Triggers and Treatments of Female Pattern Baldness

Thinning hair is increasingly becoming a problem for women. Nearly forty per cent of adult women will start losing some hair by the time they reach middle age. This condition not only affects a woman’s hair, but it can also impact her self-esteem since women spend a lot of time and money on hair products in order to keep their tresses looking nice. Naturally treating hair loss is preferred by many women because they don’t want to risk experiencing the side effects which may occur if they use medicated hair regrowth treatments.

Female Pattern Baldness

In most cases, thinning hair is the forerunner of androgenic alopecia, which is often referred to as female pattern baldness. Women with this condition tend to have excessive amounts of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in their bodies. Women produce this hormone in their ovaries.

DHT causes the hair to fall out in large quantities by attacking the follicles. New hair is unable to grow in because of the weakened state of the follicles. For women with this condition, the best treatment of hair loss is a product which reduces the production of DHT.

Vitamin Deficiencies

Many women who are losing their hair aren’t getting enough vitamins and nutrients. Vitamin B is crucial in order for the strands to be able to grow. This vitamin helps the strands maintain their cellular structure. It also strengthens the strands and gives them a healthy glow.

Hormonal Changes

The hormonal changes which occur in women’s bodies from pregnancy or when they’re going through menopause can also cause thinning hair. In these cases, a hair loss treatment may not be necessary. Sometimes the hair resumes its normal growth cycle after the hormone levels return to normal.

Herbal Treatment of Hair Loss

Green tea can help regrow hair in women who have androgenic alopecia. The tea has compounds which reduce the production of DHT. Saw palmetto is another effective herb which can be used as a natural treatment of hair loss. It also curbs the production of DHT.

It’s very important for you to begin treatment as soon as you notice that your strands are thinning. This will significantly increase your chances of getting your strands to grow back. If the follicles sit there for too long without strands, the follicles will lose their ability to function and the hair loss will become irreversible.

Hair Loss: Essential Facts to Go By

Hair loss is a condition in which the hair falls out at an abnormal rate and eventually leads to baldness.

A healthy scalp sheds hair continuously and new hairs replace them. Baldness occurs when the scalp is not able to produce new hair to replace the shed hair.

The medical term for hair loss is ‘alopecia’. There are different types of alopecia. The most common is androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness. This is a type of permanent hair loss, which is incurable and is caused by heredity and genetics.

The normal cycle of hair growth lasts for 2 to 3 years. Each hair grows approximately one centimetre per month during this phase. About 90 per cent of the hair on your scalp is growing at a given time.

About 10 per cent of the hair on the scalp, in turn, is in a resting phase. After 3 to 4 months, the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place.

Causes of Hair Loss

1. Poor diet or lacking nutrient intake

2. Medications to treat diseases, such as chemotherapy

3. Diabetes

4. Lupus

5. Any kind of hormonal changes, ranging from symptoms of PMS, menopause, and the median crisis

6. Infections of the scalp

7. Iron deficiency

Symptoms of Hair Loss

1. In men, thinning hair on the scalp, a receding hairline, or a horseshoe-shaped pattern that leaves the crown of the head exposed.

2. In women, thinning hair in general, but especially in the crown, complete baldness is uncommon.

3. In children or young adults, sudden loss of patches of hair, called alopecia areata.

4. Complete loss of all body hair, a rare disease called alopecia universalis.

5. Especially in children, patches of broken hairs and incomplete hair loss, usually on the scalp, but sometimes the eyebrows; the child is more likely to rub or pull hair, a condition known as trichotillomania.