Female Hair Loss
Are You Losing Your Hair?
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Provided by Prevention
We tend to think of it as a guy thing. But some experts believe that dramatically thinning hair -- the fallout (literally) from stress, poor nutrition, an underlying medical condition, harsh hair treatments, or heredity, among other causes -- is as common in women as it is in men.
At least half of all women experience some form of hair loss by the time they reach age 50. And one study estimates that hair loss occurs in 75 percent of women over age 65.
Perhaps you've noticed a few extra hairs in the sink after a combing. Or maybe your scalp appears a little more visible when you emerge from the shower. If you fear that your hair may be thinning significantly, read on to learn more about hair loss in women -- what causes it, what it looks like and what you can do about it.
What's Causing My Hair Loss?
The most common type of hair loss from the scalp (as opposed to hair loss all over the body) is androgenetic alopecia (AA), or pattern baldness. When it occurs in men, it's called male-pattern baldness; in women, it's female-pattern baldness. AA accounts for 95 percent of all cases of head-only hair loss and it results when, for reasons science hasn't identified, hair follicles become sensitive to the hormone androgen.
Who Gets It?
AA is hereditary. A history of the condition in men or women on either side of your family (not just your mom's side, as most people believe) increases your risk of developing it and also influences the age at which your hair loss begins, the speed with which it occurs, and its pattern and extent. But a family history isn't always a factor: About 12 percent of people with AA have no trace of it in their family trees.
What Does It Look Like?
Alopecia means baldness. But women with AA rarely go completely bald, as some men do. Most often a woman's hair simply thins gradually and diffusely on the top of or all over her head. In both men and women, AA is permanent and continues with aging.
What Can I Do?
Be sure to consult an expert who can help determine why your hair is thinning so you can treat the problem correctly. To find a physician in your area who specializes in diseases of the skin and hair, check out the American Academy of Dermatology Web site. Click on "Find a Dermatologist" to search by state, city, area code, zip code or last name.
In the meantime, however:
Don't Be Afraid to Wash Your Hair
It won't lead to hair loss.
Avoid Excessive Brushing or Teasing
Both can lead to hair loss. Use a wide-toothed comb instead.
Try a New 'Do
A style with layers will help your hair look fuller. You can even perm or color your hair; medically, there's no reason not to. Just avoid a weave or any other style that can put prolonged tension on your hair or cause it to break, which can lead to further hair loss.
Am I Losing It?
The truth is, you are -- everyone is. Most of us shed 50 to 100 hairs a day. Once a hair is shed, a new hair from the same follicle replaces the lost strand -- unless you have AA. AA occurs when the rate of hair shedding exceeds the rate of hair regrowth, or when the new hair shafts that grow in are thinner than the previous ones, making your mane look progressively less thick.
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
You can experience temporary hair loss, and unlike androgenetic alopecia, it's not gradual. Here are two for-women-only causes of temporary hair loss:
Giving Birth
During pregnancy, the rise in hormones sends hair into its resting phase, so hair that would naturally fall out doesn't. Several months after delivery, hormones return to normal, and some women experience an increase in hair loss (all over the head, not just at the top). This can last between one and six months; then, it usually corrects itself.
Starting the Pill
Some women lose hair while taking birth control pills. The reasons: shifting hormone levels (caused by the Pill) and heredity. If this happens to you, talk to your gynecologist about switching to a different Pill or birth control method.
Want more information about hair? Click through our gallery below for myths and facts about gray hair.
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What Really Causes Gray Hair
By Michelle Burford
Fact: Ethnicity is a Factor
By age 50, most people can expect 50 percent of their hair to be gray, but when gray first appears seems to be determined, at least in part, by ethnicity. According to a 2005 study published in the "Journal of Investigative Dermatology," a white person will begin graying in his or her mid-thirties, Asian people will start noticing a little silver in their late thirties -- but black people generally ward off the gray strands until their mid-forties.
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Myth: White Hair Is Reversible
When it comes to preventing or reversing gray, tales abound about what might do the trick from massaging your scalp with a coconut oil and lemon juice cocktail, to eating iodine-rich foods like bananas and washing hair in butter. According to Dr. Shapiro, such claims are unsubstantiated malarkey. "There is absolutely nothing you can eat or take to make your hair dark again," he says. Dr. Shapiro suggests that you save yourself the headache of battling nature -- unless, of course, you do so with a bottle of hair dye.
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Myth: Gray Signals a Short Lifespan
Your salt-and-pepper mane has nothing to do with longevity. Scientists in Copenhagen studied 20,000 people trying to examine the link between mortality and signs of aging such as gray hair, baldness, and wrinkles. The study's conclusion: Gray hair doesn't signify that you'll have a shorter lifespan than your non-gray counterparts.
