People with a patchy form of hair loss called alopecia areata might be helped with hypnosis a medical study has stated. Hypnotherapy may improve the mental well being of patients with alopecia areata, Dr. Ria Willemsen of the University in Brussels and his colleagues wrote in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology recently.

Alopecia areata is an auto immune disease displaying characteristics of sudden and sometimes recurrent hair loss in round spots from the scalp or any part of the body that has human hair. Psychological factors, such as stress and trauma have also been reported to play a role in the onset of the alopecia areata condition, but few studies have ever looked at any psychological treatments for this condition.

Hypnosis as a treatment for Alopecia Areata was conducted on individuals with extensive hair loss, on Thirty percent or more of their scalp that had lasted for at least three months. These patients who had previously failed to respond to treatment with steroids, were analysed anywhere from six months to six years.

In most cases, the patients received hypnosis along with some other medical treatments. During the hypnotherapy sessions, which took place once every three weeks, the patients in the trial were asked to imagine the healing effects of the sun’s warmth on their scalp.

None of the patients reported any negative side effects as a result of the hypnotherapy. Five patients experienced a significant relapse during the follow-up period, four of whom experienced enough hair loss to return them to their post treatment status.

After treatment with a minimum of just three to four sessions of hypnotherapy, Twelve patients experienced hair growth on at least Seventy Five percent of their scalp, and nine of these Twelve experienced total hair growth.

Exactly how hypnosis might stimulate hair growth is still unknown, research has shown that the hypnotic sessions to improve blood flow in the scalp were linked to an actual increase in blood flow and skin temperature of the scalp.

Despite these incredibly findings, all the researchers maintain that it is still controversial at this stage whether hypnosis is an effective treatment for alopecia areata. Since most patients received hypnotherapy as a treatment, unfortunately it is still not possible to evaluate how much of the changes and improvement in the hair growth was caused by the hypnotic interventions.

However,it must be said that the results have proven worthy of issuing a press release on the subject,for information on the latest alopecia or balding hair conditions, feel free to visit my sites dedicated to the conditions of Alopecia & Alopecia Areata

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I have also reduced the amount of advertising on the website as I now have other income streams that allow me to keep Help4alopecia.com up and running. Finally I hope to include many more posts in the areas of personal growth, self esteem and confidence as I feel these are critical in helping people come to terms with their Alopecia and move on with their lives. Stay tuned as there is lots in the pipeline at the moment.

I’d almost given up hope of ever successfully treating my Alopecia Universalis, however recently my mum was speaking to a young lady who had a similar form of Alopecia and was able to successfully treat it by having Acupuncture. It seems that she also had no hair, eyelashes or eyebrows and had no success trying localised steroid (Hydrocortisone) injections to the scalp. However she now has complete regrowth after using twice monthly Acupuncture sessions over several months.

Interestingly, I had read that Acupuncture had been used to treat Alopecia in previous studies. In fact, in the text “Acupuncture in Medical Practice” by Louise Oft Wensel, M. D.,published in 1980 by Reston Publishing Company, Inc., the authors speak of the use of acupuncture to treat alopecia areata. However, only a 30% success rate was reported for this specific treatment.

It was probably this low success rate that put me off even trying it however having heard of someone that has actually had success (and with an acupuncturist in my home town) I think its time to go ahead and give it a shot. It’s not a cheap therapy by any means and requires ongoing twice monthly sessions but I feel compelled to give it a try. I’ll be tracking my progress in the coming months and I’ll be sure to post some photos to let you know how I get on.

Read the full review of High Self Esteem in 21 Days by Adam Eason.

I’ve been watching Extreme Dreams with Ben Fogle recently, a BBC Two documentary in which Ben Fogle leads a team of adventurers on a life changing trek through Uganda. The documentary is inspiring stuff as all the adventurers have had to overcome physical and emotional challenges which include everything from blindness to obesity. Amongst the team involved is Gaynor a mother of three who has Alopecia. Part of the reason why she wanted to take part in this experience is to build her self esteem as having Alopecia has taken its toll on an emotional level.

