Hair loss usually becomes a problem for women when they reach age 30. The condition becomes more serious or noticeable as they grow older and especially when they reach their menopausal stage. While in men the problem is usually attributed to a combination of genetics and hormones, for women it is rarely caused by genetic composition. Hormones do still play a role, however, alongside other factors. The difference between primary causes may be due to the dissimilarities in the way sebum or oil builds up in their scalp and the angle of hair follicles.
Possible Causes of Female Hair Loss
For females the problem starts out with hair thinning rather than having bald patches. Receding hairlines may also occur in some cases.
Birth Control Pills
If you noticed yourself suffering from hair loss about the same time you started or stopped taking birth control pills, you should consult your doctor immediately. Losing hair is one of the possible symptoms of contraceptives. A change of brand or a completely different type of contraceptive may be in order.
Improper Hair Habits
The way you comb or brush your hair can result into hair loss if you don't take care to do it properly. There are also a lot of things that you do and take for granted, things that are already damaging your hair. Trichotillomania, for instance, is a hair condition that results in loss of hair due to excessive pulling. Hair pulling can develop into a mannerism or unconscious habit that is difficult to stop. Traction alopecia, on the other hand, is due to improper hairstyles or anything that exerts too much pressure on hair follicles.
Medications and Treatments
Certain medications and treatments have hair loss as a possible side effect. The most obvious example would be chemotherapy, one of the most commonly used treatments for cancer. If you are terribly worried about your condition, you should consult your doctor and see if a change of medication and treatment is still possible.
Postmenopausal Trauma
The menopausal stage is a trying time in a woman's life. It is often a painful stage with physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. Hair loss is just one of the many things you may start to suffer from at this point in time. Rest assured, however, that your hair loss is only temporary and will come to pass.
Pregnancy
Hair loss is a symptom of this delicate stage in your life. You could experience it during or after pregnancy. But as it is a natural part of things, you shouldn't worry about it and whatever hair loss you've experienced will be replaced by your body as soon as possible.
Diseases
Illnesses, diseases, and medical conditions like those affecting your liver or thyroid, anorexia, anemia, high fever, bulimia, fungal infections, and zinc deficiency are just a few examples of what could count hair loss as a symptom. In such cases, it's imperative that you treat the underlying condition and not hair loss itself.
Hair Products
If you use too much of the wrong kind of hair color, perm products, or shampoo, you run the risk of eventually suffering from hair loss and try to avoid excessive blow-drying, especially when using hot air.
Cause Female Hair Loss
For a female, hair loss can feel incredibly shameful. Our hair speaks volumes about our personality and is a big factor in the way we evaluate our looks. A healthy head of hair indicates vitality, youthfulness, and health. When women begin to lose their hair, it can be a huge blow to their self esteem, but there are ways to restore it. Before seeking treatment, it's important to understand it's causes.
Hair Style
For some women, hair loss may be attributed to hairstyle! Wearing your hair in styles that pull tightly such as pigtails, braids, and cornrows can pull hair out at a faster rate than normal. At any given time, about 90 percent of your hair is in a growth state and 10 percent is in a relaxed state where it will eventually fall out naturally. If your hairstyle causes the growing hair to become pulled out, this can severely reduce the amount of hair on your scalp.
A hair follicle will grow for approximately 2 to 6 years. If you suspect that hair style may be at the root of your female hair-loss condition, change your hairstyle right away, but expect that it will take several years to grow back to it's natural fullness.
Hormones
Hormones are perhaps the most common cause of female hair loss. Women tend to experience loss after having a baby, after surgery, during menopause, or at other times in their lives when hormones change. The onset of female hair loss may be an indicator of an over or under-active thyroid gland. If you are experiencing hair-loss at a time in your life where your hormones should otherwise be stable, you may want to have your doctor run some tests to check your thyroid.
Medications
Some types of medications such as blood thinners, vitamin A, anti-depressants, birth control pills, and medications used to treat cancer or gout can cause female hair loss. One way to determine if medication is the cause of your condition is to see if the condition improves when you stop taking the medication. However, many of these medications cannot just be stopped, and because hair growth is such a slow process, it may be quite some time before you can tell if the condition has improved. Ask your doctor if any of the medications you are taking cause female hair loss and look for alternatives.
Diseases and Infections
Female hair loss may be an indicator of an underlying disease such as lupus, diabetes, or a fungal infection of the scalp. If your hair loss symptoms don't seem to have other causes, it's a good idea to check with your doctor about possible diseases or infections that could be the core of the problem.
Unfortunately, in many cases losing hair is not something that can be reversed by changing hairstyle or stopping a medication. For many women, hair loss is a fact of life. However, this doesn't mean that women have to live with thin hair and bald patches. Today's hair restoration technology has improved dramatically in recent years and can quickly and painlessly give women back a full head of hair and their sense of self-esteem.
Both John Tulley & Christine Harrell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
John Tulley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Site Promotion, RSS and Hair Care. About the author: John Tulley manages the: Blog. This Blog is updated on a regular basis with advice and information about the. John Tulley's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.
Christine Harrell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mortgage, Careers and Job Hunting and Personal Desktop. Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on , visit. Christine Harrell's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.
Content For My Site Over time, you will gain search engine traffic and repeat visitors. Keep your content fresh and relative to your target market and the money you earn with your content site will really start to add u...