TLDR Trichoscopy is useful for quickly diagnosing different types of hair loss without needing biopsies.
A cross-sectional observational study conducted on 256 patients with alopecia at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Bangalore, India, found that nonscarring alopecias were more prevalent (93.35%) than scarring alopecias (5.85%). The most common type of nonscarring alopecia was androgenetic alopecia (48.82%), followed by alopecia areata (19.63%) and telogen effluvium (18.75%). Trichoscopy, a noninvasive technique, revealed common follicular features such as yellow dots (61%), short vellus hair (62.8%), and black dots (21.87%). The study concluded that trichoscopy is a valuable tool for diagnosing and monitoring hair disorders, as it can differentiate between nonscarring and scarring hair loss, leading to faster diagnosis and reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies.
30 citations,
March 2015 in “Journal of Dermatology” Hair thickness differences help diagnose hair loss severity.
30 citations,
January 2014 in “Annals of Dermatology” Scalp dermatoscopy helps diagnose and monitor hair loss severity.
66 citations,
November 2011 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” A handheld dermatoscope helps diagnose different types of hair loss effectively.
67 citations,
February 2009 in “Journal of Dermatology” 129 citations,
January 2009 in “International Journal of Trichology” Trichoscopy can diagnose female hair loss with high accuracy by looking for specific patterns in hair and scalp appearance.
143 citations,
October 2008 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Comma hairs are a specific sign of tinea capitis when viewed with videodermatoscopy.
196 citations,
June 2008 in “International Journal of Dermatology” Dermoscopy helps diagnose and manage alopecia areata by showing specific hair changes.
304 citations,
July 2006 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Videodermoscopy improves diagnosis of hair and scalp disorders and may reduce scalp biopsies.
January 2021 in “Indian journal of dermatopathology and diagnostic dermatology” Trichoscopy is a reliable method for diagnosing hair and scalp disorders quickly and non-invasively.
32 citations,
January 2014 in “Dermatology Research and Practice” Trichoscopy can effectively tell apart tinea capitis and alopecia areata in children by looking for specific hair shapes.
43 citations,
August 2013 in “Pediatric Dermatology” Trichoscopy is good for diagnosing and monitoring hair and scalp problems in children but needs more research for certain conditions.
245 citations,
March 2012 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Dermatoscopy is useful for identifying different hair and scalp conditions and can reduce the need for biopsies.
1 citations,
April 1992 in “PubMed” The document describes the signs of different common types of hair loss.