What Can Cause Loss of Hair?
Hair loss is a completely natural component of the aging process. It takes place every day, with the average person shedding 50 to 100 hairs in a 24-hour period. It is only when the rate of new hair growth is outpaced by the rate of hair loss that a person will notice his thinning mane.
Many different factors can contribute to the loss of hair, including genetics, medicines, disease and infection, hormonal imbalance and excessive hairstyling.
Genetics
The most common type of hair loss is "pattern baldness."
In men, male-pattern baldness results in a pronounced widow's peak, a peninsula of hair flanked by sharp recesses in the hairline. Female-pattern baldness is visually distinct: It causes hair to thin across the entire scalp.
The pattern-baldness trait is typically hereditary--inherited from one's parents. A history of alopecia (baldness) on either the paternal or maternal side can greatly increase a person's risk and affect the speed and extent of the condition.
Medicines
A second variety of hair loss occurs only while the subject is taking a certain medication. Medicines linked to hair loss include chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer, blood thinners, vitamin A (if ingested in high doses), gout medicine and birth-control pills.
Disease & Infection
Baldness can also be triggered by a disease, such as lupus, diabetes or a fungal infection.
Sometimes the very stress of the illness--rather than disorder itself--can be enough to prompt hair loss. A patient faced with a dire prognosis, for example, may shed hair as a result of sheer anxiety.
Sudden thinning of the hair can actually serve as an early-warning device; It can alert the sufferer to the presence of an illness. Anyone who has noticed her hair falling out in unusual quantities should consult a physician to determine the cause.
Hormonal Imbalance
Another frequent catalyst of hair loss is hormonal imbalance. If either male hormones (androgens) or female hormones (estrogens) are out of balance in a person, hair loss may result. An overactive thyroid can often thin the hair, as can an underactive one. Hair loss in recently pregnant women--typically three or four months following the birth--is also caused by hormone fluctuation. While hair growth often booms during pregnancy, it drops back to normal levels after the delivery.
Excessive Hairstyling
The way a person styles her hair can negatively impact growth. A condition called traction alopecia may result from any hairstyling method that pulls excessively on the follicles. Pigtails, cornrows, over-brushing and the use of tight curlers are all potentially damaging. If the hair-pulling is severe enough, it can actually scar the scalp, causing permanent hair loss. Hot-oil treatments and chemicals used in perms are equally risky; they cause inflammation of the follicles.
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