Female Hair Loss

 

Causes Of Female Hair Loss Can Vary By Person

Males are not the only ones susceptible to baldness but female hair loss is not as prevalent or usually as noticeable. Androgenetic alopecia, more commonly known as male pattern baldness is a hereditary condition, which can be passed on to females, but for obvious reasons the condition is typically referred to as female pattern hair loss.

 

Everyone loses hair at a rate of about 50 to 150 a day, but when you start seeing significantly more hairs in the bathroom sink, it could be a sign of female hair loss. Typically, about 90 percent of your hair is growing at any one time while the other 10 percent is in a resting stage. The growth stages can last two to six years while the resting stage is only two to three months.

At the end of the resting period, those hairs fall out and begin to sprout new growth from the same follicles. This procedure continues to repeat itself over the years. There are several factors that can cause female hair loss among them hormone changes and androgen and estrogen imbalances can cause female hair loss. Correcting the imbalance will usually restore normal hair growth.

Hair Care Products And Procedures That Cause Hair Loss

Pulling the hair tight using tight curlers, or into a tight ponytail or cornrows, can scar the scalp tissue, effectively stopping the follicles from being able to grow new hair. If the practice is stopped before the damage is permanent new hair will usually re-grow. However once the scalp tissue is scarred female hair loss is the result.

Hot oils and other heat treatments can also cause scarring on the scalp, reducing the scalp’s ability to promote hair growth. The use of chemical permanent curling treatments can burn and damage the hair follicles through inflammation and swelling, resulting in permanent damage and female hair loss in those follicles.

Childbirth can also cause female hair loss and women generally notice a loss of hair within three months after giving birth. This is due to a hormonal change and typically hair will grow back once the hormones are back in proper balance. In many cases, male pattern baldness results in baldness on the top of the head, beginning at the hairline and working towards the back. In female hair loss, the hereditary hair loss typically results in thinning hair on the top of the entire head.

 

Aspects of Hair Loss in Women

Hair loss in women is much more common than most people think, with almost two thirds of western women facing it at some point in their life. Hair loss in women can result from constant worry; can result from trauma causing changes in the levels of testosterone or estrogen; as a result of skin diseases such as ringworm; or as an allergic reaction to food, medication or something that may have changed in their living conditions or immediate environment. There is even one condition called Trichotillomania. This unusual cause of hair loss in women is unique to man, and is the active pulling out of ones’ own hair. Obviously painful, this is a related condition to an obsessive compulsive disorder that requires careful treatment, and most often prolonged support of the underlying mental conditions.

Hair loss in women, just as in men, can be hereditary and can take certain forms. Many women experience partial hair loss or thinning of the hair as they age. This is caused by the number of active growing hair elements being reduced and often exhibits itself at the top of the scalp.

The Impact of Hormones on Hair Loss in Women

It is commonly believed, that non-hereditary hair loss in women, could be primarily attributed to the declining levels of estrogen. Typically, this occurs as women age, or as a result of menopause or even childbirth. Baldness in males is often attributed to a chemical called DHT (dihyrotestosterone), which is known to actively damage hair follicles. Estrogen controls the formation of DHT. Therefore, as a woman’s level of estrogen changes so does the health of her hair, and often hair loss results. Treatment for hair loss in women caused by hormone imbalance can be treated with natural or artificial hormone supplements. It should be noted that balance is the key, if too much testosterone is present, women may grow hair in places that they would rather not have hair. Too little testosterone or too much estrogen may result in lack of sex drive, as well as, hair loss.

More on Stress and Treatment

Some women can attribute their hair loss to stress. Although this may not result in baldness in women, it is of considerable concern as many women regard their hair as a fundamental component of their identity. Once a stress related thinning of hair occurs, it is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that additional hair loss will occur. The final word with hair loss in women, is an important health issue in our society, as it is an unexpected event for most and can result in considerable emotional trauma.