Alopecia Health Video

Alopecia, loss of body hair, occurs in both men and women. Learn about alopecia from a doctor in this video on premature balding.

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Consult a doctor for premature baldness
Propecia may help
Women should see a dermatologist

About this Author

Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, the author of the book Six Weeks to Sensational Skin, is a board certified dermatologist who has made numerous appearances on television shows such as Good Morning America. She holds a degree from Hunter College in New York, an M.D. from Downstate University at SUNY, and did her residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Ciraldo has been a board-certified dermatologist since 1982, and is currently a voluntary professor at the University of Miami, where she runs a clinic in cosmetic dermatology.

DR. LORETTA CIRALDO: Hi, I'm Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, voluntary professor of Dermatology at the University of Miami School of Medicine, and author of "Six Weeks to Sensational Skin". The term alopecia is the medical term for hair thinning or abnormal hair loss. When we talk about men with alopecia, probably the biggest concern is what we call male-pattern alopecia, which really means male baldness, and of course this is primarily a hereditary problem. So, if you are someone who has any baldness in the family, you may know that it may even skip a generation; so do not only look at your dad but look at your grandparents. If you do have a family history of baldness and you're in your 20s or 30s and feel that possibly your hair is either starting to thin or you're getting a little patch in the back of your scalp or possibly there is just a receding hairline, then I really would emphasize you asking your doctor about a prescription pill called Propecia, and Propecia is a pill that you can take daily and has a very high success rate in actually reversing baldness in men. Now, if a woman gets hair loss or alopecia then there are two primary causes that we think about for women. In younger women, it is often times related to stress, and as I often like to say, there is such a thing as good stress. For instance, sometimes pregnancy or things like this can relate to hair loss. If this is the case with you, it is probably very reversible, but if you are a middle-aged woman and experiencing hair loss, one of the biggest things to do is to ask your physician about the possibility that some prescription medication may be the cause for your alopecia or hair loss. I want to leave you another very hopeful note that modern dermatology has loads of good approaches to alopecia and we believe that with some good help, you can regrow your hair.

Alopecia Health Video

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