What Are The Types Of Hair Loss
There are three: anagen effluvium, telogen effluvium and FPHL.
- Anagen effluvium: This is caused by medications that poison a growing hair follicle .
- Telogen effluvium: This is caused by an increased number of hair follicles reaching the telogen phase, which is the stage where hair falls out.
- Androgenetic alopecia/female pattern alopecia/female pattern hair loss /baldness: This type is the most common. Hair thins over the top of the head and on the sides.
You Lost A Lot Of Weight Very Quickly
Sudden weight loss is a form of physical trauma that can result in thinning hair. This could happen even if the weight loss is ultimately good for you. It’s possible that the weight loss itself put unnecessary stress your body, or that not eating right can resulted in vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Loss of hair along with noticeable weight loss may also be a sign of an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.
This type of hair loss, too, will correct itself once after a while. “Sudden weight loss seems to shock the system and you’ll have a six-month period of hair loss and then it corrects itself,” says Dr. Hammonds.
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:
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Female Pattern Hair Loss
In women, hair slowly thins all over the scalp, but the hairline usually doesnt recede. Many women experience this type of hair loss as a natural part of aging, although hair loss may begin any time after puberty. Female pattern hair loss can cause hair to thin dramatically, but only rarely does it lead to baldness.
Reasons For Sudden Hair Loss And How You Can Get Help
Everyone experiences hair shedding, and it happens to each of us every day. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle, more on days you wash your hair. But what if you check your pillow, shower drain, or comb and it looks like youâre suddenly losing much more than that?
The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor or dermatologist. Theyâll get to the bottom of why youâre losing hair, and theyâll make sure you get the right treatment in case a medical condition is to blame.
Here are just some of the reasons you could have sudden hair loss.
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Medications That Cause Hair Loss In Females
Hormone therapies can trigger hormone imbalances in women, causing hair loss and potentially causing permanent female pattern baldness.
Birth control pills used for contraception and hormone replacement therapies , like progesterone and estrogen, are examples. Women who have undergone a full hysterectomy, for example, require ongoing HRT after surgery.
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 Is The Relationship Between Hair Loss In Women And Menopause
During menopause, you might see one of two things happen with your hair. You might start growing hair where you didnt before. Or, you might see the hair you have start to thin. One cause may be changing levels of hormones during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male hormones, are increased.
During and after menopause, hair might become finer because hair follicles shrink. Hair grows more slowly and falls out more easily in these cases.
Your healthcare provider will do a thorough examination and take a detailed history to help you deal with changes in hair growth. You may be directed to have your iron levels or thyroid hormone levels tested. Your medications might be changed if what you take is found to affect hair loss or growth.
Cosmetic Options For Hair Loss
When medical treatments fall short, women can also consider cosmetic options to make up for lost hair, such as wearing a wig. At the other end of the spectrum is hair transplantation, a surgical procedure that moves active follicles from the back of the scalp to areas where the hair is thinning. Once transplanted, the hair grows normally.
Hair transplantation is typically performed as an outpatient surgical procedure. In appropriate patients, it can be extremely successful, but it wont work for everyone, says Dr. Scott. One drawback is the expense: it can cost thousands of dollars and is not covered by insurance. The procedure also requires recovery time. And it may not be appropriate for women who have diffuse thinning across the whole scalp. Its more effective in treating smaller, more defined areas of balding.
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Women Reveal What It’s Like To Experience Hair Loss
Androgenetic alopecia is a slow and progressive reduction in hair volume, Kingsley said. It occurs when you have a genetic predisposition that causes hair follicles on your scalp to be sensitive to normal levels of circulating androgens .
In other words, your hair follicles gradually shrink and produce hairs that are slightly finer and shorter with each passing hair growth cycle. Even though this type of hair loss is mostly reliant on genes, Kingsley said other factors can influence it as well. For instance, certain contraceptives and hormone-replacement therapies that effect hormone levels can aggravate the problem if there’s already a genetic predisposition to follicle sensitivity.
Telogen effluvium, on the other hand, is characterized by excessive daily hair fall with more hairs falling out when women shampoo or brush/style their hair. It can take 8-12 weeks for hair to fall out after a triggering event. It is a reactive alopecia, triggered by an internal disruption, Kingsley said. As hair is non-essential tissue, it is very sensitive to fluctuations to general health.
Certain vitamin deficiencies like Vitamin D, iron and ferritin , for instance and other factors like crash dieting, thyroid issues and pregnancy can also trigger telogen effluvium.
Everything Feels Better After A Haircut
To help with seasonal changes specifically, getting a haircut at the beginning of the summer will help to remove the dead ends that would have been further damaged by the summer sun. The longer you leave damaged hair on your head, the more you will experience hair shedding and breakage. If you are over processing your hair with chemicals and overstyling your hair, getting
regular haircuts is especially important since youre damaging your hair at a much faster rate and therefore will experience more hair shedding than someone with healthier hair.
