Health and Medicine Blog

Female hair loss can be an extremely distressing complaint. Though technically no more embarrassing or “serious” than male balding, there’s such a weight of ideals of femininity and female beauty tied up with hair that most women find the prospect of hair loss incredibly upsetting. Historically, there has been very little that can be done to address the complaint, barring old style hair transplant operations that were both painful and only successful to a limited degree; or the wearing of wigs, which generally need to be very expensive before they look like real hair.

Modern understanding of female hair loss, though, is proving to be a great boon in the battle against it. There are great swathes of female balding complaints that are now known to be caused by reversible bodily processes – excessive hormone production; the re-routing of vital energy for essential body maintenance in times of extreme stress; and the loss of vital nutrients that can be a side effect of some diets.

In all of the above cases, it is of course important to have the cause of the female hair loss incident properly diagnosed. It’s only after proper diagnosis that effective treatment can be prescribed – and, of course, without a good diagnosis a woman is laid open to the risks of booking and paying for surgery that turns out to be unnecessary. The majority of female balding complaints are treatable with a simple combination of diet, rest and time – so to have one incorrectly diagnosed and go for an operation would be to embark on an expensive, uncomfortable and ultimately pointless side track.

Diet related female hair loss, which is most often associated with an adherence to some kind of fad or franchise diet that has not been prescribed by a doctor, is caused by the loss of essential vitamins and minerals as a result of restricted food intake. This kind of hair loss is treated very simply – by reinstating the foods that have been denied. That said, feminine hair loss that presents as a result of dieting can be indicative of more serious damage done to the body by the diet (it is, essentially, a sign of malnutrition, which of course eventually can be fatal) – this may slow down the re-growth of hair.

Female hair loss caused as a result of hormonal changes can be treated in a number of ways, depending on the cause of the hormone surge. Some natural hormonal changes, for example, simply have to be “ridden out” – once they settle down, the hair will grow back. This can take up to six months – which seems like a long time but really isn’t.

Hair loss caused by physical stress is also usually reversible through natural causes – though again patients may find that it takes their bodies six months to stabilise and start promoting new growth. Physical stress requires that the body divert its energy towards repairing and maintaining vital structures (like organs) – so the body just stops growing hair until it is satisfied that its vital processes will be stable.

In all instances, then, it is vitally important that sufferers from female hair loss get an accurate diagnosis of the cause of their problem. Different causes are treated or observed in different ways – and for women, this could mean simply waiting to get better.

It is not often that we associate baldness or hair loss with the fair sex; however, it is a stark reality that a major section of the world female population suffers from this problem. It is needless to mention that hair is considered to be a pivotal element of a woman’s attractive personality and female hair loss can really affect a woman’s self confidence and social life. The most important thing with respect to hair loss in women is that the affected women should take this problem head on instead of brushing it under the carpet by using wigs and using other cosmetic remedies. Furthermore, it is equally important to dig deep and search for the exact medical causes of hair loss women so desperately want to treat medically.

It is important to understand that in many cases women tend to press the panic button when in fact they are only experiencing a temporary female hair loss phase. For instance, pregnant women tend to undergo a phase of 2 to 3 months in which they experience considerable hair thinning once they deliver the baby. However, there are other scientific reasons that explain the occurrence of permanent hair loss in women. To tell the truth, there are various categories of causes of hair loss women suffer from. These include, stress, diet imbalance, hormonal problems, hair loss related to pregnancy, hair loss resulting from a treatment or surgery, genetic causes and hair loss resulting from deficiency of certain vitamins.

Studies suggest that undoubtedly the most common cause of baldness in men and hair loss in women is due to a medical condition called Androgenetic Alopecia. As the name suggests, this condition mainly relates to genetics and researches point to the notion that androgens play a crucial role in causing female hair loss since these hormones are directly related to hair growth and creating sex drive. This also explains hair loss in women once they reach the ‘menopause’ stage.

Hormonal imbalance is another prominent cause of abnormal hair loss women have to confront later on in their lives. There are certain drugs that have such side effects that can result in such a hazardous hormonal imbalance. At the same time, studies prove that a vast majority of women who have used contraceptive or birth control pills at any point in their lives also experience hair thinning in the later stages of their lives because such pills also disturb the balance of hormones in the body affecting hair growth.

Female hair loss can be prevented in many cases only if certain precautionary measures are adopted. While it is very important to make sure that women only use those medication which do not have any side effects that might affect their hair growth, the problem lies in the fact that usually such details are not known unless a dermatologist is consulted. At the same time, women should avoid tying their hair very forcefully or pulling at their hair as it can weaken the hair follicles. Hair loss in women can also be triggered by using certain cosmetics and shampoos so all cosmetic products should be thoroughly scrutinized before using them.

