WHY HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN OCCURS ?

Hair loss In Women (courtesy : hairsols.com)

Hair loss occurs in both men and women. In men, this hair loss leads to baldness, and is quite a common issue. However the fact is, that as many as two-thirds of all women experience hair loss at some point of time. Fortunately, this loss does not lead to complete baldness, as is often the case with men, but causes three most common types of hair loss:
Androgenetic alopecia - A type of inherited pattern hair loss and is most common cause of permanent hair loss in both women and men.
Alopecia Areata - Occurs because the immune system is attacking the hair follicles.
Traumatic Alopecia - Caused by braiding or chemically treating the hair. Hot rollers and other appliances damage the hair, in such a way, that the hair follicles stop producing hair, causes baldness.

All of these types of hair loss can be alarming but, fortunately, most are often mild and temporary or reversible.

Most Common Cause of Hair Loss in Women
The functioning of women’s bodies is quite different from that of the men’s, so the most common cause of hair loss is not genetic, but actually is hormonal. In a woman’s body, during her entire lifetime, the change in hormone levels, occurs during menopause, pregnancy, thyroid conditions, or the stopping or starting of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy, which ultimately leads to temporary hair loss in women. When the production of hormones, like estrogen or testosterone, in the body is either rapidly increased or decreased, then this may affect the hair loss.

Other Causes of Hair Loss
If in any case, the hormonal changes are not responsible for the hair loss, then the other reasons of hair loss may be either harmful hair care techniques, stress, illness, an unhealthy diet or hereditary.

Most women like to spend their time in styling their hair, this over-handling is also a common cause for hair loss. Coloring, bleaching and perming hair, tend to damage the hair follicles, which ultimately leads to the hair loss. Another common cause also may be aggressive brushing, shampooing and the wearing of tight hairstyles like braids or ponytails.

Sometimes stress, or any illnesses such as anemia and infections, may also be the cause of hair loss. Because of stress, the hormonal level of the body tends to increase, and causes problems with the body systems responsible for hair growth. Infections can disrupt the normal routine of the body and leads to problems with normal hair growth and patterns.

Another common cause of hair loss in women is poor diet. Those who follow a strict diet and lose weight too rapidly, or those who do not get enough protein, zinc, fatty acids, or vitamins through food consumption, tend to lose their hair.

The last reason, can also be hereditary, similar to that of men. This is known as Female Pattern Baldness, it occurs because of the reaction of testosterone in the body. When this testosterone is converted into DHT, a compound attacking hair follicles, leads to baldness. Even though this condition is quite alike to male pattern baldness, yet the hair loss is usually less severe.