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Myth: Plucking Speeds Growth
Think you've spotted two gray hairs in the place where you've pulled out one? You might have, but it's not because removing one strand leads to a garden of gray. "Plucking simply doesn't accelerate the growth of gray hair," Dr. Shapiro says. Once you uproot the silver hair, the follicle that produced it will bring you another strand exactly like it, since once a follicle goes gray, it will never revert. Then over time, says Dr. Shapiro, the neighboring follicles will join in the party, whether you pluck them or not.
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Fact: Hormones Play a Part
Though gray hair isn't usually a symptom of your body's overall health, there are rare cases in which gray can indicate a hormone imbalance or a thyroid condition. Talk with your doctor if you notice gray hair cropping and also are feeling unlike yourself.
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Fact: Gray Hair is Hard to Dye
Ever noticed that your silver strands seem to stubbornly resist chemical coloring? Dr. Shapiro says it's not your imagination: Each fiber of gray hair is wider in diameter and contains a central core of air that makes it less permeable than non-gray hair. "That's why gray hair doesn't take to dye as easily," he says.
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Myth: Sun Increases Gray
Too much exposure to the sun's harmful UV rays is known to be harmful to your skin and eyes -- but there's zero evidence that the sun actually turns your tresses gray, says Shapiro. "Gray hair is produced in the roots," he says. "The sun can lighten the hair that has already grown out of the roots -- but it cannot make your follicles begin producing gray hair."
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Myth: Smoking Worsens Gray
While it's true that smoking undermines one's general health and can lead to premature aging, smoking doesn't hasten the onset of gray. Says Dr. Shapiro: "There is no scientific proof that smoking causes or speeds gray."
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Myth: Stress Causes Gray
"Many people ask me whether President Obama is graying faster because of the pressure he's under," Dr. Shapiro says, and as onerous as the job of leader of the country is, Obama's graying hair is likely the result of age, not his demanding schedule. "Stress has nothing to do with it -- the timing of our gray is based on our genetics," he says. There's one rare exception, notes Dr. Shapiro: alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes the loss of pigmented hairs and can leave a person gray in as little as two weeks. The condition's cause is unknown, but scientists think it is stress-related.
Recent Comments
Migdawn 05:18:14 AM Sep 01 2009
has any one mentioned disease? I have lupus and this too will cause hair loss.
HILLARYFPREZ08 02:12:58 AM Sep 01 2009
Yup! Aug and Sept are big hair loss months for me. We shed just like any other animal. We have 4 seasons here in NJ. 4 times a year we shed with the change of seasons. The worst time is the Fall. The growth is more in the Spring though. I do need to find a vitamin without all those extra ingredients in them that I can't have like corn and Soy. What's up with Soy being in every product in the USA. I almost died twice from eating something with Soy in it. Now I literally have to make all my own food from scratch.
Imspecials1 01:12:45 AM Sep 01 2009
i do hoffmanrm no need to panic my hair is like 2ft long too so its super noticable in the shower lol
HoffmannRM 01:01:57 AM Sep 01 2009
2 other reasons for hair loss not mentioned in this article are 1)hair loss due to menopause and 2)seasonal hair loss. Ever since I was a teenager, my hair loss is heaviest within the months of July and August. Anyone else experience this sort of seasonal hairloss?
CrackerJack74 10:24:41 PM Aug 31 2009
I am currently having hair loss and have had this problem in the past....it's from having low IRON. After I stopped the pill, I had excessive menstrual bleeding, which caused my iron levels to drop. The only symptom I have is that my hair is falling out. My Dr. caught this and has me take an over-the-counter iron supplement. Might want to have your Dr. check this if you are having this problem. It's very common!!
SLGBM2 10:07:43 PM Aug 31 2009
Going gray sucks. It makes me feel older than what I am. Sucks.
FrankieBoy26 09:47:59 PM Aug 31 2009
I'm a hairstylist and I take exception to something stated in the article. It states that excessive brushing and teasing can cause hair loss. It really can't. The damage from brushing and teasing (and using hot irons, either curling or straightening irons) is called mechanical damage, and it doesn't call hair loss form the scalp. It causes breakage somewhere along the strand. Hair loss from the root is not caused by mechanical damage. It is calsed by many other things, such as those mentioned in the article (medical conditions, mediciatoins, trauma, stress, misuse of chemicals, etc.). Hope this helps. I'd hate to know that some women are not brushing or styling their hair for fear of it falling out!
BARBI D35 09:19:32 PM Aug 31 2009
Both men and women have male and female hormones in their bodies, just in different percentages. If hair loss is not due to medication or a known medical condition, it could be a simple hormonal imbalance that can be checked with a blood test. Anything can throw your hormones out of balance but when they get back in check, the hair loss should start returning to near normal. BTW....if your doctor checks the hormones, have him to do a hormone uptake test. This will show how your system is processing or absorbing your hormones.
Carrskatz 09:18:59 PM Aug 31 2009
i had hair loss after surgery, i've heard others having the same result. but if you gotta have surgery you gotta have it. my hair grew back but it has never as thick as before. however my dad was bald and my brother is balding.
