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Female hair loss

Posted on October 12, 2007 - Filed Under Miscellaneous Hairloss Problems

It so happens that two thirds of women have hair loss during some stage of their lives according to research and this can be very traumatic for them and is an inherent part of their self-image. Female hair loss is not commonly related to their genes but normally associated with some other influencing factors like pregnancy, thyroid hormone deficiency, some diets, chemotherapy and some infections. Female hair loss is usually temporary and hair re-growth can occur in the course of time as opposed to the permanent loss in men.

Women generally do not have hair loss as men do but are likely to experience a lot of thinning and reduction of the diameter of the hair shaft around the forehead and crown of the scalp with age. If you are from among the millions of women suffering from hair loss, the most important thing for you to understand is why you are losing hair before you go out to find a suitable cure.

There are many causes of female hair loss:

• Hair loss & Genetics: One of the most common reasons for hair loss is embedded in your genes. It is called Androgenetic alopecia. Hereditary hair loss in women can begin any time following puberty, but generally starts before the age of forty and will possibly get aggravated till you reach menopause.
• Pregnancy & Hair loss: Hair follicles go into growth phase during pregnancy due to the production of estrogen. Once the delivery is over, the hormonal balance is restored; the process is reversed with hair follicles entering the hair loss phase.
• Alopecia areata: The cause of the problem is not well known but research confirms that the cause is thought to be an autoimmune disorder where the body mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. This results in the inflammation of the hair follicles and the adjoining hair structures leading to female hair loss.
• Stress and Hair loss: one more commonly seen reason for hair loss in women is stress that is called Telogen Effluvium. The healthy hair enters the resting (telogen) phase in hair growth. The hairs matrix seems to stop dividing leading to the loss of hair. Usually women in their 40’s to 60’s are affected by this problem.
• Drugs and supplements: The drug treatment that results in hair loss in women very commonly is chemotherapy leading to a loss of hair up to about 90% from the scalp. Drugs prescribed for some ailments are also known to cause loss of hair. They can be blood thinners, high blood pressure and cholesterol drugs.
• Hair pulling: this is also known as trichotillomania. Unlike other types of hair loss, this is not related to medical but psychological disorder. This happens most commonly among women lacking in self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. This condition can be set right with counseling.

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