Does the hair loss make the scalp thinner?

It might rain all day long. It's two in the afternoon and the rain which started in the morning is still falling. Walking in such weather is a grim thing to do. However, the scene through the window is quite picturesque. And with a cup of tea, I feel refresh and live.

 

I had a patient in the morning who asked me, "Doctor, does the hair loss make the scalp become thinner? I think my scalp became stiff and thin." Then I replied, "Yes, the hair loss actually makes the scalp thinner. If your hair loss gets better, your scalp will regain its thickness and softness." He nodded in agreement.

 

Actually, I often encounter this kind of questions. Several years ago, I had the question by myself and I performed a rat experiment. Now, with the outcome of the experiment, I can give detailed answer to the question.

 

The experimental animals used are C57BL/6N laboratory mice which weight approximately 18g and 5weeks old, and two of each Telogen phase model (Fig. 1a), Spontaneous alopecia areata model (Fig. 1b), Final stage of anagen phase after hair loss model (Fig. 1c), First stage of anagen phase after hair loss model (Fig. 1d), and Alopecia universialis model (Fig. 1e) were used.

Fig. 1. Photographs of different stages of hair growing cycle in C57BL/6N mice; 1a. Telogen phase; 1b. Spontaneous alopecia areata model; 1c, final stage of anagen phase after hair loss; 1d, first stage of anagen phase after hair loss; 1e, Alopecia universialis

 

 

Fig. 2. Longitudinal section of skin in different stages of hair growing cycle in hair loss C57BL/6N mice models. 2a. Telogen phase; 2b. Spontaneous alopecia areata model; 2c, Final stage of anagen phase after hair loss; 2d, Alopecia universialis

 

You can't really tell from the picture, can you? I'll explain one by one.

 

Let's first look at (Fig. 1a, 2a). Telogen phase (TP) is the telogen of the hair of a normal rat. The bulge which grows to become follicle of new hair is observed under the existing hair follicle, the hypodermal fat is thin and the thickness of the skin and hypoderm is 208± 12.3 ㎛ (Fig. 1a, 2a).

 

Now let’s look at (Fig. 1e, 2d). What can be observed in Alopecia universialis are one or two hair follicles and sebaceous gland in development. The skin has become thinner because of weak development of hypoderm and the thickness of the skin and hypoderm is 83± 12 ㎛.

 

(Fig. 1d) is the first stage of anagen. This is the state which the hair follicle is beginning to form, but the hair has failed to grow out of the skin. The hypoderm in this state is also beginning to become thicker and the thickness of the skin and hypoderm is 330± 17㎛.

 

Finally, let’s look at (Fig. 1c, 2c). Final stage of anagen is the state which many numbers of hair follicles in growth can be observed, and the hair shaft has grown through the skin. The thickness of the skin and hypoderm is 525± 21 ㎛. Compared to Spontaneous alopecia, the hypodermal fat is increased and the hypoderm became thicker.

In conclusion, in the case of overall hair loss, the development of sebaceous gland was distinctive, the skin in the area suffering hair loss became thinker, when new hairs grow, the hypoderm became thicker as well as the skin.

 

After the experiment I was for sure that the hair loss actually does make the scalp to become thinner.

 

Now, if you feel that your scalp is becoming thinner, your scalp become stiffer and you can almost feel your skull, you should prevent the hair loss beforehand. Daily scalp massage can help preventing your scalp becoming thinner. Gently apply pressure on your scalp with the finger tips for 5~10 seconds and move up, down, left and right, anytime and anywhere(perhaps when you are watching television or at break times).