Alopecia. Thinning hair. Whatever you call it, hair loss isn’t pleasant for any woman.
Many women refer to hair loss as a condition where the hair falls out. And this is half true. But most people, both men and women, lose an average of 50 to 100 strands of hair every single day. That’s normal.
If you have longer hair, 100 hairs in the bristles of your hairbrush can seem like a thousand. Shampooing can encourage even more hair to fall out. Does this mean brushing and shampooing are bad? Not likely.
Sometimes, the problem isn’t the volume of hair that falls out, but the volume that doesn’t grow back. If you’re thinking about thinning hair from the perspective of how many hairs are in the sink after you brush, you might be overlooking the cause.
All hair goes through a growth cycle. And no two people have the same cycle, either. Have you ever tried to grow your hair and found that it reached a point where it couldn’t get any longer? And have you also noticed that some people seem to have locks that could grow past the ankles? That’s because the growth cycle is different for every person.
A hair emerges from the follicle, and then it can grow until a certain point. That point is when the hair’s life cycle ends. After that, it rests for a period, falls out, and a new hair replaces it.
In women with thinning hair, something may cause hair to fall sooner than it should. But nearly always, something interrupts the regrowth part of the hair’s life cycle. When it doesn’t regrow, you don’t have a continually replenished head of hair; you only have less and less.
Common Causes of Female Hair Loss
Thinning hair can result from many things, from genetics to physical damage to the hair follicles. Also, Web MD says there are at least 30 medical conditions known to contribute to thinning hair in some women.
Stress is one factor, and it can cause dramatic, sudden hair loss. With extreme stress, such as a terrible illness or event, Web MD explains that as much as 3/4 of the hair on your head could fall. Fortunately, stress-related hair loss is generally reversed once the stress level is back to normal.
If your mother or grandmother have or had thinning hair, you might have inherited the same hair growth cycle. Don’t worry too much about the hair patterns of the men in your family. Most women lose hair more evenly or only along the natural part. A receding hairline or “male pattern baldness” is very uncommon in women, as is total baldness.
Hormones are another potential culprit. Any hormone that suppresses ovulation, including birth control pills and hormonal changes just after childbirth, can lead to hair loss. The hormonal changes at menopause can also contribute.
Certain medications can cause more hair to fall, and discourage regrowth. The number of medications that could pose a risk is large, so it’s wise to speak with your doctor. If you recently started taking a new medication and noticed hair loss soon after, you’ve got a clue to work with.
Thinning Hair and Emotional Distress
It’s not that women are inherently vain. There must be a few people who wouldn’t be alarmed by hair loss, but for most men and women, it’s an upsetting situation. Many people suffer some degree of emotional distress from thinning hair.
To make matters worse, many doctors and other health care practitioners don’t often treat hair loss as an important issue. Hair isn’t critical to survival, damaged hair doesn’t damage health, and hair loss doesn’t, either. Psychological harm can be more difficult to quantify.
You might be surprised to learn that 40% of women experience serious thinning hair by age 40. Psychology Today says the reason that number seems so surprising is because hair loss is more noticeable in men.
The characteristic areas where men lose hair, at the hairline and crown, aren’t the same as the allover thinning that more women experience. Women change hairstyles and use other tricks to make hair seem fuller, which helps with disguise. It’s hard to disguise a man’s receding hairline, even with a Caesar style. We won’t discuss the comb-over.
The psychological issues that women face can range from sadness to anxiety, and even panic. Attractive male role models have full heads of hair, thin hair, receding hair and even no hair. Some are bald as a matter of course, and some elect to shave their heads. It’s become fashionable. But are there any attractive female role models with the same broad range of thick to no hair? A beautiful woman shaving her head for a movie role doesn’t really count, not when hair is regrown a year later.
It may seem controversial, but for generations, womanly beauty has been partly determined by hair. Many men are troubled by hair loss, too, of course. But there are generations of good looking men with thinning hair to prove that it’s just not the same for men as women.
Reversing the Condition
There is no total, sweeping cure for alopecia, but there are ways to help mask and also perhaps reverse the condition, at least in some women. The general rule of thumb is if the cause is curable or reversible, the hair loss might also be.
Poor diet can be corrected, and stress can be reduced. Medication can sometimes be replaced with another. In cases like these, thinning hair might correct itself once the underlying cause is corrected.
If genetics are to blame, or an incurable disease, chances are, thinning hair will require another approach. Some topical medications, light therapies, and surgical transplants work.
As for prevention, that only works if the cause is preventable, and you know what the cause is. For example, pulling hair tight into braids, buns, or ponytails can not only cause hair loss, but can permanently damage hair follicles. Once damaged, they may never grow hair again. So don’t pull the hair tight every day, and this type of damage won’t happen. An occasional extreme style won’t hurt the way a ritual set of braids or a bun can.
As with reversing alopecia, if the cause of thinning hair is nothing that you could reasonably predict, such as a disease, you can’t prevent the related hair loss any more than you could prevent the health condition.
Treatments that May Help Regrow Hair
It’s not as easy as shampooing, applying a treatment to the scalp, or swallowing a pill. Thinning hair is notoriously difficult to treat, and some medications are not suitable nor FDA approved for women. Web Md suggests a few avenues to try.
Rogaine, the brand name of the drug Minoxidil, has been shown to slow down or even prevent hair loss. And some women, about a quarter of users, also regrow hair. Rogaine may take several months to produce improvement, and you can’t stop using it. Otherwise, the hair loss will return.
Light or laser therapy may also help. Low-energy lasers may stimulate hair to regrow, and there is at least one device that’s FDA approved for home use. It typically takes about 2 to 4 months to see improvement.
Hair transplants move hair from one part of the head to another. These have a fairly good success rate. However, because female hair loss is more evenly distributed, there might not be a thicker part of the hair from which to take the grafts.
If alopecia is a very serious problem, where most or all of the hair is lost, don’t discount the possibility of wigs. The wigs of today are not your mother’s hair pieces. They’re gorgeous, natural or synthetic hair, and many of them can even be worn swimming. Forget the obvious wig looks from 30 years ago, and also the outdated hairstyles. Modern wigs can even replicate a natural looking hairline.
Female hair loss is no trivial thing. In some cases, the sooner you take action the less chance it will have to worsen. Consult with your doctor before choosing any hair loss treatment. Some readily available preparations are not recommended, nor FDA approved, for women. Rogaine is safe, but your doctor may have other ideas.
Don’t let female hair loss ruin another day of your life. Even if you can’t treat it easily on your own, there are options that will help you put your best face forward. The answer may be a simple as getting a handle on stress or changing to a different medication than one you use now. If it’s more complex, your doctor can help you sort that out, too.
Remember, thinning hair isn’t rare. It’s not even unusual. Notice the women around you. Chances are, nearly half of them have experienced hair loss. You can be among the ones who do something about it.
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