Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Causes of Hair Loss in Women

The American Academy of Dermatology has found that due to the causes of hair loss in women, 30 million women in the country are being affected by this problem. The most common cause of female hair loss is their hormones and the medical factors and conditions. There are particular causes that distinguish hair loss in men from that in women.

Common Causes of Hair Loss in Women

The interrupted growth cycle of hair in females is disturbing. According to the experts, tresses generally grow ay the rate of half an inch a month, and every strand of the hair has a growth phase of about 2 to 6 years.
Once that is reached, the hair is said to "rest" for a certain while with the follicle from which it sprang, soon beginning to grow once more with a new strand. This is how the cycle continues well into the old age. Hair loss is caused by a genetic predisposition of androgens.

Female Baldness:
One of the primary causes of hair loss in women is the same as it is in men. Often, they suffer from androgenetic alopecia that is a particular kind of reaction to the presence of male hormones in the human body.

This is concerned with the conversion of testosterone into DHT, which is not very hair friendly. Where it concerns women, the pattern baldness may start at a later age with the effects being less severe on account of the presence of the female hormones.
Telogen Effluvium: This is the second of the most important causes of hair loss in women that commonly affects women. However, the very nature of the condition is surprising.

The telogen effluvium is affected by an overall thinning of the hair and receding hairline in the scalp. It is affected on account of some distressing event that you might have encountered. It causes sufficient stress to interfere with the normal growing cycle of the hair.
Pregnancy is an example of an event that can interfere with the hair growth cycle of the body. This is why, the occurrence of telogen effluvium is evident in women.

Surgery and illness:
This is a potential cause of hair-loss in women and some of these diseases are thyroid and diabetes. Under or hyper activity of the thyroid gland can be seen as a major influence in women. Also, you need to look at conditions that put you through a lot of physical stress such as high fever or important surgeries.

Genetic Cause of Female Hair Loss
Androgenetic alopecia or female pattern baldness is a common recurrence that is a potential cause of female hair loss in about 15% of the female population in USA.
The chemical process works in the manner that the dehydro testosterone cause hair follicles to shut down as women experience a general thinning of their hair. This is in contrast to the process of balding or hair loss in males who have bald patches and a receding hair line showing.