Hair Loss in Women: Types, Causes, Treatments

Table Of Content

• What causes your hair to fall out?
• Maintain good hair and scalp care
• What are the main causes of hair loss?
• Hair loss symptoms
• How Is Female Hair Loss Treated?

Transplants may be successful for some people depending on the cause of the hair loss. But you’ll need enough hair to donate to the transplant, and you’ll need to wait several months for it to grow. While you’re at it, let your hair air-dry to avoid irritating your scalp. If you can, avoid heat styling tools such as curling or straightening irons, which may also damage or break the hair shaft. The lauric acid found in coconut oil helps bind protein in hair, protecting it from breakage at the root and strand. Massaging coconut oil into your scalp may promote better blood flow and help with regrowth.

What causes your hair to fall out?

Your clinician might prescribe anti-inflammatory medications, like corticosteroids, if hair loss seems related to an autoimmune condition. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications generally consist of topical creams, gels, solutions, or foams that you apply directly to the scalp. The most common products contain an ingredient called minoxidil. It’s typical to lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). With about 100,000 hairs on your head, that small loss isn’t noticeable.

Maintain good hair and scalp care

Physical and psychological stress can cause hair loss. Surgery, high fevers, and blood loss can cause enough stress to result in excessive shedding. Childbirth can result in hair loss for several months after delivery. Women may lose hair following childbirth or while in menopause. Women who have hormonal imbalances can have hair loss.

What are the main causes of hair loss?

Bangs give this sleek Pulp Fiction cut a dose of class. With humidity out of the picture, choose a fall cut that adds texture and volume to fine hair. A shoulder-length lob gets oomph from lots of layers cut from the midsection toward the ends. Go with the ever-reliable layered cut that hits below your shoulders.

While it’s more prevalent in older adults, anyone can experience it, including children. In many cases, a person’s hair will return to its usual state once a doctor has treated the underlying condition. Certain medications have side effects that can cause hair to fall out.

If alopecia areata is the cause of hair loss, medicines such as corticosteroids can be used to treat it. But because hair often grows back within a year, you may decide not to have treatment. Understanding the come-and-go nature of hair loss with this condition can help you make the best treatment decision. Children and teens may need counseling to help them adjust to the hair loss.

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Matt Leavitt Shares His Pearls for Hair Loss Treatments at Fall Clinical.

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 21:00:00 GMT [source]

You may want to shift where hair grows (or doesn't) to reflect your affirmed gender. Beyond that, age, hormones, stress, and even the way you style your hair can lead to hair loss. Another cause of hair loss is called telogen effluvium (TE), which is typically temporary.

How Is Female Hair Loss Treated?

Masculinizing hormone therapy (taking testosterone) may cause hair loss within a year, and the effects aren't reversible if you stop hormone treatment. You can lose hair during menopause as your estrogen and progesterone levels drop. Also, because hair follicles shrink during this time, your hair might be thinner, fall out easier, and grow more slowly.

The authors also suggest that to help prevent hair loss, people low in iron would benefit from iron supplementation and making sure they get enough vitamin C. If a person thinks that hair loss may be due to a medication, they can consult a doctor for an assessment. The doctor might reduce the dosage or switch the person to a different medication. If a doctor suspects a medication is causing hair loss, they may prescribe a lower dose or switch medications.

But further research is needed to recommend specific dosages. Hair follicles are made up mostly of a protein called keratin. There are things you can try if your hair loss is causing you distress. But most treatments are not available on the NHS, so you'll have to pay for them. Hair thinning and baldness increase the risk of sunburn and skin cancer on the scalp. When in the sun, wear a hat or use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more to prevent sun damage to the scalp.

However, hair loss can also be permanent depending on the cause and how it affects the hair growth cycle. With age, most people notice some hair loss because hair growth slows. At some point, hair follicles stop growing hair, which causes the hair on our scalp to thin. Prescription medications, like finasteride (Propecia), may help prevent further androgenetic hair loss, especially for male pattern baldness. You take this medication daily to slow hair loss, though some experience new hair growth when taking finasteride.

Is it just us, or is everyone itching for a bit of a change right now? If your hair starts to thin or fall out in clumps, call your healthcare provider or dermatologist. They can help you figure out what is causing hair loss and how to help treat the root issue. The most common cause of hair loss—inherited hair loss—is easy to recognize. Men tend to lose hair from the forehead area and top of the head, but they have normal amounts of hair on other areas of the scalp.

Later in life, some women notice extra shedding during menopause. You might also notice shedding if you’re dealing with other hormonal changes, such as stopping birth control pills. Androgenic alopecia causes the normal hair growth cycle to shorten.