You probably have hair loss and should consult a dermatologist if your part is getting wider, you have bald spots, or you’re losing more than 125 hairs daily.
There are various types of hair loss, each with different causes. You won’t be able to do much to stop hair loss. But it will be beneficial if you pay a visit to a dermatologist soon as you identify your hair loss issue.
OVERVIEW
What’s Hair Loss in Women?
Women who suddenly lose a lot of hair have hair loss problems. Humans typically lose between 50 and 100 hair each day.
Hair shedding is a natural process in which some hairs fall out and new hairs grow. Hair loss occurs when the balance is off—when less hair grows, and more hair falls out. Hair shedding is different from hair loss.
Alopecia is the medical word for hair loss.
Nearly every area of your body has hair growth; however, the lips, eyelids, soles of your feet, or palms of your hands do not. Vellus hair is defined as light, fine, and short hair. Terminally androgenic hair is longer, darker, and thicker.
What are the cycles of hair growth?
Hair develops through three cycles:
- Anagen phase: between two and eight years can pass during the anagen period, which is the growing phase. About 85% to 90% of the hair falls into this phase.
- The catagen phase: Hair follicles shrink during the catagen phase (transition phase), which lasts for two to three weeks.
- In the telogen phase (resting), which lasts for two to three weeks, hair follicles will shrink during this phase.
What Types of Hair Loss Are There?
There are three main types: anagen effluvium, telogen effluvium, and FPHL.
- Anagen effluvium: Medication poisons a hair follicle that is growing, which results in this (like chemotherapy).
- Telogen effluvium results from more hair follicles entering the telogen phase, when hair begins to fall out.
- Androgenetic alopecia / female hair loss / female pattern alopecia/baldness: The most prevalent kind is this one. The hair becomes thinner on the sides and the top of the head.
How common is hair loss issue in women?
Numerous individuals believe that hair loss primarily affects men.
More than 50% of women are predicted to undergo noticeable hair loss.
Female-pattern hair loss (FPHL) is women’s most significant cause of hair loss. It affects roughly one-third of the most vulnerable women in the US or approximately 30 million women.
Which group of women is likely to suffer hair loss?
Hair loss can happen to every girl or woman. However, it is more typical in the:
- Women over 40 years of age.
- Women who have just given birth.
- Women who have just had chemotherapy and have been affected by other medications.
- Women who frequently wear their hair up in tight braids or ponytails or who use harsh chemicals on their hair.
- Menopausal women (some people frequently ask: “is menopausal hair loss permanent?”)
What Is The Mystery About Hair Loss?
The loss of hair is the subject of many myths:
- Your hair is falling out because you shampooed it excessively, excessively colored it, or had a perm.
- In women, dandruff leads to irreversible hair loss.
- In women, stress leads to irreversible hair loss.
- Shaving your head will result in twice as thick a regrowth of your hair.
- Standing on your head will improve circulation and promote hair growth.
- Your hair will become healthier if you brush it 100 times a day.
- Women who wear wigs and hats lose hair.
- Only women with brains experience hair loss.
SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES
What are the most common causes of hair loss issues in women?
What is the cause of hair loss?
- Hairstyle: When your hair is styled in a way that pulls on your hair roots, like tight ponytails, braids, or corn rows, it might result in hair loss. The term “traction alopecia” refers to this form of hair loss.
- Hair follicles, if damaged, can result in permanent hair loss.
- Vitamin deficiency.
- Diet leads to rapid weight loss.
- Restrictive and controlled diets.
- Over-processed hair (breakage).
What is the cause of anagen effluvium hair loss?
- Toxic substances, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and some drugs. Anywhere on your body, they can cause unexpected hair loss. When hair is growing, it occurs.
- If your hair follicles are injured, this loss could occasionally be permanent.
What is the cause of telogen effluvium hair loss?
- Extreme bodily strain or shock: This results in momentary hair loss. This group of occurrences includes significant weight loss, surgery, anemia, illness, and childbirth.
