‘Long, beautiful, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen…’
The hair symbolises beauty and femininity. It’s associated with personal style and physical attractiveness. This is why having luscious locks is the goal of every woman and the reason most women panic at the thought of experiencing thinning hair problems.
But what exactly causes women to lose their crowning glory? Read on and discover the four common causes of hair loss in women.
1. Medications
Medications used to treat health conditions may trigger hair thinning problems. These include: chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of cancer; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for fever, pain and inflammation; blood thinners; oral contraceptives; diet pills and medications for the treatment of acne, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders.
2. Ailments
Hair thinning may be a symptom of underlying medical conditions, such as hyper and hypothyroidism, syphilis, hypotrichosis and lupus, or a result of disorders like trichotillomania. It may also be due to scalp infections, such as demodex parasiti, tinea capitis, piedra, folliculitis and kerion, which are due to infectious agents like fungi, bacteria and viruses.
3. Hormones
Androgenic alopecia or female pattern baldness is caused by the production of the male hormone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT). The accumulation of DHT in the scalp may disrupt the flow of blood and nutrients from reaching the follicles, causing them to shrink and produce smaller and finer hair strands. The decrease in oestrogen production or the change in hormonal levels during pregnancy or menopause may also trigger hair loss. Typically, pregnancy-induced hair loss is characterised rapid and general hair thinning all over. Usually it will recover afterwards, but this is not always the case.
4. Lifestyle
Dieting, smoking, drinking and stress may affect the quality of your hair, causing the onset of hair loss or thinning hair problem. Nutrition deficiency may weaken the follicles, resulting to the growth of smaller, finer and thinner hair strands. Physical stress due to constant exposure to heated styling tools like curling irons and straighteners as well as tight braids (e.g. dreadlocks and cornrows) may also trigger the onset of hair loss in women.
Related: Female Hair Loss – The Social Stigma
Unhealthy lifestyle, hormonal changes, diseases, infections and medications are some of the common causes of hair loss and hair thinning problems in women. Once you understand each of them, you will have the opportunity to stop the onset of hair loss, reduce its severity or treat the problem once and for all.
At Transitions Hair, we specialise in hair loss in women. No matter what the state or the cause of your hair loss, we can help you find the most suitable solution for your condition. We offer a wide range of clinically proven hair lost treatment and hair restoration solutions, from hair extensions and wigs for women, to hair transplantation, hair integration system and laser therapy.
