Common Reasons for Hair Loss

Why are you losing your hair? Because there are a number of reasons people experience hair loss, the question can be difficult to answer. — sometimes gradual, sometimes sudden — occurs in both women and men, and it can have devastating effects on self-esteem and mood. Hair grows in cycles, and these cycles change. Hair grows, stops, rests, sheds, and ideally, is replaced by new hair. But when your hair follicles rest more than they are replaced, your hair loss becomes apparent. Many factors, both internal and external, can cause you to lose your hair. Here are the most common reasons.

Age
Are you between 20 and 50 years old? This is prime time for hair loss. And as you age, the loss becomes more and more noticeable. Not everyone loses significant amounts of hair as they age — those who do are usually genetically predisposed to do so.

Chemical Hair Treatments
Have you subjected your hair to multiple colorings, straightening procedures, permanents, or other chemical treatments? Over time, such treatments can damage hair and cause it to fall out faster than it regrows.

Medications
A wide variety of medications cause harmful side effects, including hair loss. Such drugs include antidepressants, contraceptive (birth control) pills, amphetamines, certain arthritis medications, certain antibiotics, some blood thinners, certain ulcer drugs medications, and beta-blockers used to treat high blood pressure.

Cancer Treatments
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy usually lose all of their hair. These cancer treatments halt the growth phase of hair follicles. The result is sudden loss of hair in large quantities, as all the follicles shed their hair simultaneously. A patient can go from having a full head of hair to being completely bald in a matter of weeks. The good news is that hair grows back after the chemotherapy and radiation treatments have ended, when it often looks quite different — and even better than before.

Hormonal Imbalance
Hormones perform a delicate balancing act throughout our lives, not always successfully. If the male and female hormones — androgens and estrogens — become unbalanced, hair loss can result.

Thyroid Disease
An overactive or underactive thyroid gland can cause hair loss. If you're experiencing hair loss and you've ruled out any other factors that could be responsible for it,see your doctor and have your thyroid checked.

Severe Infections, Illnesses, and Autoimmune Diseases
Hair loss is often a side effect of serious illness. Diseases that can be accompanied by hair loss include fungal infections of the scalp, diabetes, and lupus.

Alopecia
is an immune system disorder that causes hair follicles to stop producing hairs. It can affect not only the hair on your head but all body hair.

Menopause
The cessation of menstruation, and the drastic shifts in hormones that occur, can cause women to lose their hair. These hormone changes also cause thinning of hair.

Poor Circulation
Poor blood flow to the scalp, blood that's deficient in nutrients, and poor drainage of waste products through the lymphatic systems can all cause hair loss.

Pregnancy
Three to six months after the birth of a baby, it's not uncommon for new mothers to notice that they have less hair. The hair settles into a resting phase, during which new hair isn't produced, because of the pregnancy's physiological impact on the body.

Behavior
You can lose your hair if you pull on it constantly, a behavior that can be a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder (hair pulling is a common symptom of OCD). Or you may simply be overstyling your hair in tight braids and ponytails, or using curling irons and rollers too much.

Stress and Nervous Disorders
Sudden or severe stress can cause your hair to stop growing and even to fall out. This may occur long after the stressful situation or event has passed.

These are some of the many common reasons for hair loss, but there are others. Talk to your doctor to determine what might be causing your hair loss and to find out what can be done to restore hair growth.