Women and Hair Loss

When men start losing their hair, it's not pleasant, but it's generally accepted as something that happens to a lot of men. When women start losing their hair, it can be scary and embarrassing. They may try to change their hair style to cover it up or start using hair regrowth medications - and while these are good options, it's a good idea to get to the root of the problem. While some women may experience hair loss because of hereditary conditions or stress, others may experience it because of more serious conditions like lupus and thyroid disease. Some women may simply see hair loss because they've used too much bleach or they've had too many perms. All of these causes will call for a different treatment, so it's important to find out what the problem is before rushing into a treatment or a weave. Stress Sometimes certain life events can cause hair loss. Childbirth, illness, a death in the family, a surgery - any of these things can cause your body to react in strange ways, including abnormal hair loss. Hair goes through many growth and resting phases, and if you experience too much stress, more of your hair can go into rest phases to try to reduce the stress in your body (which doesn't really work, since hair loss is a stressor). However, while this is scary, if it's the underlying cause of hair loss, your hair will probably go ahead and regrow as soon as you can get your stress levels back to normal. Hereditary Hair Loss Hereditary hair loss can be scary because hair falls out unpredictably in large amounts - sometimes with months in between. The best way to identify this kind of hair loss is to check for a Christmas tree pattern when the hair is parted in the middle. Since this kind of hair loss is progressive, the best thing to do is to start treating immediately, before too many hair follicles have stopped growing hair. About 60% of women regrow hair when they use minoxidil solutions like Rogaine. It can be inconvenient - twice a day applications that have to continue in order to keep the hair - but it is one of the best chances that women with hair loss have of reversing the problem. Some women also try treatments of spironolactone and flutamide, but these should only be taken if the woman is sure she will not be trying to become pregnant as they can cause birth defect. Cortisone shots or topical solutions can also be helpful for some women. A dermatologist can often help to determine which medications will be best. Underlying Medical Conditions In some cases, other medical conditions are causing the hair loss. When seeing a family doctor or a dermatologist, patients should be asked for a full medical history to determine whether the problem could possibly relate to something else. Dermatologists can usually tell from a scalp examination whether the hair loss is due to a hereditary condition or whether it's related to some undiagnosed condition. While some may fear that their concerns about hair loss are only vanity, their are often treatments that can help, while in some cases being cautious can help to doctors to diagnose more serious conditions in a timely manner. If you are concerned about unexplained hair loss, don't be afraid to look into it rather than just beginning self-treatment.