Posted on: Mon 04-10-2021

The chief executive officer of Vinci Hair Africa, Mr Ayo Otubanjo, has advocated an early detection and treatment of alopecia. According to medicalnewstoday.com, the word alopecia means hair loss.

Otubanjo, at a virtual briefing organised by the firm to commemorate the World Alopecia Awareness Month celebrated in september, said there was the need to raise the awareness and solutions of alopecia in Nigeria and Africa.

He said, “There are seven types of alopecia and are caused by different factors; totalis, areata, and universalis are some of the types. “Androgenetic alopecia is the most common form, which occurs in 50 to 55 per cent of men and probably about 40 per cent of women all through the age of menopause.

“some of the symptoms in men and women include thin hair in the front part causing baldness, softness of hair fibre, and thinness from its usual texture. Although alopecia could be very distressing, it doesn’t mean the end of the world.”

The expert noted that early consultation was key in the treatment of alopecia. “Once you notice those signs i’ve mentioned, go and see a specialist immediately. You need to know the type of alopecia, the cause, and you’ll be shown the treatment options,” he said.

Otubanjo added that his firm was offering free consultation across its facilities in Nigeria and Ghana in order to provide Africans with easy local access to professional and international standard treatments for hair loss.

The founder and president of Heroic Alopecian Foundation, Jasmine Oguns, said only two per cent of Africa’s population were aware of alopecia. Oguns was represented at the briefing by Moshoodat Badmus, a graduate of the Lagos state University who is living with the alopecia condition.

Badmus said the foundation was spreading its tentacles across Nigeria and Africa to lend succour to persons living with the condition. “We provide mental health support and connect alopecians to specialists,” she said. 

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