Glossary of Medical Terms

Alopecia

A medical term referring to the progressive loss of hair, with it thinning out and falling. It should not be confused with ‘baldness’, which means losing all of the hair, on a more or less extended zone of the scalp. FIND OUT MORE Hair Loss: How to Indentify Your Type of Loss or Alopecia ?

Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata is different from other types of hair loss because of its sudden and unpredictable nature. Alopecia areata by patches, the most common, is isolated to specific zones of the scalp, with areas of total baldness. Very rarely, the process can extend itself to the whole of the scalp. The alopecia areata is then qualified as ‘alopecia totalis’. Even more rarely, the loss is generalized to the whole hair system, and all the body hair falls. That is called ‘alopecia universalis’. FIND OUT MORE Alopecia Areata and Hair Loss

Androgen Hormones

Androgens are the sexual male hormone that cause, in both men and women, the secretions of the sebaceous gland (sebum) and androgenetic alopecia.

MEN produce androgen through the testicles and the suprarenal glands. When hair problems occur, it is not the volume of androgen secretion that is the cause, but rather how sensitively the androgen is absorbed by the hair follicle. In other words, it is not an overproduction of hormones, but rather a skin problem of the ‘receiver’, in medical terms. FIND OUT MORE Androgen - Men

WOMEN produce androgen through the ovaries and the suprarenal glands. Of course, women secrete many more female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). Their female hormones compete with the androgen to limit its action at hair follicle level. That is why women never turn bald. FIND OUT MORE Androgen - Women

Androgenetic Hair Loss/Alopecia

A term used in dermatology to define a hair loss that is: 1) genetically programmed, 2) caused by the action of androgen hormones hormones on the hair’s normal renewal. The combination of the terms ‘gene’ and ‘androgen’ explain why the hair loss/alopecia is called ‘androgenetic’. The loss is progressive and localised to well-defined areas of the scalp: that is what differentiates it from telogen effluvium hair loss. FIND OUT MORE: Androgenetic Hair Loss Men Women

Areas of the Scalp

Glycemic Index (GI)

The glycemic index classifies nutrients according to their level of glucose and how quickly they free it into the blood, on a scale from 0 to 100. There are three categories:

High > 70 ----- -------- Medium: from 55 to 70 --------- ------- Low < 55

Céramids

Oily substances that link to each other the cuticle's scales. They are mainly constituted of essential fatty acids, and their action is triple:

1- CIMENT FUNCTION. They shape the substance that seal the cuticle’s scales, in the same way that cement keeps together the bricks in a wall. Thus kept together, the scales make for a smooth surface, which enables the hair to protect itself against external aggressions, and to reflect light (shine effect).

2- BARRIER FUNCTION. They prevent the water that is inside the hair from fleeing.

3- SPONGE FUNCTION. They can also absorb a certain quantity of water coming from the air’s humidity, in order to maintain a regular hydration of the hair stem.

Hair Follicle

The hair follicle is the wrapping in which is kept the hair root, under the scalp. That is where the hair’s life is developed. FIND OUT MORE The Hair Follicle