- Emotional stress to an extreme level: mental illness, a loved one’s passing, etc.
- An abnormal thyroid.
- Medications and some supplements include large doses of vitamin A, gout medications, and blood pressure medications.
- Hormone changes are caused by menopause, pregnancy, or birth control medications.
What causes female pattern hair loss (FPHL)?
- Genes: The genes from your family may contribute to hair loss on the crown of your head.
- Aging: Hormone changes during the aging process can cause baldness.
- Menopause: When estrogen levels drop during menopause, this hair loss frequently worsens.
Some hair conditions cause hair loss:
- An autoimmune skin disease is called alopecia areata, which results in patchy hair on your head and possibly other body parts. Usually, it isn’t permanent.
What is hair loss in women related to menopause?
Your hair may go through one of two changes during menopause. Possible hair growth where none previously existed. Or, you might notice that your hair is getting thinner.
Changes in hormone levels during menopause could be one of the causes. As levels of estrogen and progesterone decline, the effects of androgens—male hormones—increase.
Because hair follicles diminish during and after menopause, hair may become finer (thinner). In these circumstances, hair grows more slowly and sheds more frequently.
To help you deal with changes in how your hair grows, your doctor or nurse will give you a complete physical exam and get an entire medical history.
They could advise you to get your thyroid hormone or iron levels checked.
If the medications you take are proven to impair hair growth or loss, they may need to be altered.
What Are The Key Signs of Hair Loss in Women?
- Experiencing daily an increase in hair loss, whether on your brush, on the floor, in the shower, on pillows, or in the bathtub.
- I am noticing significant hair loss or thinning areas, especially a more extensive section on top of your head.
- Seeing the scalp surface through hair
- Having thinner or smaller ponytails.
- Seeing hair breaking off.
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTS
How does a healthcare provider diagnose women’s hair loss? What tests need to be done?
The tests used to identify female hair loss can be straightforward or complicated:
- Examining how many hairs fall out by gently pulling on your hair.
- Blood tests: These look at hormone levels and vitamin and mineral levels (such as vitamin D, vitamin B, zinc, and iron) (incl. thyroid and sex hormones).
- We are examining the scalp through a microscope and trichoscopy.
- A little piece of scalp skin is removed and examined during a scalp biopsy.
What questions will your healthcare provider ask to help diagnose and categorize your hair loss problem?
Your healthcare provider may ask you about your habits:
- What types of hair products (such as shampoo) do you use?
- What kinds of hairstyles do you usually wear?
- What food do you normally eat (protein is essential for hair growth)?
- Have you developed a habit of pulling your hair (trichotillomania)?
They may ask about your history:
- Has anyone in your immediate family ever lost hair?
- Is there any stress going on in your life?
- What medications or supplements do you take daily?
- Have you ever had hair loss before?
- What foods are generally in your diet?
And they may ask you about your observations:
- How long has your hair been shedding?
- Have you been shedding more hair than before?
- Have you noticed hair loss at places other than your scalp, like eyelashes or eyebrows? How about your leg or arm hair?
- Is there anything that aggravates your hair loss?
- Is there anything that improves your hair loss?
- Have you noticed hair loss that happens occasionally, or has it been an ongoing issue?
- Have you noticed that your hair growth has altered?
- Has your hair recently been breaking more often than usual?
MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT
What healthcare provider treats hair loss?
A dermatologist may treat you.
How is hair loss in women usually treated? What medicines or supplements should women take?
The kind of treatment depends on the cause of the individual’s hair loss.
- There may be no need for therapy when hair loss is brought on by stress or hormonal changes, such as during pregnancy. After some time, the hair loss will halt.
- Treatment includes refraining from the actions that contributed to the damage, such as wearing tight braids or ponytails or using particular chemicals when hair styling techniques cause hair loss.
- They can instruct you to take supplements in situations where there are nutritional shortages. They may ask you to take a multivitamin or 3-5 milligrams of biotin daily.
