Issue Information
July 2020
in “
Experimental Dermatology
”
TLDR Aging causes hair thinning in women due to changes in the scalp environment.
The document discussed age-related changes in the female scalp hair follicle environment, highlighting structural transformations such as disorganized collagen fibrils, solar elastosis, and increased chronic low-grade dermal inflammation. It noted a reduction in hair follicles per unit, smaller follicles that do not extend into the adipose, and a decrease in the hypodermis due to adipocyte differentiation into myofibroblasts. This results in a fibrotic dermis that impedes hair follicle remodeling during anagen and hinders its movement into the hypodermis. The damaged environment may mimic wound healing, causing dermal sheath cells to evacuate from the follicle to restore the dermis, contributing to hair thinning in aging women.
