TRICHOSCOPY – TRICHOSCOPIC STRUCTURES AND FEASIBILITY IN THE HAIR AND SCALP DISORDERS

Abstract

Hair loss, inflammatory and infectious scalp diseases and hair shaft disorders are common entities in the daily practice, with a differential diagnosis sometimes broad and difficult. In this setting, trichoscopy has been recently developed, consisting in the dermoscopic examination of the hair and scalp. Being an easy in-office technique that may be widely applied, not only diagnosing hair and scalp disorders, but also monitoring therapy, trichoscopy is gaining increasing popularity. The authors review the current knowledge on trichoscopy, including the trichoscopic structures already described and their applicability in the diagnosis of several hair and scalp disorders with well-established criteria.