Hair loss and diffuse red patches on the scalp? This is usually caused by lichen planopilaris or lichen ruber, which can lead to bald patches on the scalp or other parts of the body. But how can this autoimmune disease cause hair loss, and what is the link with scalp problems? Who is affected, and what are the symptoms? We look at the questions of what triggers the disease and whether there are ways to treat lichen planopilaris with the right remedies.
Hair loss and diffuse red patches on the scalp? This is usually caused by lichen planopilaris or lichen ruber, which can lead to bald patches on the scalp or other parts of the body. But how can this autoimmune disease cause hair loss, and what is the link with scalp problems? Who is affected, and what are the symptoms? We look at the questions of what triggers the disease and whether there are ways to treat lichen planopilaris with the right remedies.
Lichen planopilaris is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the skin that mainly affects the scalp and eventually leads to hair loss. Like many other forms of hair loss, lichen planopilaris is a gradual form of hair loss.
The term lichen planopilaris often causes confusion because it is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms lichen follicularis, lichen planus follicularis, lichen ruber planopilaris and lichen ruber follicularis, even in medical terminology. The disease is considered to be a form of lichen planus which affects the hair follicles.
While lichen planus impacts the cells of the skin, lichen planopilaris affects the cells of the scalp and manifests itself in the destruction of the hair follicles.
However, the fact that the various terms are not clearly defined and partially overlap or are used synonymously is also due to the fact that the disease is rare and therefore relatively few studies are available to this date.
Symptoms include red spots on the scalp spread over small or larger areas around the hair follicles. They are bright red or very red and are the size of a pinhead. After some time, the course changes and scar-like alopecia without erythema develops.
Hair loss is therefore caused by the destruction of the hair follicles. This results in permanent smooth reflective patches that are recognisable by their hairlessness, surrounded by a reddish inflamed erythema.
Sometimes the scars on the scalp are also accompanied by itching, mild pain or dandruff. The disease does not always manifest itself exclusively on the scalp, but can also affect body hair in other areas or even pubic hair.
Occasionally, lichen affects not only the scalp, but also other areas, such as the nails or skin.
In most cases, lichen planopilaris occurs in women. The symptoms occur particularly in the 40 to 60 age group, which is often associated with the menopause. Men and children are much less likely to suffer from the disease.
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The possible causes of lichen planopilaris are not yet fully understood. Hormonal factors are mentioned as a frequent trigger, which also explains why more women suffer from lichen ruber on the scalp after menopause.
Injuries to the scalp also seem to promote the disease. The autoimmune reaction is also repeatedly linked to the use of certain medications.
What can be done about lichen planopilaris?
The consensus among experts is that there is no cure for lichen planopilaris.
As the autoimmune disease lichen planopilaris is rare and relatively under-researched, there are currently no universal studies or indications that there are any truly effective medications that can reverse the disease and allow the hair to grow back.
Nevertheless, some patients have had positive experiences with hair restoration products that, although not specifically intended for lichen planopilaris, are often very effective for similar symptoms.
Since Lichen Planopilaris mainly affects the scalp, it is therefore worth looking at products that are known to alleviate scalp problems and produce effective results for similar conditions, such as the Neofollics Scalp Therapy products.
Even though their connection to Lichen Planopilaris has not yet been proven in any studies, Neofollics products have been shown to be effective for so many other scalp conditions that one can hope for improvement, even in a situation where Lichen Ruber causes scalp problems.
For this, it is worth trying the combination package of Neofollics Shampoo, Neofollics Conditioner and Neofollics Hair Mask, which have been clinically tested on many other conditions and promise relief from scalp conditions such as itching and dandruff.
So, although the condition is considered incurable, the products mentioned may be worth trying, especially to relieve symptoms and soothe the scalp.
