It’s normal for us women to lose 50 – 100 strands a day. But it’s not something that catches our attention because new hair replaces the hair we lose. So, what’s hair loss? Why does it happen suddenly? Let’s learn more about our hair, how to deal with hair loss and what are the main reasons for sudden hair loss in women. Shall we?
What’s Hair Loss in Women?
Hair loss is common for everyone. If we have hair on our head, hair loss can happen to anyone and at any time. Hair loss in women is more common and can happen irrespective of one’s age.
As noted earlier, everyday we lose certain strands and new strands grow to replace the lost hair. This cycle ensures the lost hair isn’t jarring, but what happens when the one end of the cycle doesn’t happen? Yes, that’s when it is called hair loss. So, it is either we’re losing more than normal hair consistently and continuously, or when the lost hair isn’t replaced as it should have been.
Did you know hair loss pattern differs in men and women? Yes, while both men and women can lose hair, for women it is less pronounced than it is for men. Hair growth slows down, then there’s receding hairline followed by hair thinning and widening hair part. It’s very rare for women to lose hair in patches like men do.
Importance of Understanding Hair Loss
The reasons for losing hair could be many. But how do we address it without knowing what’s causing it or why? Noticeable hair loss could be daunting, especially when everything we do to curb it seems to go in vain.
All hair loss is not female pattern hair loss, so what else is causing us to lose more hair? There can be any number of causative factors or triggers for sudden hair loss in women. That makes it all the more important for us to understand and decode the whys of hair loss, so we can treat hair loss. Isn’t it?
Not only that, when you notice there’s a problem where hair falls but doesn’t grow back, you need to identify the root cause to deal with it. Any problem when dealt with earlier can give results. Female hair loss isn’t any different and could be reversed with timely intervention in many cases.
Hair Growth Cycle
To understand hair loss better, we need to understand more about hair growth. Our hair growth happens in cycles. Did you know all our strands are in one phase or the other, but never in the same phase together? Yes, this is why we don’t lose all of our hair at the same time. Imagine what would have happened if that was the case?
So, back to hair growth – it happens in three phases – Anagen, Catagen and Telogen phases.
Anagen Phase
Did you know about 90% of our hair is in this phase at any given point of time? Also called the growth phase, it lasts anywhere from 2 – 8 years. This is when the hair grows – that’s why it’s called the growth phase.
Catagen Phase
This is also called the transition phase and lasts anywhere from 2 – 3 weeks. During this phase, the hair follicles shrink and hair growth stops.
Telogen Phase
This phase lasts for about 2 – 4 months and it’s also called the resting phase. During this phase our hair follicles are inactive and by the end of the phase the hair strands fall out. Now the cycle begins all over again!
Hair Follicles and Hair Growth
Hair follicles are tube-like structures that surround a hair strand and the root. They work as anchors for our hair and keep them rooted to our sebaceous glands. Did you know we’re born with about a million hair follicles? As long as the hair follicle is healthy and isn’t permanently damaged, new hair can grow through it. Not only is a hair follicle responsible for our hair growth, its also responsible for our hair texture, color, nourishment, etc.
Causes for Sudden Hair Loss in Women
Losing a few strands everyday is not a cause for worry. But when you suddenly lose hair and you notice hair thinning or patchy hair loss, or bald spots, or hair grows back slower than before, it’s a cause for worry. It could be due to any number of reasons but when the hair falls out but doesn’t grow back, it’s time for introspection.
So, what possibly caused it? Also, female hair loss is quite different and happens over a period of time. So, it’s important to watch for signs. Let’s take a look at a few factors that can cause you to lose hair suddenly.
Trauma
Did you know traumas can cause severe loss of hair? It could be a major accident or surgery or even loss of a loved one and what not. Something that’s traumatic not just physically, it could also be an emotional factor.
Did you know physical trauma can even be an accident or a health condition where our body is put through the wringer? Like how traumatic events can trigger rapid weight loss, it can also contribute to losing hair and more! The good thing is that in most cases the hair grows back once you’re back to normal.
Treatment or Medications
Certain prescription drugs or even certain treatments like chemotherapy for example, can cause sudden hair fall in women. Even acne medication like retinoids can cause you to lose a lot of hair. Once the treatment course is over, hair usually grows back. That’s a relief!
Crash Diets
The truth is, it doesn’t even have to be crash diets. Drastic change in diets can cause our body to go through upheavals and one of the outward signs could be losing hair. As long as the diet meets the nutritional requirements, hair fall reverses automatically once the body becomes used to the new diet regimen.
Health
Did you know certain health conditions or changes can cause hair fall? Yes, it could be a chronic disorder, or health issues like diabetes mellitus, that’s causing your hair fall. It’s important to identify the underlying cause in such cases and address the issue to put our hair back on the path of recovery!
Hormonal Imbalances
We’re women, right? So, how can any list about us be complete without mentioning hormones? Not just hormonal imbalance like in the case of PCOS, other scenarios can cause hair fall too. Any guesses? Pregnancy anyone? How about postpartum? Oh, and don’t forget menopause!
All these scenarios are when our body goes through a lot of changes and hormones are all over the place. Is it surprising that these times we’re facing severe and or sudden hair loss in women? Did you know growing facial hair is common for women enduring PCOS but it causes thinning or loss of scalp hair? Funny, right?
