5 COMMON CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN

Women love their hair; they don’t call it their crowning glory for nothing. But like men, women too suffer from hair loss. Hair loss in men typically occurs when they come of age, around 30 onwards. Unfortunately, in women this condition can occur at any age.

Androgentic alopecia causes hair loss in both sexes. In women, it’s called “female pattern hair loss” and is caused by a genetic sensitivity to a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone or DHT. DHT comes from testosterone, another male hormone.

How did a male hormone end up in a woman’s body? Well, the adrenal glands, which are found just above the kidneys, produce small amounts of testosterone. Fortunately, complete baldness is uncommon in women and the typical presentation is just hair thinnng.

Traction Alopecia is a condition when a bun or ponytail is pulled on to tightly, in which hair is actually being plucked out. Usually hair loss starts at the rim of the hair and rises slowly. On dreadlocks, hair loss is more dispersed.

Trichotillomania is a habitual pulling of hair. This can occur on both sexes at any age, but is more common in young girls. This condition usually starts as a patch of hair loss at the top of the head, which can widen over time. Various lengths of hair are seen at the patch showing obvious signs of hair pulling.

Stress might cause a condition called telogen effluvium. This is where all of the hair follicles convert back to the telogen phase of the normal hair growth cycle. Telogen phase is the stage where hair fall occurs.

Chemicals: Chemical based hair products like hair dyes can wreak havoc to hair. Bleaching can make hair very dry and brittle. This is exactly what happened to Lady Gaga because of chronic use of hair dyes.

Fortunately, all of the above are temporary or can be prevented if proper hair care is done. Of course, androgentic alopecia is an exception but it too is preventable with early use of a good quality hair loss treatment product.