Hair Loss in Women Reading

Hair Loss In Women

Hair loss is a natural daily occurrence when we brush, comb, or shampoo our hair.

Typically, between 50 and 150 hairs are lost everyday, although this varies from individual to individual. It is important to notice any change in your normal rate of hair loss and anything excessive for you may be critical.

New hairs are produced all the time but when hair fall out is greater than the growth of new hairs then hair loss follows.

Hair Loss and Hormones

As working women assume more responsibilities and tensions, it is thought that they are also producing more of the male hormone androgen which causes Androgenic Alopecia.

The normal ratio of hormones in a woman’s body is eight parts oestrogen (female hormone) to one part androgen. The oestrogen affects skin texture and hair resilience. If the balance is disturbed, trichologists believe that re-growth of hair is affected.

Hair loss caused by hormonal abnormalities is serious and requires immediate attention.

Hair Loss and Pregnancy

Traditionally women have often suffered excessive hair loss a few months after giving birth because after a very high oestrogen level during pregnancy a sudden reduction adversely affects hair growth.

Oestrogen levels increase dramatically during pregnancy, up to two hundred fold and the consequent drop in levels after birth can lead directly to post-natal depression and hair loss.

The contraceptive pill keeps female hormone levels high and it has been found that women who stop taking it are often subject to the same post-natal symptoms of hair loss.

Hair Loss and Mistreatment

Mistreatment through indiscriminate coloring or heating can go further than breakage and produce permanent hair loss.

Chemical trauma can be caused to your hair by bleaching, relaxing, perming or even dying the hair. The chemicals involved in these processes can damage the protein structure of the hair, making it brittle and often causing hair loss. As well as damaging the hair, these chemicals are also not good for the scalp and can irritate it.

Pulling your hair tightly back into a pony tail, tight plaiting or using rollers wound too tight can cause inflammation on the scalp’s surface or below the outer layer and is known as Traction alopecia. This disturbs normal hair growth and the intolerable strain on the hair when repeatedly stretched can make it give up growing altogether.

The papilla sometimes shrinks and dries up and either a straggly hair emerges or there’s a total stoppage in hair growth.

Hair Loss and Stress

Stress, anxiety, worry, hormonal changes, diet and nutritional deficiency, lack of sleep, poor health and bad teeth can a...