Nutritional Overdoses or Deficiencies
Too much of anything is good for nothing, holds true for nutrition too! It’s not just deficiencies that can cause hair fall, even overdosing on nutrients can cause it too! While we don’t overdose on nutrients that often through food, it’s quite common when using supplements. If you’re using supplements, it’s a good idea to check their levels at regular intervals so you don’t overdose or go deficient!
Did you know overdosing on Selenium, Vitamin A or E can cause hair fall. The irony is they’re all important when you want to promote hair growth, but they work otherwise when you overdose on them! Likewise, hair fall is very common when deficient in iron. We call it anemic hair loss, ring a bell anyone?
Hereditary Hair Loss
Hereditary hair loss in women is often the culprit behind hair fall, especially female pattern baldness. Hormonal changes can also be a contributing or deciding factor for hereditary hair fall. It’s a combination of genes and hormones ! Wouldn’t you know it!
Alopecia Areata
There are different types of conditions that can trigger hair fall, though Alopecia Areata takes the cake! Did you know there are different types of Alopecia? When detected and treated on time, or early, we can prevent scars that’s often the roadblock for hair regrowth in the case of Alopecia Areata.
Miscellaneous Triggers
Did you think the list is over? Of course, not. Just when you think it’s done, there’s always more. Not just these, there could be other reasons including excessive styling, traction alopecia – like in the case of harsh or damaging hair style or habits, lifestyle factors including stress, etc.
Risk Factors for Hair Loss in Women
No two women face hair fall the same way. There’s a reason for that. The factors that contribute to the hair fall itself! Here’s what makes some more vulnerable to it than others.
Needless to say, our genes play a key role in hair fall, especially female pattern hair loss. Androgenetic alopecia is the type of Alopecia that’s hereditary. Even Alopecia areata is considered hereditary.
Medications often cause hair fall on the sly! Even simple medications can cause hair fall and we might never know!
Did you know our age also has a starring role to play in hair fall? While most women experience hair loss at some point in their lives, women post 40 are more prone to hair fall. This is more common with sudden onset of hair fall!
Did you know some factors can cause permanent hair loss? Some factors like certain types of fungal infections, certain conditions that lead to scarring like in the case of cicatricial alopecia, etc. can do that to you. Sometimes, genetics and hormonal changes also play a role in how much hair we lose.
Our lives have changed over the years and evolved over time. Nowadays, women wear multiple hats and stress is quite common for most. Unlike before, we’re often working and having hectic lives and takeaways or fast foods have become part of our lives. All these factors exclude pollution and other aspects like styling that comes with the territory!
Ways to Curb Hair Loss
Curbing hair loss is the first step towards reduction in losing a lot of hair and also preventing thinning hair. Hair fall that continues over a period of time is chronic hair fall. Prolonged hair loss can result in thinning hair. Did you know that?
Root Cause Analysis
Your best bet at curbing hair loss is identifying the root cause and addressing it. That’s the only way to find a solution that’s not a temporary fix. What can we do to make that happen? Once you notice hair loss, you probably take steps to curb it. If your efforts aren’t showing promising results, your next move should be consulting a specialist.
A lot of women walk in to Vitamins Revive to address their hair woes and why not? There are new ways to identify the root cause and when that’s done, we can work towards a solution. Did you know there are tests specific for hair that experts can do or suggest?
Home Remedies
As always, give natural home remedies a try for your hair woes. While DIY recipes come in handy, give it a considerable duration and watch out for results. If you don’t see positive changes, then it’s time to revisit and revise your strategy.
Styling
Give hair styling a miss or bring it down to a bare minimum. Not just hair coloring or styling treatments that use harsh chemicals, even using heat to dry your hair can harm your hair! And what about the chemical or heat treatments for changing our hair texture like straightening or curling or perming?
TLC
Try and use natural or mild and gentle products that are free from harmful ingredients like parabens, alcohol, carcinogens and whatnot! They’re gentle on your hair and scalp, and they’ll thank you for the same. We all need a little TLC right? Why not our hair?
Address Issues
This goes without saying – try and improve your hair growth and hair regrowth. It could be by improving on your diet, changing your hair routine, using DIY recipes for your hair and scalp and whatnot! While addressing the problem is one of them, countering is another. That’s where improving our hair growth comes into play. This counters the loss of hair to a great extent by putting some hair back on your head.
Did you know birth control pills can trigger hair fall? That’s again a factor reserved for women, ain’t it? As if there’s a lack of triggers! If that’s one of your triggers you can speak to your doctor about it.
Inflammation
We all know inflammation destroys hair follicles and they’re the key to our hair health and growth. Curbing factors that can cause inflammation including free radical damage helps curb hair loss in women.
Stress & More
Last but not the least – work on issues that contribute to the problem and within your control. This could be stress management if stress is one of your triggers – but that’s very common and a given for most of us these days. If it’s something external like pollution or environmental factors that cause damage or hair loss, then address it. It helps if we address these factors, so they don’t further hair loss.
Anything else you can think of that will help? Even simple measures or changes can contribute a great deal towards curbing hair fall and improving hair growth. I have noticed significant improvement in hair growth when I incorporate a pre-shower scalp oil massage at least once a week. Did any such change work out well for you? Do let us know what and how! Let’s get the ball rolling today then, shall we?
