10 Reasons for Hairloss in Females

There are various reasons for hairloss in women. The most common reasons are listed below. Timely intervention with a safe method of hair loss treatment for women could save the hair from further deteriorating. If ignored, it may lead to complete baldness.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS):

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder in which a woman’s hormones are out of balance. High levels of male hormones in females cause thick facial hair (Hirsuitism) and patterned hair loss on head.

Nutritional Deficiency:

Protein, iron, vitamin B12, folic acid and biotin. Hair follicles contain ferritin- the protein that stores iron. Whenever there is iron-deficiency in the body, ferritin from the hair follicles is moved and used up for more essential body functions, lack of ferritin in the hair follicles affects the hair’s ability to grow. A low zinc level in the body is another cause of hair fragility, weakness and breakage that is often overlooked. Zinc deficiency can affect the hair on your scalp as well as the eyebrows and eyelashes.

Thyroid Diseases:

An underactive thyroid (Hypothyroid) or overactive thyroid (Hyperthyroid) causes general hairloss on the scalp making hair thin and sparse. Many patients also do not realize that their hair loss may be triggered by a thyroid disorder. They keep trying to manage their hair loss with different oils, shampoos, parlor therapies or even medications, but with no results. However when they visit a trichologist for their hair problems, based on their history and clinical signs, they are advised investigations, which confirm the suspicion of thyroid problem being the culprit.

Stress:

Stress triggered hairloss is generally short-term or temporary. Once the stress factor is reduced, there is often re-growth, although the process can take up to six months or more, provided no stressor exists. Chronic stress can cause substantial damage to your hair sometimes leading to permanent baldness.

Conventional Medicines:

Acne medications containing vitamin A (retinoids), Antibiotics and antifungal drugs, Antidepressants, Birth control pills, Anticlotting drugs, Cholesterol-lowering drugs, Drugs that suppress the immune system, Drugs that treat breast cancer, Epilepsy drug(anticonvulsants), High blood pressure medications (anti-hypertensive), such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and diuretics; Hormone replacement therapy, Mood stabilizers, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), Parkinson’s disease drugs, Steroids, Thyroid medications, Weight loss drugs are known to cause hair thinning.

Crash Dieting:

In order to lose weight fast people cut down on the calories they intake. This puts a lot of stress on the body and depletes the necessary vitamins in the body. This in turn takes a toll on hair and there could be massive hair shedding with severe nutritional deficiencies.

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy basically targets the rapidly growing cancer cells in the body. However hair being one of the fastest growing tissues also becomes the unfortunate target of chemotherapy / drugs. Therefore there is hairloss from all over the body. Hair loss related to cancer treatment is generally short term. In most cases hair will grow back. Hair re-growth after chemotherapy usually begins a month after chemotherapy is stopped and it would take 6-12months to get complete hair re-growth. However the texture of hair and density may be different from the hair that was earlier lost. The color of the re-grown hair may also differ from the original, natural hair.

Radiation Effect on Hair:

Radiation therapy affects the hair located within the field of radiation. Hair typically returns in the area of radiation therapy after some months. It may be thinner and appear with a different texture than the original hair. When high doses of radiation are used to treat cancer, the hair may not re-grow in the area where radiation therapy was given.

Chemical Treatments:

Frequent usage of hair dyes, perming, straightening damage the hair shaft and make the hair weak. One good option is using a colour or dye with no ammonia. Coloured hair requires special care such as colour protect shampoos and conditioner regularly, protecting from harsh sunlight and washing hair with cool water (at best, lukewarm water). Excessive use of hair styling instruments also causes damage to the hair shaft and hair loss.

Seborrhoeic Dermatitis

: It is a severe form of dandruff. Incidence in women is higher than in men. It presents as severe white powdery flakes. It can accelerate the onset of male pattern hair loss.

Homoeopathy

Consult your homoeopathic doctor if you are going through a tough time with your hair. Homoeopathic treatment is the best for any scalp or hair problems.

Homeopathy is  free from any side-effects. Homoeopathy has medicines like Ferrum –Phos and Calcarea- Phos which helps immensely in Iron-deficiency anemia.

Hair lotions available in market to control hair loss are very high in chemicals and can cause a chemical burns on the scalp skin leading to permanent hairloss and scars in the affected areas. Homoeopathy has no such side-effects as the medicines are oral medicines.

Homoeopathy is a holistic medicine and treats the patient as well as the disease. Hair loss and iron-deficiency anemia can be treated with Homoeopathy without having 10 different medicines unlike conventional medicines.

Homoeopathy is a mind-body medicine. Homoeopathy treats not only the physical complaints, but also targets the mind and gently restores mind-body equilibrium- thus it treats the patient as a whole. This makes homoeopathy an excellent solution for hair problems related to the mind such as stress induced massive hair shedding.

Self Help

Consume a diet rich in iron, such as dried figs, black raisins, green leafy vegetables, fruits and beans.

Include a good amount of proteins in your diet because protein is essential for replenishing ferritin stores in your body.

Never consume iron tablets without doing complete blood count and serum ferritin levels because if it is low then the doctor will be able to help you with the time required to take supplementations. Over supplementation of any vitamin tablets could cause hypervitaminosis (excess vitamins storage in body).