Hair Loss Is A Difficult Thing For Women To Face
Women absolutely love their hair, and to think about losing it scares them to death. They don’t want to lose even one hair. Hair loss in women is becoming a more serious problem than ever before. It is even affecting teenage girls at an alarming rate. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, nearly 30 million women in the just the US have a serious hair loss problem. That adds up to just about 40% of all the people who have lost or are losing their hair.
Natural hair loss is a natural occurrence in every woman. Each person loses somewhere close to 100 hairs every day. Since this type of hair loss is normal, the hairs are rapidly replaced, and there is no baldness.
When everything is normal, the hair grows approximately one-half inch in a month. Each hair is on a cycle of growth that lasts for two to six years. When it ends its cycle, the hair rests for a time and then falls out. Then a new hair will grow in the follicle in order to replace the old one. This cycle continues throughout the retiring years.
In some people this natural cycle of hair loss and re-growth is interrupted by a hormone called androgen. In a roundabout way, androgen causes the hair follicle to begin to shrink and alters the hair cycle. Some of these follicles die and others dry up and become incapable of producing new, healthy hairs. As a result hair is lost. The thing that puzzles doctors about female hair loss is that it can happen at any age.
There are several underlying medical problems that can cause women to lose their hair. An autoimmune disorder can produce a different type of hair loss problem. It causes an inflammation which results in the hair falling out in clumps and leaving bald spots.
Childbirth, surgery, crash dieting or a traumatic emotional event can cause a change in the natural hair growth cycle that will make the hair shed. When a woman brushes her hair, it will often fill the entire brush. Hair loss can also be caused by chronic illness, thyroid problems, anemia or the use of certain types of medication. For this reason, it is very important that a woman have the reason for the doctor to find the root of her hair loss problem.
To be able to treat a hair loss problem effectively, a doctor must find out if there is an underlying medical problem that is causing the loss. Most specialists that deal with hair loss problems in women will order blood tests and, in some cases, a scalp biopsy. It is much simpler to treat the problem after medical problems are discarded.
There are several options for women to choose from. Perhaps the most difficult option is to find a way to accept the change in your hair and learn to live with it. This is a difficult decision for a woman whose hair is very important to her. She can use cosmetic treatments like a wig or a hair thickener, try different medical therapies and as a last resort opt for hair-replacement surgery.
A woman’s hair is her shining glory and is a symbol of her womanhood. For a woman, the thought of losing her hair is difficult to accept. Always consult your doctor, and try to find the root cause of your hair loss before attempting any other remedy.
