If you’ve been noticing a widening of the parting in your hair, you are finding bald spots on your head, or you are shedding more hair than usual when you brush or wash it, then you may be experiencing hair loss. There are several hair loss types that women can experience for many reasons. While in many cases it might not be completely preventable, the good news is that many underlying causes of hair loss in women are not permanent, and the hair will regrow. There are also treatments that you can use to help avoid it getting any worse.
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Why Women Lose Their Hair
Loss of hair in women is usually characterised by unexpected, heavy hair shedding. Losing some hair is a normal experience for everybody. Dead hair falls out every day to allow room for new hair to grow, so it’s nothing to worry about if you are losing between 50-100 strands a day. However, if there are more hairs falling out than there are new hairs growing, this leads to an imbalance and hair loss will occur.
How Often Does Hair Loss in Women Happen?
Most people see hair loss as mostly a problem that men deal with. And while it is true that men are more prone than women to lose their hair, around half of the female population will also be faced with some kind of obvious or heavy hair loss throughout their lifetime, too. Pattern baldness is one of the most common causes of hair loss impacting women.
Female Pattern Baldness Explained
Androgenetic alopecia or female pattern baldness is one of the most common causes of losing hair in women. While all genders can experience hair loss, when it occurs in women, it appears differently and is less widespread. Men with hair loss tend to have a hairline that recedes along with bald spots on the head. On the other hand, pattern baldness in women tends to show up as general thinning, which affects the overall hair volume.
The initial signs of female pattern baldness in women may be a feeling that their hair is not as thick as usual, or a widening of the part. The hairline does not usually recede, although there may be some visibility of the scalp in some cases. Minoxidil for women is one of the most common treatments for female pattern baldness. Minoxidil for women is known as Regaine and normally comes in the form of a shampoo or scalp foam to be applied regularly.
Other Causes of Women’s Hair Loss
Pattern baldness in women is mainly considered to be the result of genetics. However, it can also be developed as the result of an underlying condition that has an impact on the production of the androgen hormone. Androgens are hormones that have a role to play in pattern baldness. Because of this, conditions such as tumours of the ovary or pituitary gland, both of which produce androgen, can lead to experiencing hair loss.
Some other common causes of hair loss in women include:
- Traction Alopecia: This is a type of hair loss that can occur due to the pulling and pressure on the follicles when somebody often wears hairstyles that pull their hair too tightly.
- Medication: Some medications, including chemotherapy medications that are used in the treatment of cancer, can cause hair loss as a side effect. However, once the person has finished taking the medication as prescribed, the hair will usually regrow.
- Autoimmune diseases: There are some autoimmune disorders, such as alopecia areata, which lead to hair loss due to the immune system attacking the hair follicles. Thankfully, this is a rare condition.
- Significant illnesses: Hair loss can develop after a serious illness such as a high fever, undergoing surgery or suffering from a severe infection.
- Stress: For some women, stress can be a significant cause of hair loss. Living a stressful life or going through a stressful period in your life might mean that you see more hair is falling out than usual and your hair feels thinner.
Treatment Options
There are several types of hair loss treatments to choose from, and the best one for your needs will depend on the extent of the hair loss and any other factors. In most cases, long-term treatment is recommended to prevent the hair loss from recurring in the future. Along with topical treatments like Minoxidil, oral medications such as diuretics, which may block androgen production and prevent hair loss, can be used. Hair transplants for women are also becoming a more popular option for dealing with hair loss.
Hair loss is often considered to be an issue that affects mostly men, but many women also deal with different types of hair loss throughout their lives, for varying reasons.
