Telogen Effluvium: The Second Most Common Form of Hair Loss

If you’ve been familiarizing yourself with the diverse types of hair loss conditions out there, you may have read the scientific term “effluvium” pondering on what that word even means; effluvium is the ‘scientifically correct’ term for the outflow, and anagen and telogen refer to the distinct phases in your hair growth cycle.
One common misunderstanding amongst most people is that your scalp is always producing hair. We hate to break it to you but, it’s not. In fact, each of your hair follicles go through a cycle consisting of 3 phases in which they grow, rest, fall out, and repeat! Another common myth is that your entire head of follicular hairs all grow at one time, yet, if that were the case – there would be plenty more bald heads bobbling around the universe at a youthful age. Rather, your hair follicles are typically all at a somewhat different stage of the hair growth cycle which consists of 3 phases: Anagen, Catagen and Telogen.
Telogen Effluvium is generally considered to be the second most common type of hair loss. TE is a scalp disorder characterized by the thinning or shedding of hair causing early entry of hair in the telogen phase. The telogen phase, or ‘resting phase’ last for approximately 3 months. Generally speaking, most people will have 10-15% of their hairs in this phase at any given time. Another fun fact: Most people shed approximately 100 hairs a day in this phase! With that said, if you suffer from Telogen Effluvium…you may see an inflation in the amount of hairs you are shedding in a day.
If you are suffering from Telogen Effluvium, you are most likely experiencing hair loss or hair thinning across the entire scalp. So, what causes this affliction?

  • Severe stress
  • Hormonal imbalance
  • Dietary Habits
  • Physical Trauma
  • Medications
  • Post-birth

In contrary, Anagen Effluvium is seen in more rare cases in which patients have their hair falling out during the anagen or ‘growing’ phase of the hair growth cycle. The hair loss pattern itself, is similar to TE in that the hair loss tends to be in a diffuse manner. At any given time, you can expect to have 80-90% of your hair in the anagen phase. In hindsight, if someone is suffering from Anagen Effluvium, they will suffer from a rapid form of hair loss since a plethora of hairs will be affected. At Modena Hair Restoration, we typically see patients with Anagen Effluvium if they’ve had a cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.
Dr. Yazdan has had great success using PRP as a treatment option for combating Telogen Effluvium. PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma is a concentrate of a patients own blood plasma and growth factors injected into the scalp to encourage and accelerate healing. Hence why you may have heard professional athletes using PRP treatments for a speedy recovery of injuries. In-office or at home laser treatments have also showed remarkable success. Using treatments in conjunction with a hair loss prevention shampoo such as GroMD – keeping your hair follicles in the anagen phase longer will aid in getting the best results possible.

While there may be several treatment options available for men and women who are concerned about their balding or thinning hair issues, finding the right hair restoration specialist is paramount before proceeding with a hair transplant, PRP treatments, and medications.
If you are experiencing telogen effluvium or anagen effluvium and are interested in learning more about what hair loss treatments would be an appropriate solution for your specific needs, you can contact the Southern California and Las Vegas’ experienced hair loss physician, Dr. Yazdan, in order to determine the cause of your hair loss and what your options are for treatment. At Modena Hair Restoration, Dr. Yazdan is skilled in both surgical and non-surgical treatments using advanced technology fused with creative and innovative tools and techniques to give his patients optimal and natural results.

For questions or to schedule a consultation, call one of our offices conveniently located in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas at 888-717-5273 or contact via our website at contact Modena Hair Link

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