Hair loss treatment in women

Hair loss in Women Leading Stressful Lives

Besides good looks, hair is a defining point in personal style. Women panic at the sight of lose hair on pillows or seeing hair go down the drain with shampoo. However, more and more women experience hair loss and the causes may be quite different to those that cause balding in men. What exactly causes hair loss in women? To understand this, we need to know how hair grows.

Hair Growth Cycle

According to dermatologists, our hair grow at about one- and- a- half inch each month. Each hair has a growth phase of two to six years. At some point, the strand of hair takes time out, “rests” a bit and then falls out. From the follicle of the fallen hair, a new strand springs out, and the cycle continues well into our later years of life. However, in some people, this growth life cycle of the hair is disrupted due to hormonal imbalances, iron deficiency, thyroid disease, and excessive stress due to surgery, childbirth; nutritional deficiency, and severe emotional problems.

Hair loss in women, unlike men, can happen at any age. In men, hair loss is generally attributed to genetic reasons coupled with age. In men, the hair loss is on the temples, the crown and the bald patch at the back of the head. Hair loss in women is usually around the whole top of the head.

It is well known that a large number of drugs cause “telogen effluvium” which means that the hair is at a resting stage for several months and then shreds. When medication is stopped, the hair starts growing again. Different drugs that cause hair loss in women are warfarin and heparin, dilantin, xyloprim, blood pressure medication, medication that lower cholesterol, mood altering drugs, chemotherapy, thyroid medicines, oral contraceptives, diets pills and street drugs like cocaine. Hair loss in women caused by these drugs often go undiagnosed.

It is vital for doctors to get to the root of the problem of hair loss in women before prescribing treatment. Correct diagnosis is the number one rule for treating hair loss in women. If there is an underlying physical or mental problem, then that has to be treated first. Diagnosis and corrective treatment of such problems can preclude the need for any additional hair loss treatment.

The most common cause of hair loss in women is androgenetic alopecia. Hair loss over an extended period of time is more likely to be genetic and sudden loss of hair could be attributed to medication or mental problems.

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