Melike Kibar Ozturk

By Melike Kibar

Hair and scalp examination techniques can be classified into three categories: noninvasive methods (clinical history, general examination, photography, hair count, weighing shed hair, pull test, global hair counts, dermoscopy, electron microscopy, laser scanning microscopy, etc.); semi‐invasive methods (the trichogram, unit areatrichogram); and invasive methods (biopsies in cicatritial alopecia). Scalp dermoscopy or trichoscopy is one of thenoninvasive techniques for the evaluation of patients with hair loss that allows for magnified visualization of the hair and scalp skin. It may be performed with a manual dermoscope (10× magnification) or a videodermoscope (up to 1000× magnification). This method is simple, quick, and easy to perform, is well‐accepted by patients, and is useful for monitoring treatment, determining severity of the disease and follow‐up. It is a simple, minimally invasive and rapid technique for measuring hair follicle activity. Trichogram represents a semi‐invasive technique for the evaluation of patients with hair loss that allows the microscopic examination of hairs plucked from the scalp and provides information about the state of the proximal end of the hair shaft and the distal end. The trichogram is a useful complementary tool for clinical evaluation, diagnosis, and the monitoring of treatment response.

Part of the book: Hair and Scalp Disorders