Photography in Hair Diseases
March 2021
in “
CRC Press eBooks
”
TLDR Photography is essential for tracking hair disease progression, especially with consistent lighting and documenting specific scalp areas.
Photography is a crucial tool in managing patients with hair diseases, particularly those with androgenetic or diffuse alopecia. The light source should be constant, placed in front of and slightly above the patient, as inbuilt camera flash units and overhead lamps can cause sharp reflections and whiten out the scalp area. Ideal photography conditions are when the patient has short hair. Standard photography should document the frontal, vertex, occipital, and both temporal areas. A stereotactic positioning device is the best instrument for medical photography in these cases. Proper photographic documentation allows for comparison of global photographs over time for monitoring purposes.