Hair Loss in Women

Though it is true that hair loss is more likely to affect men, than women, hair thinning and loss is also commonly observed in women and it is no less demoralizing. The reasons for hair loss might range from the simple and temporary causes like vitamin deficiency, to the more complex causes like health conditions. Here are some of the common causes of hair loss:

Physical Stress: Any kind of physical trauma like a surgery or an accident or a severe illness can cause temporary hair loss. Hair usually has a life cycles:

• Growth phase
• Rest Phase
• Shedding phase

Due to a stressful event, hair cycle may get a shock which might push more and more hair into the shedding phase. However, this hair loss is temporary and will get arrested as soon as body starts recovering.

• Pregnancy: Pregnancy is another example of physical stress causing hair loss. Besides, pregnancy also causes hormonal change which tends to cause hair loss. Since this is a temporary phase, hair regrows post two months of delivery.
• Too much of Vitamin A: Overdoing supplements or tablets containing Vitamin A can cause hair fall. This being a reversible cause gets halted, as soon as excess consumption of Vitamin A is stopped.
• Lack of protein: Lack of enough protein the diet may cause hair loss as the body rations the required protein from those, used for hair growth, thus pushing the hair into the third phase of shedding. To arrest this, one needs to take foods rich in protein like fish, meat and eggs. For a vegetarian, milk and pulses are the best sources of protein.
• Hereditary: Androgenic or androgenetic alopecia is a female kind of male pattern baldness which is hereditary and in which unlike men, where hairline starts receding, here, hair loss takes place by widening their part. To help regrow hair, women may use minoxidil (rogaine) which is available over the counter and is approved for use for the women with this type of hair loss.
• Female hormones: Switching or stopping of birth control pills or events like menopause may cause hormonal imbalance which will cause a temporary hair loss
• Emotional stress: Emotional stress like a divorce or a death of a loved one may also cause hair loss in case of women.
• Anemia: Almost one in ten women in the age group of 20 to 49 suffers from anemia due to iron deficiency which causes hair loss. One can consume a simple iron supplement to correct this problem.
• Hypothyroidism: In hypothyroidism, the little gland called as thyroid gland located under the neck becomes underactive. This gland produces hormones which are critical to the metabolism along with the overall growth and development, which, when does not pump out enough hormones, leads to hair loss. The solution to this is synthetic thyroid medication which will help return the thyroid levels to normal, thus taking care of hair loss.
• Vitamin B deficiency: Lower levels of vitamin B are another cause of hair loss which can be taken care off, by simple dietary changes like consumption of fish, non-citrus fruits and starchy vegetables.
• Autoimmune related hair loss: Also called as alopecia areata, this hair loss is the result of an overactive immune system, in which the immune system sees hair as a foreign object and targets it, leading to hair loss in round patches. Alopecia areata can be treated with the help of steroid injections along with drugs like Rogaine.
• Lupus: Another autoimmune related disease which causes hair loss due to the case of mistaken identity by overzealous immune cells. However, in this case of scarring, hair does not grow back

These are some of the ways in which hair loss happens. Proper care ensures avoidance of hair loss.