Hair loss, also called baldness, happens mostly to people at the old age. This leads to the rise of needs in hair loss treatment. In
The simple explanation about the cause of hair loss is when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth. It can be temporary or permanent. The temporary hair loss are caused by diseases or illnesses, such as cancer or medical treatments, stress, fungus infection of the scalp, low protein diets, thyroid diseases, high fever, flu and chronic illness. On the other hand, the permanent hair loss are caused by hormonal changes. This includes childbirth and birth control pills. All of these hair loss causes will be described next.
1. Alopecia Areata
This non hormonal form of hair loss, also called spot baldness, is the effect of autoimmunisation disorder in which own hair follicles are overwhelmed by the antibodies of the body. This results in the stop of the hair growth. The cause of autoimmunisation disorder is unknown. The symptoms can be found by the finding of a small area of bald spot. In 1%-2% of the cases, the spot can spread which then lead to total baldness. However, this hair loss is not contagious to others. Treatments include topical medications or pills.
2. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
DHT is caused by the male hormone testosterone with the help of an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. In a few cases, this has been related to Alopecia Areata. Almost all of the hair loss is caused by the increase in the amount of DHT produced by the body. The hormones will then bind to the hair follicles and thus causing the thinning hair and preventing the hair regrowth. One of the recommended treatment to cure this is the use of Provillus, containing natural ingredients to block the production of DHT.
3. Medications side effects
Some of the prescription drugs have been found to cause temporary hair sheeding. Some examples of medications that have been known to cause hair loss are: birth control pills, blood thinners, high doses of vitamin A, gout medications, arthritic medications, anti-depressants, hypertension medications, chemotherapy/radiation, etc. Since this is temporary, stopping the usage of the medications will return the hair growth to normal.
4. Pregnancy or Childbirth
Some of the pregnant women are also able to experience hair loss caused by the temporary hormonal changes in the body. During the pregnancy, the hair grows normally. However, in this period the women hormones increase greatly postponing the hair growth.
After the birth, a great amount of hair follicles are entering and this leads to the losing of the hairs which grow during the pregnancy. The hair loss lasts for one to six months.
5. Trichotillomania or Hair Pulling
According to dictionary.com, it is a compulsion to pull out one's hair. This can be considered as a bad addiction since this is initiated by an urge to hair pulling to find a feeling of relief afterward even without any intention, thus a noticeable hair loss. This is mostly done when someone is at stress. There are various Trichotillomania treatment supports that are available to help curing this bad habit.
6. Scalp infection
Infections in the scalp can lead to a great amount of hair loss. This is caused by ringworm, an fungus infection in the skin, which can be noticed in the skin as a reddish to brownish circle with lighter color in the circle center. This can be treated with a topical or oral antifungal medication.
7. Disease
Several diseases are also responsible for the cause of hair loss such as lupus, diabetes and thyroid diseases.
8. Birth control pills
This hair loss cause occurs to specific women only, that is those who have a genetic Androgenic Alopecia or a history of female pattern loss in family. It is advisable before taking the pills to contact the nearest doctor. It has been reported that 3 months after quitting the pills the hair loss begins. This duration of the hair loss to hair regrowth varies from months to even permanently.
To prevent hair loss, it is recommended to carry out regular medical check up at the age of over 30s. Another option is to make use of hair loss drug, such as Propecia. Propecia works by blocking the conversions of testosterone into a related hormone, dihydrotestosterone that shrinks hair follicles. However, this drug cannot be taken while pregnant because it can cause birth defects in the urinary and genital organs of male fetuses.