- Rogaine is approved for coping with FPHL. You can buy the 2% or 5% solution from retailers. The product must be used indefinitely and according to the instructions exactly. Try not to use this product if you are nursing a baby, trying to get perceived, or are already pregnant.
- The US FDA has given the HairMax Lasercomb low-light laser the go-ahead to treat FPHL. Theradome LH80 PRO helmets, low-light laser helmets, and caps are other laser products with FDA approval.
It is important to remember that premenopausal women should not use contraception while taking drugs for hair loss. Numerous medications are unsafe for use by pregnant or postpartum women.
- Hair transplant surgery is another alternative. Little pieces of the scalp with hair follicles are removed from the back of the head and placed in slits in the bald spots. The standard surgical concerns, such as infection, folliculitis, and shock loss, in which the hair falls out in the transplant location, are potential issues with this treatment. Finding enough hair for a transplant may be difficult when bald spots are enormous.
- Hair toppers or medical wigs can also help with temporary or permanent hair loss for women. New Times Hair offers quality wholesale human hair toppers and medical wigs that are made of 100% human hair. They are designed to mix perfectly with the wearer’s natural hair so that no one can even tell she is wearing one. It just looks like the hair is her own.
- Furthermore, the procedure can be expensive and usually isn’t covered by insurance.
- Injecting protein-rich plasma has also been done to boost hair growth. PRP is often created using a patient’s blood. After being separated and concentrated, the platelets are put back into the bloodstream for injection.
PREVENTION
How could hair loss in women possibly be prevented?
When hair loss is brought on by illness, aging, hereditary factors, or physical stressors like injuries, it is impossible to prevent. Avoiding them can stop hair loss brought on by caustic chemicals or tight hairstyles.
By eating a nutritious diet that contains the required elements in the form of vitamins, minerals, and protein, you may be able to stop some hair loss.
You are capable of quitting.
OUTLOOK / PROGNOSIS
Your prognosis is determined by diagnosis:
- With time, anagen and telogen shedding could cease.
- Treat any conditions that cause hair loss.
- Use a wig or cap to hide or disguise your balding.
- Early alopecia treatment may slow the rate of hair loss and encourage regeneration.
While hair loss is not dangerous, women who experience hair loss frequently experience significant emotional distress about these changes.
These unfavorable emotions may impact self-esteem and social lives.
According to recent research, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and endocrine problems may all be linked to FPHL.
LIVING WITH
Are there any tips for dealing with women’s hair loss?
You can accomplish some tasks on your own. You may ask your hairdresser, or you could try some of these:
- Your hair will appear fuller because adding volume to the strands will give them more body.
- Massaging your head, like washing your hair, can stimulate blood flow to accelerate to the scalp and hair follicles.
- Getting a shorter haircut and adding layers can make your hair look fuller.
- Using suitable types of shampoo may also help. Look for a shampoo that adds volume but without sulfate detergents.
- Using suitable types of hair products at the right time may also help. Some products may add volume while your hair has just been washed and is still wet. However, using too much hair product will add weight to your hair.
When shall I see a healthcare provider?
See a dermatologist soon as you notice hair loss. The sooner you get treatment, the more efficient it will be.
What questions should I ask the healthcare provider?
- What has likely caused my hair loss?
- What is the type of hair loss?
- How much hair am I losing daily?
- Will my hair loss likely be permanent?
- What could be the best treatment to solve my issue?
Final Words
Hair loss can be upsetting, resulting from stress, illness, or heredity. Know that you have options for treatments and that knowledgeable dermatologists can assist you.
There may be a way to stop losing your hair. As soon as you suspect a problem, consult a healthcare professional since the sooner you begin treatment, the better.
If none of the treatments seems to suit, you can always try hair toppers, medical wigs, or even hair extensions as the ultimate cure. They are harmless to the scalp. Whether you are waiting for the treatment to effect or a quick volume or length, hair toppers, extensions, or medical wigs can always be used to achieve instant volume or length. Click here to learn more.
