We often look at our own hair and the hair of others and wonder why our hair is not as shiny or more frizzy. Looking at the hair closely can give us a lot of information about the state of health of a person.
What hair pathologies can be diagnosed with a microscopic examination?
With a first examination you can know the color, brightness, density, the state of the scalp, length and shape (if it is curly, straight, wavy …). After this first exploration the specialist in Plastic Surgery and Hair Surgery will feel the hair to know the texture (if the hair is dry, greasy, fine, thick, soft, rough…), the density of the follicles or the ease of detachment of these.
Once the examination and palpation of the hair is done, the specialist will have more clues to detect possible diseases:
- Low density. If the patient has little hair it may be a symptom of congenital hypotrichosis (or, what is the same, absence of hair growth), or loose anagen syndrome (a type of infantile alopecia).
- Lack of luster. This may be due to intestinal malabsorption or even untreated celiac disease.
- Hair color. Early gray hair is often related to pernicious anemia, vitiligo or thyroid problems, among others.
- Stopped hair growth. This usually occurs when there are metabolic alterations or deficiencies such as, for example, anorexia nervosa, psychic alterations, etc.
All this shows that the hair and scalp are very important to know the state of health of a person. It is essential to pay attention to any capillary alterations we have.