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What If Your Scalp Were a Town? Understanding Androgenetic Alopecia Through a Different Lens
Hair loss is often explained using words such as miniaturisation, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and follicular units. These are scientifically accurate terms, but they can be difficult to picture. What if, instead, you imagined your scalp as a town? This essay explores androgenetic alopecia through a simple analogy inspired by published trichoscopy research, helping to explain why the town often becomes quieter before it becomes smaller.
Gwen Adey
5 days ago4 min read


Hair Loss Treatment During Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, IVF: What Women Need to Know
One treatment kept standing
As I reached the end of the paper, one treatment kept surviving.
Low-level laser therapy.
It isn’t the most powerful treatment we have for hair loss. But it is drug-free. It is non-invasive.
And it has one of the most reassuring safety profiles during pregnancy.
Gwen Adey
Jul 55 min read


Why a Specialist PRP Clinic Doesn’t Start with PRP
“The most important part of PRP happens long before the first injection.”
“We specialise in PRP. But we don’t start with PRP. We start with you.”
Gwen Adey
Jul 43 min read


Where do you keep your Minoxidil?
Where Do You Keep Your Minoxidil?
My latest bottle of freshly compounded 6% topical minoxidil arrived in the post this morning.
I unpacked the little 30 mL bottle and left it at the bottom of the stairs, intending to take it upstairs later.
Then I made myself a hot chocolate and sat down to read some newly published research papers.
Within a few minutes, I’d got up and moved the bottle because of what I’d just read.
I like to think I’m pretty careful with medicines. Tabl
Gwen Adey
Jun 294 min read


Damp scalp application of topical dutasteride more effective than dry scalp?
A new study published online ahead of print has reported that applying a liposomal dutasteride formulation to damp scalp skin resulted in more dutasteride in the hair follicles than with application to dry skin.
Gwen Adey
Jun 212 min read


Why Does Hair Loss Only Affect the Top of the Scalp, Not the Back and Sides?
Why does hair loss usually affect the top of the scalp while the hair at the back and sides often remains thick for decades? Modern research suggests that hair follicles from different parts of the scalp are biologically different and may even carry a “memory” of where they came from. Dr Gwen Adey explores one of the most fascinating mysteries in hair biology: how hair follicles seem to know where they are.
Gwen Adey
Jun 144 min read


Are Some Hair Follicles Running Out Of Battery?
Imagine your phone battery. When it’s brand new, it lasts all day. A few years later, it doesn’t. It still works. Just not as well. A fascinating new study published in 2026 made me wonder whether something similar might happen inside some hair follicles
Gwen Adey
Jun 134 min read


New 2026 Review Looks at Finasteride, Dutasteride and Male Fertility
Could hair loss treatment affect your chances of having children one day? A new review published in May 2026 examined the evidence surrounding finasteride, dutasteride, male fertility and sexual function.
Gwen Adey
Jun 134 min read


The History of PRP: How a Healing Treatment Ended Up Helping Treat Hair Loss
PRP wasn’t originally developed for hair loss. Discover how a treatment designed to support wound healing evolved into one of the most widely studied regenerative therapies for androgenetic alopecia.
Gwen Adey
Jun 135 min read


Are Scientists Really Printing New Hair Follicles?
Excerpt
Scientists are now experimenting with engineering early hair follicle structures using living cells, biomaterials and advanced bioprinting technologies. Could regenerative medicine eventually move beyond preserving hair… toward creating entirely new follicles?
Gwen Adey
May 275 min read


Hair Loss in Transgender Women: What Current Research Shows
A new 2026 review explores how hair loss affects transgender women, including the role of hormone therapy, oral minoxidil, finasteride, hair transplantation and emerging approaches to hair restoration.
Gwen Adey
May 255 min read


Could Hayfever Be Linked To Hair Loss? New Research Explores The Connection
Could hayfever and hair loss be connected? A large 2026 study explored possible links between allergic inflammation, antihistamines and androgenetic alopecia — raising new questions about histamine, prostaglandins and hair follicle biology.
Gwen Adey
May 174 min read


Instant Long Hair Transplants? The Rise of Long Hair FUE
Could hair transplants eventually be performed without the obvious shaved-head recovery phase? A new experimental technique called Long Hair FUE aims to reduce visible downtime and preserve immediate cosmetic improvement after surgery.
Gwen Adey
May 174 min read


Why PRP Is About Much More Than Platelet Count
New research suggests PRP is far more complex than platelet count alone, with patient biology and inflammation also influencing outcomes.
Gwen Adey
May 144 min read


PCOS and Hair Loss: Why Thinning Hair May Be More Than “Just Hormones”
New research suggests PCOS hair loss may involve insulin resistance and inflammation — not just hormones alone.
Gwen Adey
May 134 min read


Stop Wasting Money on Biotin for Hair Loss
A major 2026 review found little evidence that biotin supplements help most hair loss sufferers unless true deficiency exists.
Gwen Adey
May 95 min read


Scalp Changes in Androgenetic Alopecia: What Does Ultrasound Reveal?
A 2024 ultrasound study found measurable scalp tissue changes beneath the surface in androgenetic alopecia.
Gwen Adey
May 63 min read


Scalp Ultrasound in Hair Loss Medicine: Why I Routinely Use Ultra High-Frequency Imaging in Alopecia Assessment
Hair follicles exist within a living scalp environment — and ultrasound may help us understand that environment better.
Gwen Adey
May 63 min read


Female Pattern Hair Loss: Why Many Women Don’t See Results (What a 2026 Medical Review Reveals)
Hair loss in women is multi-factor, not just hormonal. Treating one part alone often explains why many women don’t see results.
Gwen Adey
May 44 min read


Microbiome and Hair Loss: A 2026 Study Suggests Scalp Microbiome May Play a Role Androgenetic Alopecia
Hair loss is not just hormonal. The environment inside the hair follicle may change, becoming less stable and more inflamed.
Gwen Adey
Apr 283 min read
Welcome to Alopecia Help - a growing library of essays, practical guides and research translations exploring the science, treatment and experience of hair loss.
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