SIX COMMON CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN

Hair loss is an extremely common problem for both men and women. Having a receding hairline or any particular type of hair thinning can really affect a person’s outlook in life. A number of men may learn how to accept this problem especially among the elderly. In women, this is certainly not acceptable whether they are young or old. It is devastating for women to lose hair, since this is a part of them that greatly makes them beautiful.

Image via Wikipedia

Usually, hair loss in women is generalized and barely do you see a woman who is totally bald. The truth is, women are more prone or are exposed to several conditions that can bring about hair loss as compared to men. Listed below are common types of hair loss in women.

• Female pattern hair loss is one of the most common type of hair loss in women. This is because of the hormone called dihydrotestosterone or DHT. For whatever reason, the follicles become sensitive to DHT, this causes the follicles to weaken until such time that they can no longer produce hair.
• Menopause. In menopause, the ovaries no longer function, therefore, can no longer produce estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen in particular is the main reason for hair fall in menopause. Estrogen is fantastic for hair growth, it’s like fertilizer for the hair and without this hormone, hair no longer grows as lovely as usual.
• Extreme or crash dieting. Another type of hair thinning that’s quite common among the younger age group is extreme dieting. A lot of young women go into diet programs to lose weight and to keep a slim body, but others want to get thin faster and go into extreme diets. Though it is true that extreme diets makes a person thin in a short period of time, this isn’t good for health because lack of food intake can lead to a lot of problems and this includes hair loss. Hair is primarily made up of protein and the follicles need a lot of protein to produce hair. If there is decreased or no protein intake, the follicles won’t be able to produce hair.
• Post partum hair loss. About 30% of mother experience some kind of hair fall following childbirth. Because of blood loss and the stress of giving birth, this can trigger a condition called telogen effluvium. In telogen effluvium, almost all hair are forced to enter the telogen phase. In the normal hair growth cycle, the telogen phase is the time where old hair is extruded but in telogen effluvium, even new hair fall off, hence, in creased hair fall.

• Stress. This is particularly common among men but plenty of women nowadays take jobs that men usually do. Being a manager or president of a company is extremely stressful and this can increase hair fall.

• Iron deficiency. Iron is a vital mineral that is needed to form hemoglobin. The blood, especially the red blood cells, hemoglobin is required to bring oxygen to different parts of the body. Due to monthly menstrual cycles, blood loss can lead to iron depletion and when this occurs, the lack of oxygenation of the hair follicles can increase hair fall.

Fortunately, most of the causes above are temporary (except for female pattern hair loss and menopause) . Once the underlying condition is corrected, hair will eventually grow back. A hair loss treatment can be used for faster hair growth.