What Causes Hair Loss All Over The Body

Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia may occur as a result of hair products or styling techniques that damage hair follicles. The use of hair relaxers, blow dryers, curling irons, and hair extensions can cause central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, as can the process of creating a permanent wave, or a perm.

The frequent application of oils, gels, or pomades can also cause this condition, which may be reversible if you stop using these hair products or styling techniques. Our dermatologists may recommend taking medication to help hair grow back.

Intense Emotional Or Physical Stress

When you’re experiencing something stressful or traumaticnot your average day-to-day stress, but something big and life-altering like a divorce, a death in the family, a significant job change, or a big moveyou may experience a temporary halt in hair growth as your body puts its resources toward getting you through said big event.

“Hairs dont all grow at the same rate,” Dr. Schlosser explains. “Some are growing, some are resting, and some are actively being shed. When you have these conditions, your body halts hair growth, and then things get restarted and all these hairs that have been halted start to get pushed out at the same time.” The same thing can happen with physical stress and trauma, like having a big operation, being hospitalized, or even losing a significant amount of weight very quickly.

Usually this type of hair shedding is temporary. But if it bothers you, check in with a dermatologist to learn more about styling changes and products you can use to make your hair look and feel fuller.

What Questions Might Your Healthcare Provider Ask To Diagnose And Categorize Your Hair Loss

Your healthcare provider might ask about your habits:

• What kinds of hair products do you use?
• What kinds of hair styles do you wear?
• What types of food do you eat ?
• Do you have a habit of pulling your hair out ?

They might ask about your history:

• Has anyone in your immediate family experienced hair loss?
• Is there anything stressful going on in your life?
• What medications and supplements do you take every day?
• Has hair loss ever happened to you before?
• What foods are in your diet?

And, they might ask about your observations:

• How long have you been losing hair?
• Have you been shedding more?
• Have you noticed hair loss in places other than your scalp, like your eyebrows? Leg and arm hair?
• Does anything worsen your hair loss?
• Does anything improve your hair loss?
• Have you noticed hair loss occasionally or has it been going on continuously?
• Have you noticed if your hair growth has changed?
• Has your hair been breaking more often?

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What Are The Cycles Of Hair Growth

Hair goes through three cycles:

• The anagen phase can last from two years to eight years. This phase generally refers to about 85% to 90% of the hair on your head.
• The catagen phase is the time that hair follicles shrink and takes about two to three weeks.
• The telogen phase takes about two to four months. At the end of this phase, the hair falls out.

Your shorter hairs like eyelashes, arm and leg hair and eyebrows have a short anagen phase about one month. Your scalp hair can last up to six years or even longer.

You’ve Been Super Stressed Or Ill

Stress or illness can cause hair lossit’s a process known as telogen effluvium, or the excessive shedding of hair induced by stress, Michelle Henry, MD, a dermatologist based in New York, previously told Health.

“Our bodies perceive mental stress the same way it perceives physical stress, and any dramatic stressor on the body can cause hair growth to become arrested,” Dr. Henry said. “And when hair growth is arrested, it sheds.” Specifically, when the body is stressed it released the hormone cortisol, which can then affect the hair follicle and result in shedding or hair loss. That shedding typically occurs at least three months following a stressful event, Angelo Landriscina, MD, a Washington, DC-based dermatologist, previously told Health.

Of course, preventing stress is the easiest way to help prevent stress-induced hair lossbut that’s not always an easy thing to do. If you experience hair loss of any kind, it’s wise to check in with your dermatologist. Should they determine that your hair loss is stress-related, your derm may recommend a treatment called minoxidil, a vasodilator that improves circulation around the hair bulb at the base of the hair follicle, to help grow hair back that you’ve lost. Also important: having patience and allowing time for hair growth.

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Whats Hair Loss In Women

Hair loss in women is just that when a woman experiences unexpected, heavy loss of hair. Generally, humans shed between 50 and 100 single hairs per day. Hair shedding is part of a natural balance some hairs fall out while others grow in. When the balance is interrupted when hair falls out and less hair grows in hair loss happens. Hair loss is different than hair shedding. The medical term for hair loss is alopecia.