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How Common Is Hair Loss In Women
Many people think that hair loss only affects men. However, it is estimated that more than 50% of women will experience noticeable hair loss. The most significant cause of hair loss in women is female-pattern hair loss , which affects about one-third of susceptible women, which equals out to some 30 million women in the United States.
Why Your Natural Hair Is Thinning And How To Stop It
February 04, 2019
It started with noticing more shedding than usual while you were washing your hair in the shower. You shrugged it off as excessive shedding from wearing your natural curls in a protective style like Bantu knots for too long. You realized it was serious when you noticed balding on your edges and noticeable thin spots in your hair while styling. Your thick, natural hair has transformed into thin, fragile hair. These are all signs there may be something wrong with your hair care routine or signs of a deeper health issue. While making this realization can be depressing and intimidating, there is no time to stress yourself out. Acting fast to figure out the problem and addressing any underlining health issues is where your focus should be. For those that need help figuring out where to start, this blog is specifically tailored to guide you through this problem. Here are some reasons why your natural hair is thinning and some ways to help stop it and restore your natural hair.
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Eat A Balanced Diet And Consider Supplements
According to stylist at Bumble and bumble Erickson Arrunategui, if you are struggling with thinning hair and itâs mostly stress-related or due to a hormone change, you can use vitamins such as biotin to help with hair growth and also strengthen your existing hair. Studies have shown that biotin helps promote healthy hair growth and is a great option if you want thicker hair. Other vitamins you can take include vitamin A and vitamin D, where studies show that a deficiency in both is linked to hair loss.
Hendricks explains diet and hair loss could be tied. To counter this potential source, Syfu recommends staying hydrated, making sure to get your omega fatty acids and greens, and also taking a multi-vitamin or biotin supplement.
Dandruff Or Scalp Psoriasis
When the skin on the scalp is inflamed and itchy, its obviously tempting to scratch it. But that may cause your hair to shed more than usual.
Dandruff is the most easily treated cause of hair loss, Dr. Fusco says, because you can treat it with over-the-counter products, like a shampoo containing zinc pyrithione or exfoliating ingredients such as the classic Head & Shoulders Classic or Oribe Serene Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoo . “Consistency is the trick,” Dr. Fusco says, so it’s important to find a shampoo and conditioner you like enough to use regularly.
But other conditions can also cause itchiness and scalp flaking, including seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis . Treating these issues may take more time and effort than dandruff, so its important to check in with a dermatologist if you think you may be dealing with one of these conditions.
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Is It Normal To Lose Your Hair In Your 20s
Um, hi, yes, it’s absolutely normal to experience hair loss or thinning in your 20sespecially when you think about all the factors that cause it in the first place. Hair lives in a four-step cycle, not just one. It grows, it rests, it falls, and then it regenerates. And because there are are a number of different genes involved in this cycle, its super easy to upset the process, says Burg. Lucky you. Still, even though there are a ton of reasons someone may be experiencing hair loss, these are the most common:
So What Can I Do About Clogged Hair Follicles
Focus on your scalp. Healthy hair starts with your scalp.
Dirt and natural oil build-up can cause clogged hair follicles.
If you are experiencing clogged hair follicles, you need to incorporate a scalp clarifying treatment, followed by a quality deep conditioning treatment and a high-end oil to massage your scalp before each wash.
Repeat these steps until your notice that your scalp is healthy and not dry, itchy, or oily.
Important note: If you are experiencing extremely clogged follicles that are similar to a pimple, painful, and have a distinct odor, then you should seek advice from a physician.
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How Can Hair Loss In Women Be Prevented
Preventing hair loss is not possible when it is due to disease, aging, heredity or physical stressors like injuries. You can prevent hair loss caused by caustic chemicals or tight hairstyles by avoiding them. You might be able to prevent some hair loss by eating a healthy diet that provides necessary nutrients in terms of vitamins, minerals and protein. You can stop smoking.
Vitamins For Hair Growth
If youre hoping to grow back healthy locks after experiencing hair loss due to a certain deficiency, vitamins can help. Parks recommends Ducray Anacaps Dietary Supplements and Shah suggests iron, vitamin D and zinc if youre deficient in them.
At the same time, vitamins arent a miracle cure for hair loss. Nutritional supplements can be very beneficial if you are losing your hair due to a nutritional deficiency, Kingsley said. However, if your hair loss is unrelated to diet, nutritional supplements will not remedy it.
The bottom line? Vitamins won’t hurt, but don’t rely on them to treat all types of hair loss.
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