3 Causes of Hair Loss in Women
Hair loss in men is rather common, but what about hair loss in women? Talking about it can be a hard topic, but the causes of hair loss in women are important to know. We are all self-conscious about our appearances and hair has a lot to do with how people perceive us. I mean, it’s on the top of our heads! You can’t miss it, unfortunately sometimes.
Hair growth and loss has a lot to do with the growth cycle that your hair goes through during its entire life. It can be influenced and damaged through medications, illness, infection, chemicals, and even our genetics. While we can’t avoid all of the causes of hair loss, there are ways to treat hair loss to help it from thinning and falling out.
Hair Growth Cycle
The hair growth cycle can be split into three steps: anagen, catagen, telogen. Each one can be disrupted or altered based on how we take care of our bodies and hair. Most of the time, your hair is growing. Only 10% of your strands are in transition or resting. The average person’s hair grows about 6 inches in a year.
- Anagen
During the anagen or growth phase, 90% of your hair is growing during this time. The anagen phase can last between 2 to 8 years.
- Catagen
The catagen phase is also called the transition phase. This lasts only 2 to 3 weeks when your hair follicles shrink.
- Telogen
The telogen phase is the transition phase where your hair is resting for about 2 to 4 months.
Causes of Hair Loss in Women
It’s actually normal to lose hair every day. On average, you lose between 50 to 100 strands per day. When you wash your hair, you lose up to 250 strands. But, don’t think you’ll avoid losing those strands by not washing. You’ll lose them eventually and it’s healthy to wash your hair.
So, how do you tell when there’s been too much hair loss before you start balding? One sign can be the amount of hair you lose at night that’s left on your pillow. Also, as you comb your hair, you will notice if more than normal is coming out in your brush or on the floor. By cleaning out your brush every day, you’ll be able to notice.
Unlike men thinning from their forehead back or at the crown of their head, women tend to notice thinning starting on the top third or half of their scalp. If you’re styling your hair and see more of your scalp than your used to, it is probably a sign of hair loss. The first step to take would be blood work to make sure the problem isn’t because of a thyroid gland or autoimmune disease.
1. Genetics
The most common reason for hair loss is genetics. Look or ask your mother, aunts, and grandma’s when they noticed hair thinning or hair loss. One way that you can figure out if you’ve started the process of losing hair is by having your doctor/dermatologist look at the follicles of your scalp. A sign of hair loss is that the follicles are shrinking or closed up completely.
A genetic inheritance most common in women for hair loss is androgenetic alopecia. It is hereditary and can be found in 30 million American women. Most of the time, 50% of women that come in for hair loss problems is because of androgenetic alopecia. It occurs for women in their 50s and 60s, but can even happen to teens.
Normally, when a hair follicle is lost, it will be replaced by a follicle of similar size. In women with female-pattern hair loss, it replaces the lost follicle with a thinker and finer one. This is a sign that they are shrinking and will eventually be completely gone.
2. Medical & Mental Reasons
There are many different medical reasons that could lead to hair loss in women. Pregnancy, thyroid, and anemia are some of the more common medical reasons women experience hair loss. Other reasons include autoimmune diseases, polycystic ovary syndrome, and skin conditions like psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis.
Extreme stress can also cause hair loss. A physical trauma like a surgery or intense illness can typically induce stress on the body and cause hair loss. Some who lose a dramatic amount of weight in a very short period of time have reported a loss in hair, as well as people who consume too much Vitamin A.
3. Hair Care
How you care for your hair could influence your hair loss and health in the long run. Cornrows or too tight braids can cause hair loss that is called traction alopecia. When you put unhealthy things in your hair like dyes, chemical treatments, you use bad brushes, blow dryers, and flat irons, your hair follicles are damaged and can cause them to fall out rapidly. Even brushing too much and aggressive towel drying of your hair can encourage early hair loss.
Hair Restoration at SculptMD
Whatever the age and whatever the problem, SculptMD can help you restore the look of your hair through one of our many medspa treatments. SculptMD offers PRP hair treatment in Livermore to help encourage the growth of your hair.
By injecting the natural plasma from your own blood into your scalp, you are adding collagen and other growth factors to your scalp that can help improve hair growth and restore your hair. It is a safe and tested method that allows you to restore your hair without any surgery or downtime. To schedule a consultation with us, give us a call today or book online to find out if you’re a good candidate for hair restoration at SculptMD.
