Our hair strands are shedding off around fifty to a hundred hair daily. If you
find your hairs are falling out more than this range, then you may
experience the early symptoms of hair loss. There are many factors that can
lead to loss of hair, here are some of them:
1. Inherited Hair Loss (male-pattern baldness or female-pattern
baldness)
This is the most common baldness and it affects both female and male. This
hereditary hair loss is inherited from either or both of your parents. The
genes are controlling your hair growth condition. They trigger hormone
androgen DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), which causes progressive
miniaturization of hair follicles. Miniaturised hair follicles produce thinning
hair and gradually there is no growth at all.
2. Hormonal disorders
A disorder of hormones can result in temporary hair loss. This affects hair
growth cycle; hair active growing phase will be shortened and growing rate
will be decreased too.
Taking birth control pills, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause could cause
hormonal changes and imbalances. About three months after delivery, it is
common to notice more hair shedding off than normal. These types of hair
loss can by treated by fixing the hormone imbalances.
3. Alopecia Areata
Researchers believe this disease is caused by the immune system attacks its
own hair resulting in smooth, round hairless patches on anywhere of the
scalp and body. In a severe case, all hairs on the scalp or body are shed off.
Most people see their hairs re-growing within one year.
4. Stress
Mental or physical stress may cause you to develop hair loss. It happens 4
weeks to3 months after the stressful event. In this condition, the hair
growing cycle is disrupted; active growing hairs are shifted to resting phase.
Hairs will begin to shed off and hair follicles will stop growing new hairs. In
most cases, an individual’s hair will grow back when the stress has been
removed.
5. Cancer treatments
An individual undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy may
experience baldness because these therapies attack hair follicles growing
cells. Hairs normally start to shed off one to three weeks after the
treatments. You will expect hair begins to grow back few weeks after
treatments ends.
6. Poor nutrition
Malnutrition can influence on hair growth cycle and cause hair loss. When a
person has abnormal eating habits, it may promote malnutrition.
Malnutrition is causing lack of protein and iron in the body.
Protein deficiency: In order to help to save protein, the body switches hair
active growing phase to the resting phase. Hairs start to shed off 2 to 3
months after an individual does not intake sufficient protein. Good sources of
protein are pumpkin seeds, peanuts, milk, soybeans, eggs, etc.
Iron deficiency: Female who always has heavy menstrual may encounter
iron deficiency problem. Source of iron can be obtained from pumpkin seeds,
soybeans, spinach, etc.
Intake sufficient amount of protein and iron can help to prevent and reverse
hair loss.
7. Medications
Some prescription medicines may lead to temporary hair thinning. These
medicines include:
• Birth control pills.
• Blood thinning medicines.
• Medicines used to treat heart problem, high blood pressure, cancer
and thyroid.
Scalp will resume normal hair growth when stop using these medicines.
8. Scalp infection
Ringworm, a fungus infection begins with small patches of hair to shed off
that can spread and result in entire scalp baldness. This disease is
contagious and usually attacks the children. Without being treated within the
rational time frame, ringworm can cause baldness.
9. Trichotillomania
What is Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania is a mental illness or bad habit in which people repeatedly
pull their hairs out of eyelashes, eyebrows, scalps or other areas of the
body. Frequently pulling hair from scalp is causing patchy spots on the scalp
and permanent hair loss will be developed from this frequent stress on the
hair.
It is important to find out the actual cause of your hair loss condition before
looking for a treatment, as different causes have different treatments. You
might consult your doctor to diagnose your baldness problem and
recommend the best treatments to treat and prevent your hair loss.