Dietary hair loss preventive measures can also be very effective in avoiding any unpleasant scenario where women might risk losing their hair. In this regard, doctors advise maintaining high levels of calcium, Vitamins B and C, magnesium and silica in the body. At the same time folic acid is considered to be a key ingredient that can actually go on to instigate hair growth and prevent hair loss in the years to come. Use of Vitamin A is also an important hair loss prevention vitamin, along with having several other health benefits such as improvement in vision.

Since the underlying reasons and patterns of hair loss in women are quite distinct from that of men, the hair loss treatment that can be used to correct the female hair loss can be quite different as well. In a number of cases female hair loss can resolve itself without specific treatment – if for instance the hair loss was caused by pregnancy or other life altering event, bereavement or so on. Some women lose hair when they are pregnant and other do so soon after delivery; in both cases the problem will resolve with time. Even if it is grief that is literally causing hair to fall out, once the grieving become less acute, the hair fall may resolve.

Sometimes it is eating disorders or other psychological problems (such as trichotillomania) that may be responsible. In these cases, the rather than a hair loss remedy, psychiatric counseling or therapy may be required to address the underlying problem. If this is resolved, the problem of losing hair will resolve itself in more cases than not.

Some of the time, hair is lost due to certain medications or medical procedures. For instance cancer sufferers, who have to undergo chemotherapy, will experience hair loss for the duration of their treatment. The hair will re-grow after conclusion of the treatment, however in the mean time, headgear such as hats, or wigs, or prosthetic hair pieces would be required rather than any specific therapy to arrest hair loss.

The important thing, when looking for hair loss treatment is to identify the reason for the hair loss. Once that reason has been indentified, some of the following hair loss remedies may be quite effective for stopping loss of hair -

1. At times nutritional deficiencies or eating a nutrient poor diet could be the problem causing hair to be lost. Diet and lifestyle alterations so that more nutrient rich food replaces packaged and processed foods could be all that is required to arrest hair loss in such cases. Foods rich in protein such as lean meat, and other foods such as whole grain, bananas, potatoes and so on can have a beneficial effect on hair loss.

2. Vitamin or mineral supplements could be prescribed to assist in arresting hair loss if diet modifications are seen as being inadequate to address the nutritional or other deficiencies in the woman.

3. One of the very common causes of hair loss is stress. Stress and worry can literally cause you to lose your hair and in such cases it is very important to curb stress. Keeping stress within manageable limits helps foster good health in a number of ways, even boosting immunity and this will also help with arresting hair loss.

4. Certain kinds of massage can be an effective hair loss remedy since this can help to improve blood circulation to the scalp and can stimulate the hair follicle to re-grow hair.

5. Certain kinds of laser therapy can also help to combat hair loss by stimulating the hair follicles and helping to re-grow hair.

At Women to Women, we understand that a woman’s head of hair is her crowning glory — and losing too much hair can be a serious and frightening blow to her self-esteem. Hair loss in women is not an unusual condition. It is approximated that around 30% of women all over the world is experiencing hair loss or hair loss indications. The number of women experiencing hair loss grows larger every year. Two of the causes can be stress and poor diet. Too much stress and not enough hair-healthy nourishment can trigger fallout. Here are some steps you can take to avoid this unnecessary hair loss.

The most common type of hair loss seen in females is androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern alopecia. The term Alopecia usually refers to full or partial balding or hair loss. Most times with women, they will notice a gradual thinning of their hair which becomes of a concern, especially when certain patches can become noticeably thin. The most important thing you can do to prevent hair loss is to utilize natural hair loss products for hair care. But of course, you may also consider the following natural tips to be helpful in preventing the dilemma from happening.

1. TAKE B VITAMINS — B vitamins help reduce stress and are also needed to manufacture keratin, the fibrous protein that forms healthy hair. For shiny, healthy hair and more inner calm be sure you get an ample supply of B vitamins folate and B12 either by eating salmon, yogurt and eggs or by taking a daily supplement.

2. Avoid wearing you hair up – at all. Even barettes can have an effect on your hair health and growth. Any restrictions on that are a no-no. Tight ponytails especially. Try to keep you hair as free as possible.

3. Select a shampoo that is suitable for your hair type. When you are buying a shampoo make sure that you choose the product that will nourish your scalp and not the one that can cause irritation and clog your follicles by leaving sediments on your scalp. Each time you clean your hair, it is best if you are going to massage your scalp as well. This is one of the best hair loss treatment.

4. If you are under severe psychological stress, your hair loss could be a result and should improve a few months after the stress is relieved. Finding healthy ways to express your feelings can go a long way toward reducing stress, as can gentle meditative exercises and practices.

5. MASSAGE YOUR HEAD — Rub your head when you wash your hair. The rubbing action boosts blood circulation which brings nutrients to the scalp. This scalp massage oil helps stimulate circulation of the scalp and remove dead skin and deposits that may get in the way of healthy hair growth and the health of the follicles which actually are the gateway to healthy growth and maintenance.