Trichoscopy

In 2013, trichoscopy was highlighted as a valuable non-invasive diagnostic tool for assessing hair and scalp diseases. It is particularly useful for differentiating between types of hair loss and monitoring treatment effectiveness. The technique involves examining hair shafts, follicular openings, and the perifollicular epidermis. Characteristic trichoscopic features were described for conditions such as alopecia areata, androgenetic alopecia, and telogen effluvium. For example, androgenetic alopecia is characterized by hair shaft thickness heterogeneity and an increased number of single-hair follicular units, particularly in the frontal scalp. Alopecia areata shows signs like yellow dots and micro-exclamation mark hairs. The document also covered the use of trichoscopy in identifying hair shaft abnormalities and differentiating between inflammatory scalp diseases, with the introduction of UV-enhanced trichoscopy for improved diagnosis of certain infections.