Hair Shedding Evaluation for Alopecia: A Refined Wash Test

January 2022 in “ Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology ”

Xiangqian Li, Xianghe Wang, Chen Wang, Jianzhong Zhang, Cheng Zhou

telogen effluvium androgenetic alopecia hair shedding vellus hairs refined wash test TE AGA RWT

Studysummary This study found that a refined wash test can effectively differentiate shedding hair characteristics among normal individuals, and patients with androgenetic alopecia or telogen effluvium, aiding in diagnosis and monitoring. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study "Hair Shedding Evaluation for Alopecia: A Refined Wash Test" conducted by Peking University People’s Hospital involved 176 participants and introduced a 3-day refined wash test (RWT) for evaluating daily hair shedding. The average number of shedding hairs was lowest in normal participants (27.9 ± 12.2 hairs) and highest in patients with telogen effluvium (TE) (125.5 ± 62.7 hairs). Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) patients shed an average of 52.2 ± 28.5 hairs. Hair diameter was significantly different among AGA, TE, and normal subjects. The percentage of vellus hairs was significantly higher in AGA patients (8.3 ± 6.6%) compared to normal subjects or TE patients. The RWT is a reliable, non-invasive method for evaluating daily hair shedding and can be used to distinguish between AGA and TE.

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