Charlotte’s Chronicled Causes of Hair Loss

When Charlotte Moore lifted parts of her hair and noticed bald patches on her scalp, she immediately sought advice from her doctor.

Her scalp psoriasis was suggested as one reason for this, but unsatisfied, Charlotte sought help from a local trichologist who asked her, ‘Did something happen to you about three months ago?’

Then 24-year-old Charlotte unfolded her story about how, last October (three months before her trichology consultation), she had been treated in the hospital for ulcerative colitis.

She recalled, ‘I was on a lot of drugs and it was about New Year when I noticed I was losing a bit of hair. Then I noticed I had bald patches under my hair’.

The expert’s conclusion was that the drugs had prevented essential nutrients from reaching her hair and she was referred through to trichologist Katie Philips in Piddington, Northamptonshire, for a consultation.

Katie gave Charlotte a scalp treatment for her psoriasis and equipped her with some lightweight hair extensions.

Charlotte reflected: ‘I was highly embarrassed by the hair loss and initially no one could give me answers. My doctor had known I had been in hospital and made no connection to that at all’.

Although chemotherapy for cancer treatment is a well-known cause of hair loss, according to Katie Philips there are many more causes which are not often discussed.

With the number of straightening irons, hair dyes and other harsh beauty tools found today, modern fashions are not conducive to good, healthy hair, according to Katie. Combine that with crash dieting trends and the stress of a fast-paced lifestyle, the risk of women hair loss increases.

She said, ‘When people lose their hair, I have to try to find out why they lose their hair, I do a consultation in which I go into their general health and any changes in their health’.