.

The effects of certain treatments on the hair

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can cause significant or even total hair loss. It is estimated that two out of three women lose their hair during chemotherapy treatment.

However, hair has been recognized for centuries as one of the main attributes of femininity. A woman often feels a lot of satisfaction in taking care of her hair, in styling it, in playing around with its colour, with its volume… Both for herself and for others.

While the vast majority of patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from hair loss, this ordeal can be particularly cruel for women. It deprives them of their main feminine feature and exposes their inner struggle against the disease to the world.

Some people want to keep this ordeal private, especially so that others' views of them do not change. They then decide to hide their naked head under a wig. To help patients cope with this harmful side effect both on their morale and general condition, these wigs may be covered by social security.

Under no circumstances should hair loss treatment be used while chemo is in progress as this could worsen hair loss. It is therefore necessary to wait two to three months after stopping the treatment before starting an anti-hair loss treatment.

Most patients experience hair regrowth after discontinuing treatment

Indeed, once the treatment is finished, hair growth can resume and it is always a great joy for the patients to see their scalps become progressively covered with hair again. But the texture or colour of this new hair can sometimes be disconcerting.

And some might even be surprised! Where they used to have blond hair, now they are gradually seeing much darker or frizzier hair grow back… 40% of people have whiter hair and 20% hair with a different colour.

This is a side effect of chemotherapy that alters the cells responsible for the colour and appearance of hair.