A salon in Davenport hosted the first of its annual ‘cut-a-thon’ event on the 15th of October 2017. The event was held to offer proceeds to benefit the US charity and organisation, Children With Hair Loss. This US charity gives free wigs to young children who suffer from hair loss in order to give them a chance to feel confident and help normalise their life.
The successful event catered to fourteen donors – some of whom have had close family members that were affected by hair loss as a result of alopecia areata or cancer therapies, and were able to personally empathise with the cause. In fact, one woman donated a generous ninety six inches of hair which will make a huge difference in more than one patients life.
The cut-a-thon also welcomed cash donations and held a silent auction, a raffle and sold off some baked goods. In total, the Fusion Salon managed to raise over two thousand dollars and has plans to hold this even annually.
What is Alopecia Areata?
Alopecia areata is an auto-immune condition where the immune system mistakenly attaches the hair follicles. Although damage is not always permanent, some patients can end up with noticeable patches of baldness, in more complicated and rare cases patients can end up with a complete loss of scalp and body hair.
This condition is most commonly seen in patients who are younger than twenty years old however children and adults of any age can be affected regardless of their gender.
Treatments for Alopecia Areata
Most of the time patients find that their hair growth begins to resume as normal within a year, unfortunately though this is a long time and areas of hair loss will still be noticeable as hair length will be considerably short. Some patients choose to wear hairpieces or use certain hair care products and styling methods to make their hair appear thicker.
The most common treatment for patchy hair loss is to inject corticosteroids into the scalp about one centimetre apart every four to six weeks to stimulate hair growth. Topical corticosteroids such as Minoxidil can also be used to stimulate and promote hair regrowth.
If you are interested in donating your hair, the Little Princess Trust in the UK requires donations so that it can provide free wigs to children around the UK. To learn more about alopecia areata and other hair loss conditions, speak to your doctor or a hair loss expert for more information.
