Anitta: how to choose good hair loss treatments – 7/5/2023 – Equilíbrio

Singer Anitta has treated her hair in the United States to ease the sudden loss of hair. According to her, the responsible professional has been applying products to the scalp. Without giving details of the procedure, she used social networks to tell about the technique performed at the Tonya Beauty Group, a Brazilian aesthetic clinic that serves celebrities in cities like Miami and Orlando.

“A business is applying here to grow hair because since I got sick last year, I started to go bald and lose all my hair,” she said on her Instagram profile.

Will these applications work, however? Experts heard say that the technique chosen depends on the correct diagnosis, in addition to these types of treatment requiring medical monitoring due to possible side effects.

What causes hair loss?

According to Fabiane Mulinari Brenner, professor of Dermatology at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), there are dozens of types of hair loss or alopecia, which demonstrates the importance of a specialist doctor’s opinion for the correct diagnosis of each patient’s condition. The evaluation goes through a clinical and dermoscopic examination, which is an enlargement of the scalp.

Each hair on the head grows for a period of up to six years, part of a cycle in which it naturally falls out. Thus, Brenner emphasizes that it is necessary to differentiate the causes before indicating a treatment.

“We all have hair loss, the important thing is that we have an adequate replacement of this loss”, says the dermatologist.

When the loss is large and triggered by Covid-19 or other illnesses, postpartum, stress and medications, it is classified as “telogen effluvium”, which interrupts the period of normal growth.

“And if multiple hairs stop growing, there will be a drop about three months after that event. That’s when we see a different reduction than androgenetic alopecia, which is baldness, in which we see thinning”, says Brenner.

According to plastic surgeon Solon Eduardo Gouveia Souza, from the Speranzini Clinic team, an institution specialized in hair treatment and transplantation, hormonal changes and even changes in diet also affect hair.

“Sometimes it’s simpler things, a change in eating habits, life, but sometimes, depending on the cause, we really need to start with medication”, clarifies the doctor.

Treatments

Souza, who is also a member of the SBCP (Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery) and the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), it all boils down to the question: why is hair falling out? The doctor agrees that only with the correct diagnosis it is possible to establish a treatment plan.

“There are treatments that the person can do at home, take pills, apply lotions, and there are others that are more invasive, in which you really should look for a specialist with conditions to perform, as is the case of microneedling”, he points out. The technique consists of using a device with several small needles that help to apply medications through the skin and is done under anesthesia.

Other options are intradermotherapy, in which medications are injected through syringes and needles into the scalp, and photobiostimulation (also known as led therapy), which is performed using low-energy lights.

Are there risks?

When it comes to medication, Brenner says you have to be careful with side effects. Despite the variety of remedies used for hair loss control, adverse reactions can compound the original problem.

“It is always important to remember that these new treatments are alternative and we have very little evidence of results”, says the doctor.

There are some that lack scientific evidence, such as the plasma treatment chosen by Anitta for her face, which can also be used on her hair. According to Brenner, there is no robust evidence to prove that the technique promotes improvements.

“We shouldn’t take this as a first option, always a clinical evaluation and topical and oral medications are more interesting”, he highlights.