Hair grows on almost all of your skin surfaces not the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, lips or eyelids. Light, fine, short hair is called vellus hair. Terminal/androgenic hair is thicker, darker and longer.

Kiierr Can Help You Know What Causes Hair Loss And How To Fix It

As you can see, there are many answers to the question, What causes hair loss?. Weve only listed 10 of the most common causes of hair loss, but there are countless others that can arise at almost any time in life and with almost any person, male or female, healthy or sick, fit or not. Hair loss does not discriminate, and it does not stop simply because we hope that it does in most cases.

That means that you need to be proactive and take the fight to your hair loss before its too late. Once your hair loss reaches a certain point and your hair follicles are permanently destroyed, the prospect of hair regrowth is slim at best.

Kiierr has been helping people all over the world overcome hair loss triumphantly. Our leading-edge technology and treatment has made it possible for people to overcome thinning and lost hair without having to undergo expensive treatments, without having to endure pain and without having to continually pump drugs into their bodies. We do it with our LLLT, or low-level light therapy. Basically, our products can fit inside of a ballcap and the light that they generate help to stimulate hair growth over time. Check out our laser hair growth caps to learn more.

However, it all starts with information like what you saw above. You need to identify what causes hair loss with your scalp so that you can obtain an idea of what needs to be done going forward.

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Good Nutrition Is Important For Healthy Hair Growth

And whilst a lack of proper nutrients in the diet usually shows up in the hair on your head causing anything from poor condition to hair loss a loss of BODY hair can be the result too. Iron is a particularly important nutrient for the hair, but often our iron levels are far lower than we realize.

Its a good idea to review your diet with your doctor if youre losing body hair and even if you feel your diet is varied and nutrient-rich, its still a good idea to have your iron levels checked. Maintaining healthy iron levels is good for your whole body, not just your hair, so identifying a deficiency is important for your general well-being.

Hair Cycle Of Growth And Rest

Like your skin and nails, your hair goes through a finely tuned cycle of growth and rest. There are 3 phases in a hair cycle:

• In the first stage, your scalp hair is continually growing. During this anagen phase, your hair grows about 12cm per month. About 90% of your hair is in this stage at any one time. It lasts between 25 years.
• The second stage, called the catagen phase, is when growth stops. About 13% of your scalp hair is in this phase at any one time. It lasts for 23 weeks.
• The third stage, the telogen phase, is a resting phase that lasts between 14 months. About 10% of your scalp hair is in this phase at any one time.

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What Are The Common Causes Of Hair Loss In Women

What causes hair loss?

• Hair style: Your style of hair can cause hair loss when your hair is arranged in ways that pull on your roots, like tight ponytails, braids, or corn rows. This type of hair loss is called traction alopecia. If hair follicles are damaged, the loss can be permanent.
• Vitamin deficiency.
• Over processed scalp hair .

What causes anagen effluvium hair loss?

• Toxic substances, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and some medications. These cause sudden hair loss that can occur anywhere on your body. It happens to hair in the growth stage. Sometimes, this type of hair loss can be permanent if your hair follicles are damaged.

What causes telogen effluvium hair loss?

• Extreme physical stress or shock to your body: This causes temporary hair loss. This category includes events like losing a lot of weight, surgery, anemia, illness and having a baby.
• Extreme emotional stress: mental illness, the death of a loved one, etc.
• An abnormal thyroid.
• Medications and supplements: blood pressure medicines, gout medicines and high doses of Vitamin A.
• Hormone changes caused by pregnancy, menopause or birth control pills.

What causes FPHL ?

• Genes: Your familys genes can cause thinning of hair along the top of your head.
• Aging: Hormone changes as you age can cause balding.
• Menopause: This type of hair loss often gets worse when estrogen is lost during menopause.

