Causes of Women Hair Fall

Women and Hair Loss: Possible Causes of Hair Fall

The best way to think of the way hair grows is to picture a garden. How well it grows is completely a result of what is happening “underground.”

“Like a garden,a normal hair cycle should lead to a product, which is the hair says Wendy Roberts, MD, a dermatologist at a private practice in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Growth cycles are important because when they go awry, that is one of the reasons we have hair fall.” And things that interfere with the cycle -- like medication, illness, infection, or chemicals -- have the potential to stop hair from being formed properly.

“It’s a very dynamic place and anything that can get the cycle off can cause hair fall,” Roberts says.

Although hair fall may seem like a more prominent problem in men, women are nearly as likely to lose, or have thinning, hair. Most women notice it in their 50s or 60s, but it can happen at any age and for a variety of reasons

What other Causes are there for Hair Fall?

Besides male and female pattern baldness (also called androgenetic alopecia) any number of things can trigger temporary and permanent hair fall . Since most people that experience excessive hair shedding only do so on a temporary basis, Dr. Mirmirani says that sometimes the culprit is never discovered. “There are probably various signals [other than the major ones] that can lead to shedding, but we’re just not in tune with what those are,” she says.

At a Fall

Most people lose anywhere from 50 to 100 strands of hair each day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. On the days when hair is washed, people can lose up to 250 strands, Roberts said. But don’t avoid washing in an attempt to keep the hair, as it will fall out eventually, anyway.

For those who don’t plan on counting their hair every day, there are ways to know when hair is thinning or being lost at a higher rate. Roberts tells WebMD that women will see a difference. When waking up in the morning, there may be an usually large amount on your pillow. When you comb your hair (especially without tugging, which can pull the hair out), more than normal will be left in the comb.

here are also other visual cues that women can look for over time. Although men’s hairstyle tends to recede from the forehead or the crown of the head, women tend to notice thinning on the top third to one half of the scalp. Sometimes their frontal line stays intact, says Nicole Rogers, MD, of  Old Metairie Dermatology in Metairie, La. Women may see a part that is gradually becoming wider or see more of their scalp than normal when their hair is pulled back.