Loose anagen hair syndrome
Overview
Loose anagen hair syndrome (loose anagen syndrome, loose anagen hair) is a non-inflammatory, non-scarring form of hair loss. It is a condition that has been defined very recently and it generally affects the children. As the name suggests, loose anagen syndrome means growth of hair that is “loose” and easily pulled out of the hair follicle.
Symptoms
* Physical examination reveals sparse growth of thin, fine hair and diffuse or patchy alopecia without inflammation or scarring. * Gentle traction results in hair that is painlessly removed; however, hair is not fragile or easily breakable. * Hair may be of varying lengths and may have an unkempt, lackluster appearance. * In particular, hair overlying the occiput tends to be rough or sticky and does not lie flat (see Media File 1). * No scalp inflammation or scarring is present.
Causes
The hair becomes loose and comes out of the follicle due to the repeated rubbing of a person’s head on a pillow while sleeping. Frequent rubbing pulls out more of the hair from the back of the head whereas the front of the scalp has less contact with the pillow and so the hair is more likely to remain in place. But the remaining hair does not grow very long and it can be unruly and difficult to comb and style.
Treatment
The treatment or hair care secrets for this defect are to handle the hair gently. Gentle handling can decrease the shedding of fibers to a fair extent. No other treatment or hair care is necessary, as the defect usually reverts spontaneously to its normal healthy stage in mid or late teens.