There are also some conditions that affect hair loss:

Traumatic Hair Styling And Inflammation

So far, we have discussed non-scarring types of hair loss, where the hair follicles are still alive and hair can regrow. This is in contrast to scarring hair loss, where hair follicles are destroyed and hair cannot regrow.

Inflammation is the ultimate cause of scarring hair loss. The scalp might appear red. Common symptoms include itching, burning, and pain. Infections and certain inflammatory skin conditions can cause hair follicle destruction. Traumatic hair styling practices like heat styling, chemical hair treatments, and tight hairstyles can also cause scarring hair loss.

With hair loss caused by inflammation, you want to stop the inflammation in time to prevent irreversible damage. Most often, dermatologists will do this with specific medications, depending on the cause and how bad the hair loss has gotten. Unfortunately, many people delay seeking treatment and end up with permanent scarring. Cortisone injections, along with topical minoxidil, can stimulate some hair growth. If the scarring is extensive, a hair transplant might be an option.

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You Have High Blood Pressure Or High Cholesterol And You’re Taking Medication For It

Medications for lowering cholesterol like simvastatin and atorvastatin often come with hair loss as a side effect, according to Dr. Shapiro. The chances of this are rare, with just 1% of people who take statin-based medications reporting hair loss, according to Harvard Medical School.

Blood pressure medications that are also beta blockers have been known to cause hair loss, although doctors are still unsure about the exact mechanism at play.

It’s up to you and your healthcare provider to weigh the options before stopping or starting a medication that could be potentially related to hair loss.

“People have to see their doctors to determine if is medicine-related, then they may want to stop, but other times they may not,” Dr. Shapiro said.

A Stressful Life Event

Out of nowhere, you notice a lot of hair falling out. You see it on your pillow, on the floor, on your clothes, and stuck in the shower drain. Hair seems to come out so easily, youre afraid to brush it. The medical term for this is telogen effluvium.

During a telogen effluvium, it might feel like you are going to go bald. Rest assured you wont. Telogen effluvium is a response to stress. Excess hair shedding starts 2 to 3 months after a stressful physical or emotional event and peaks about 4 to 5 months later. Over time, your body readjusts and the hair gradually stops falling out. Within 6 to 9 months, things go back to normal.

Stressful life events like losing a loved one, going through surgery, or being diagnosed with a serious illness can all increase your risk for hair loss. But hair loss itself can be stressful, too, which can lead to a vicious cycle. Remember: Telogen effluvium is temporary you will not go bald from it, and your hair will come back. In most cases, no treatment is necessary.

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There Are Things You Can Do To Prevent Hair Loss

If you notice your hair is thinning and it bothers you, there are some easy ways to make it appear fuller and simultaneously help prevent more hair loss or breakage. For instance, as SELF explained previously, its important to:

Wash as often as you need tobut no more. Both under- and overwashing can affect the volume and feel of your hair. Not washing enough causes a buildup of product and oil that can weight your hair down. But washing too frequently can strip the hair of its natural oils, making it more dry and prone to breakage. Experts recommend sticking to washing about two or three times per week and adjusting as needed for your particular situation.

Always use conditioner after shampooing. Conditioner makes your hair shinier and helps reduce static electricity, both of which helps thinning hair look fuller and glossier. But remember: A little goes a long way, and too much will weigh hair down.

Try leave-on products. Leave-in conditioners and detanglers help keep your hair moisturized throughout the day and protect against the effects of heat styling that otherwise can cause thinning and breakage.

Use hair masks for deep conditioning. If your hair tends to be dry and brittle, an occasional deep-conditioning mask may be just what it needs to regain some life and strength. These can also help hair look shinier.

Questions Your Doctor May Ask About Loss Of Armpit/pubic Hair

• Have you been feeling more tired than usual, lethargic or fatigued despite sleeping a normal amount?
• Have you noticed a decrease in your libido or sex drive?
• Have you ever been diagnosed with diabetes?
• Have you had any changes in your weight?

Self-diagnose with our free Buoy Assistant if you answer yes on any of these questions.

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