Hair loss in Women
To many women, hair is a source of power and sensuality. It is a body part that they are willing to spend the most amount of care on, buying extremely expensive shampoos, conditioners and treatments to keep it looking soft, shiny and healthy. To most women, their hairdo goes part in parcel with their overall look. However, as essential hair is to many woman, hair loss can and does occur. In fact, according to the American Hair Loss Association, forty percent of the population suffering from hair loss are women.
Hair loss in women is not really taken too seriously by the medical community at large, even though it could be a harbinger of a more serious health issue. Many doctors will suggest that a woman “just deal” with the problem of hair loss since it really is not a life threatening event to lose your hair.They do not take into account the stress and low self esteemed woman with thinning hair suffer and how these factors can weaken the immune system and lead to even more issues.
Causes
Genetics
While Androgenetic Alopecia or pattern baldness is more typically found in males, women also can suffer from it. Women have small amounts of male androgen hormones including testosterone which turns into DHT when it interacts with the enzyme found at the end of hair follicles. This DHT is considered the main suspect in male pattern baldness, and even a minuscule amount of it can cause hair loss for women.
Stress
Stress can do many things to a person’s body and hair loss is one of them. Women can experience severe hair shedding (telogen effluvium) during time of trauma or stress. The onset of pregnancy, a sever infection, major surgery and even anxiety can cause your hair follicles to revert from their growing phase to their shedding phase. Hair will usually began growing back as soon as the event has passed but the event of falling out hair can prolong the illness.
Chemotherapy
Cancer patients usually experience hair loss due to the chemicals that are pumped into their system that are meant to combat the rapidly growing cancer cells. While chemo stops these dangerous cells from growing, it also temporarily kills off the hair follicles. Most cancer survivors will grow their hair back once the chemotherapy is over.
Traction
Keeping you hair tied up in a tight pony tail all day every day, can lead to hair loss also. Keeping your hair pulled tightly back puts it through a lot of stress damaging it.
“the Pill”
While the pill has helped millions of woman take control of their own bodies and is reported to have many beneficial side effects, one of the bad side effects does happen to be hair loss. Women who are sensitive to hormonal changes or come from a family with a history of hair loss can lose their hair when exposed to the hormones contained within oral contraceptives. Most women report that their hair grows back a few weeks after they stop using the pill.
Treatments
While anti androgen pills may help, many doctors are reluctant to prescribe them, since they will effect the entire body instead of just the head. Many prefer to treat women suffering from hair loss with some form of topical treatment that will aid in healthy hair rejuvenation. Minoxidil is an example of such a type of treatment. Minoxidil is the only substance approved by the FDA to help hair regrow.
Another way that women can treat hair loss is to provide their scalp with all the vitamins and minerals it needs to restore regrow hair along with a treatment that will help prevent testosterone from turning into Dht. One such treatment in Provillus for women. Provillus uses a 2% minoxidil solution to help regrow hair and also includes many essential vitamins and minerals that help maintain a healthy scalp and hair.
If hair loss is due to stress or a traumatic medical event such as surviving cancer, time is one of the most essential salves to bring back a healthy head of hair. However, the waiting and the wigs might be hard to put up with. Getting started on a topical program such as provillus sooner, rather than later will help your hair re-grow faster and your maintain a healthy scalp.
Sources: provillus.com, americanhairloss.org
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Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for sharing. I will certainly be coming back to your blog.