Can Scalp Psoriasis Cause Hair Loss?

Have you noticed that your hair is starting to thin now that you have psoriasis?

For many people the signs of thinning hair can be very scary.  You may have had a thick healthy head of hair all your life and all of sudden it begins to thin with the onset of psoriasis.  You might even think the treatment products you are using such as psoriasis shampoos, scalp oils or creams are causing your hair to fall out.  Before you begin to freak out it is important to understand exactly what is going on.

How Hair Grows

Normally hair goes through three phases of life.  The growth phase (anagen), the dormant phase (catagen) and the phase where it dies and falls out (telogen).

The growth phases normally lasts from two to six years.  The dormant phase typically last two to three weeks, and the hair shedding phase lasts around one hundred days.  Then the process starts all over again and the hair follicle begins to grow a new hair.  The life and growth of a hair is very slow. There are many things that occur in our lives that can affect hair growth.

Scalp psoriasis hair loss is common but it can be easily controlled. If you start to notice hair coming out when you comb, brush or even run your hands through your hair it may be time to take some steps to control your scalp psoriasis. Products that can help you with removing the scaling include; topical shampoos, scalp oils and medicated creams.

The products that contain FDA recognized ingredients for the treatment of psoriasis will be labeled as over-the-counter drug products and will show either salicylic acid or coal tar as active ingredients. Even though all of the scalp psoriasis treatment products will have similar active ingredients they should not be looked at as equal.  You may notice a significant difference in some product prices. The more expensive products will often include rich nourishing ingredients such as essential oils, herbal extracts and even food based products like egg. Your scalp will need the vitamins, minerals and proteins that these extra ingredients provide to help it return to normal. Sometimes the extra money spent on these products will dramatically help speed up the treatment of your scalp psoriasis and stop your scalp psoriasis hair loss.