“I want to get out there and meet people and not hide away…”

Gaynor

By taking part in such a life changing experience she is hoping to build both her self esteem and confidence and this is an incredible positive way of dealing with Alopecia that many of us could learn from. Shying away from the realities of life and relationships with others can be the most tempting way of dealing with things when your self esteem is at rock bottom but in fact it’s the worst course of action. Now I’m not suggesting that everyone pack their suitcases for a trip around the world right now but perhaps taking just a small step everyday is all that’s needed to help restore that inner confidence. This could be anything from doing a little exercise to simply meeting some friends for a quick drink and a chat. It’s the little things that make a big difference in the long run.

“…the word ‘esteem’ shares the same root as the word ’estimate’ meaning ‘to put a value on’. Therefore, you can see that ’self-esteem’, really does just mean; ‘the value we put on ourselves’.”

Adam Eason - The World’s Favourite Hypnosis & Personal Development

Building your self esteem is one of the most important and rewarding steps you can make and this is something that I will be discussing in more detail in the future. In the meantime I’ll leave you with a great quote from Robert Ringer.

“A quality such as self-esteem is a result of practising good human relations”
Robert J Ringer
Author

What makes this blog so different is the fact that it explores so much more than just alopecia itself. This quote from the blog explains their mission statement more clearly.

“Hoping to eradicate ignorance regarding hair loss and baldness, they are raising awareness about alopecia and challenging ideas about gender and beauty that often lead people to ridicule and reject alopecians and others based on physical appearance.”

The blog also celebrates self-acceptance, deep love and promotes a positive image of people of alopecia which makes great reading for anyone with Alopecia or who has been discriminated against because of hair loss. I found the blog entries uplifting, well written and high original.

The site is well designed, easy to use and also has some interesting features which include an audio player that reads out each blog entry. Although this isn’t the author’s own voice ( it is in fact a computer generated reading) it was surprisingly easy to listen to and I can see that it would be helpful to visually impaired visitors. As a web designer myself this is something I appreciate. You can also subscribe to the latest blog entries (RSS feed) via email which is a nice touch.

I think you’ll agree that www.AlopeciaAndLove.com is a great read and well worth bookmarking.

Perhaps what divides opinion about hair pieces is the sheer range of quality on offer and many people will either have known or seen someone wearing a bad toupee. The fact that someone will have put themselves through wearing something like that just goes to show that for some, being bald is the worst case scenario.

Of course there is always the other end of the spectrum and high quality hair pieces made from real human hair and fitted by experts can be a revelation. Some are so impressive that it’s almost impossible to tell the difference. Of course you get what you pay for and these alternatives can be expensive. So what are the alternatives and should men embrace baldness?

In today’s society thankfully its become more acceptable to have a shaven head. Just look at the amount of film stars, soccer players and fashion models that now sport shaven heads. Bruce Willis, Will Smith, Billy Zane and Vin Diesel have embraced the bald look and it has done them no harm at all. A recent documentary in the UK followed one man in his early twenties as he tried various hair loss treatments along with hair pieces and after posting photos of himself with and without hair on www.hotornot.com he found he had a higher score with his bald photo. There is certainly plenty of evidence to suggest many find bald men sexy.

Ironically men’s self esteem has probably never been at a lower level. In today’s highly pressured western society men are expected to have great jobs, make lots of money, be better lovers and look perfect at the same time. Whilst taking care of how you look isn’t necessarily a bad thing its important to take a step back and realise what’s truly important. Being comfortable in your own body is a far more attractive quality than we give credit for. Life is for living and it’s about making the most of what your blessed with so stop saying “I wish” and start saying “I will”.

The full press release is over at azcentral.com if your interested in finding out more and making a donation.

Just because you lose your hair doesn’t mean to say that life is awful… It was easier than I thought to deal with - I thought it’s just another thing, get on with it, it’s just another part of the journey.

She also goes on to discuss how post-natal depression, going to the Priory clinic and her marriage breakup with Dan Hipgrove have had an effect on her life. It’s an interesting interview and I have to hand it to Gail she really is doing a tremendous amount work to keep Alopecia in the spotlight. This is something I think we are all greatful for as the more awareness we have for this condition the better. I only wish other celebrities with alopecia did a little more to help.

You can read the full Gail Porter interview here