In most cases, female hair loss can be effectively treated. If you are a woman who has happening to lose scalp hair, you are not alone if:
* You are unpleasantly surprised by the hair loss
* You don’t understand why you are trailing hair
The patterns of hair loss in women are not as easily recognizable as those in men.
Unlike hair loss in men, female scalp hair loss may commonly start at any age through 50 or later, may not have any obvious inbred association, and may not occur in a recognizable "female-pattern alopecia" of spread thinning over the top of the scalp. A woman who notices the opening of hair loss may not be sure if the loss is going to be temporary or permanent—for example, if there has been a recent event such as pregnancy or illness that may be associated with temporary hair thinning.
If you are a woman who is worried about loss of scalp hair, you should consult a physician hair restoration specialist for an evaluation and diagnosis.
Self-diagnosis is often ineffective. Women tend to have less obvious patterns of hair loss than men, and non-pattern types of hair loss are more frequent in women than in men. Diagnosis of hair loss in a woman be supposed to be made by a trained and experienced physician.
In women as in men, the most likely cause of scalp hair loss is androgenetic alopecia—an inherited sensitivity to the effects of androgens (male hormones) on scalp hair follicles. However, women with hair loss due to this cause usually do not develop true baldness in the patterns that occur in men—for instance, women rarely develop the "cue-ball" appearance often seen in male-pattern androgenetic alopecia.
Patterns of female androgenetic alopecia can vary considerably in appearance. Patterns that may occur include:
* Diffuse thinning of hair over the entire scalp, often with more noticeable thinning toward the back of the scalp.
* spread thinning over the entire scalp, with more noticeable thinning toward the front of the scalp but not involving the frontal hairline.
* Diffuse thinning over the entire scalp, with more noticeable thinning toward the front of the scalp, involving and sometimes breaching the frontal hairline.
Unlike the case for men, lessening scalp hair in women due to androgenetic alopecia does not uniformly grow smaller in diameter (miniaturize). Women with hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia tend to have miniaturizing hairs of variable diameter over all affected areas of the scalp. While miniaturizing hairs are a feature of androgenetic alopecia, tininess may also be associated with other causes and is not in itself a diagnostic feature of androgenetic alopecia. In post-menopausal women, for example, hair may begin to miniaturize and become difficult to style. The precise diagnosis should be made by a physician hair restoration specialist.
It is important to note that female pattern hair loss can start as early as the delayed youth to early 20s in women who have skilled early puberty. If left untreated, this hair loss associated with early puberty can progress to more advanced hair loss if it is left untreated.
Non-Pattern Causes of Hair loss in Women
In women more often than in men, hair loss may be due to conditions other than androgenetic alopecia. A few of the most conventional of these causes are:
Trichotillomania— uncontrollable hair pulling. Hair loss due to trichotillomania is typically patchy, as uncontrollable hair pullers tend to concentrate the pulling in selected areas. Hair loss due to this cause cannot be treated effectively until the psychological or emotional reasons for trichotillomania are effectively addressed.
Alopecia areata— a possibly autoimmune disorder that causes patchy hair loss that can range from diffuse thinning to extensive areas of baldness with "islands" of retained hair. Health examination is necessary to start a diagnosis.
Triangular alopecia— loss of hair in the temporal areas that sometimes begins in childhood. Hair loss may be complete, or a few fine, thin-diameter hairs may remain. The cause of triangular alopecia is not recognized, but the condition can be treated medically or surgically.
Scarring alopecia— hair loss due to scarring of the scalp area. Scarring alopecia typically involves the top of the scalp and occurs predominantly in women. The condition repeatedly occurs in African-American women and is thought to be associated with persistent difficult braiding or "corn-rowing" of scalp hair. A form of scarring alopecia also may occur in post-menopausal women, associated with inflammation of hair follicles and subsequent scarring.
Telogen effluvium— a mutual type of hair loss caused when a large percentage of scalp hairs are shifted into "shedding" phase. The causes of telogen effluvium may be hormonal, nutritional, drug-associated, or stress-associated. Loose-anagen syndrome—a condition occurring primarily in fair-haired persons in which scalp hair sits loosely in hair follicles and is easily extracted by combing or pulling. The condition may appear in childhood, and possibly will improve as the person ages. Diagnosis and therapy
If you are a woman with thinning or lost scalp hair, your first needed step is to be inflicted with the condition correctly diagnosed by a physician hair restoration specialist. After a diagnosis is made, the physician will recommend an approach to effective medical or surgical treatment.
Along with hair growth Most people normally shed 50 to 100 hairs a day. But with about 100,000 hairs in the scalp, this amount of hair loss shouldn't cause noticeable thinning of the scalp hair. As people age, hair tends to gradually thin. Other causes of hair loss include hormonal factors, medical conditions and medications.
ReplyDeleteHormonal factors: The most common cause of hair loss is a hereditary condition called male-pattern baldness or female-pattern baldness. In genetically susceptible people, certain sex hormones trigger a particular pattern of permanent hair loss. Most common in men, this type of hair thinning can begin as early as puberty. Hormonal changes and imbalances can also cause temporary hair loss. This could be due to pregnancy, childbirth, discontinuation of birth control pills or the onset of menopause.
Medical conditions: A variety of medical conditions can cause hair loss, including:
Thyroid problems: The thyroid gland helps regulate hormone levels in your body. If the gland isn't working properly, hair loss may result. Alopecia areata: This disease occurs when the body's immune system attacks hair follicles — causing smooth, roundish patches of hair loss. Scalp infections: Infections, such as ringworm, can invade the hair and skin of your scalp, leading to hair loss. Once infections are treated, hair generally grows back.
Other skin disorders. Diseases that can cause scarring, such as lichen planus and some types of lupus, can result in permanent hair loss where the scars occur. Medications: Hair loss can be caused by drugs used to treat:
Cancer
Arthritis
Depression
Heart problems
High blood pressure
Other causes of hair loss: Hair loss can also result from: A physical or emotional shock. Many people experience a general thinning of hair several months after a physical or emotional shock. Examples include sudden or excessive weight loss, a high fever, or a death in the family.
Hair-pulling disorder: This mental illness causes people to have an irresistible urge to pull out their hair, whether it's from the scalp, their eyebrows or other areas of the body. Hair pulling from the scalp often leaves patchy bald spots on the head.
Certain hairstyles: Traction hair loss can occur if the hair is pulled too tightly into hairstyles such as pigtails or cornrows.