It is completely normal to lose some hair on a daily basis. On average, humans lose 80 to 100 strands of hair per day. It will happen during the morning shower, during brushing, or during blow-drying. It is an indication that the individual is growing new ones to replace the old ones. When hair loss becomes accelerated, there are good reasons to be worried.

How exactly do you know that you are shedding more hairs than normal? Since it is not possible to count the amount of hair you are losing, you will have to pay attention to what you normally see in your brush. Also, when you start seeing too much hair clogged up in your shower drain or when your carpet starts becoming too hairy, you may be losing more hair than is considered natural.

Women normally panic when they start losing too much hair. While many are merely concerned about their looks there are other reasons to worry about hair loss. It can be an indication of something serious. There are so many things that can trigger hair loss but here, we are going to consider 10 causes of hair loss in women.

Autoimmune Diseases

There are several autoimmune conditions that can cause hair loss. Alopecia areata, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid diseases, and sickle cell anaemia are the common autoimmune diseases that can cause hair loss in women. Lupus affect women most. It normally attack women during their childbearing years. Like other autoimmune diseases, lupus causes the body’s immune system to attack healthy tissues.

In the case of hair loss, autoimmune diseases make the immune system to recognize its own hair follicles as foreign bodies and attack them. When this attack is sustained, it will always lead to the hair falling out. In some instances, some of the diseases can cause some scarring of the hair follicles and this will result in permanent hair loss.

Hair loss caused by autoimmune conditions will need to be properly treated by doctors and dermatologists. Once the condition is diagnosed, adequate management will help to prevent further hair loss.

Child Birth

Right from pregnancy, women change in so many ways. Many women go into rapid growth mode as a result of hormonal changes. There is always a surge in the production of the hormone oestrogen. This will normally make the hair to grow faster during pregnancy. Natural hair loss may even be reduced as the woman flourishes all-round during this period.

Following childbirth, the level of production of these hormones that encourage growth will return to normal. It also follows that the hair will return to its normal growth cycle once the hormones return to their normal level and this can also lead to shedding of the thick hairs that accumulated during pregnancy. While some may loss too much hair, some will loss just a little.

When childbirth result to hair loss, it may not be necessary to do anything about it unless it becomes severe. Ideally, once the woman is feeding properly, this shouldn’t be a real issue. Good diet and proper haircare will do the trick.

Dandruff and Other Scalp Problems

Dandruff is one of the commonest problems that affect the scalp. It is also one of the commonest causes of hair loss. There are some other skin conditions of the scalp that can cause hair loss such as scalp psoriasis and fungal infections like ringworm. When the scalp is unhealthy, it can always result to inflammation. The scalp may also become itchy and the individual will be forced to scratch it from time to time.

Unhealthy scalp makes hair to fall off more easily when women scratch and even when it is not scratched. Dandruff and other conditions of the scalp also discourage hair growth, creating serious void as more hairs fall off.

Dandruff can be treated easily. There are so many hair products that can help to take care of the problem including argan oil hair products. Zinc pyrithione shampoo can also help. There are some medications that can help with dandruff and other scalp problems. Light therapy and oral antifungals can help depending on the particular scalp problem.

Heat-Styling

Many women are not aware of how they are damaging their hair through heat-styling. It may help make your hair look a little more attractive but heat actually damages the hair. For many that are worried about the amount of hair they are seeing in their comb, it may actually be a case of trichorrhexis nodosa, a condition whereby weak, damaged points in the hair shaft cause hair to break off easily. This condition is normally caused by heat from styling tools and over-bleaching, in some instances.

While minimal use of heat while styling your hair may not cause serious damage, you are actually weakening your hair whenever you use hot styling tools. Your hair dryer alone can cause serious damage when you do not set it well.

To avoid hair loss as a result of heat-styling, you need to be careful while using hot styling appliances. Minimize how much you use them and set the temperature low at all times.

Hormonal Imbalance

Women are prone to hormonal imbalance and there are so many problems that can result from this. From weight gain to adult acne, the effects can be very annoying. As you would expect, hair loss is another thing that can arise from hormonal imbalance. Since the hormones play essential roles in the growth cycle of the hair, hair loss can easily set in when hormones are out of whack in the body.

Oestrogen, which is the female hormone, encourages hair growth unlike the male hormone, androgen. Whenever there is an excess of androgen in the body of a woman, it can result to hair loss. The excess of androgen can be caused by endocrine disorders like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

When hair loss is triggered by hormonal imbalance, the condition can be taken care of by addressing the root cause. There are certain medications that can take care of hormonal imbalance. Proper diet can also help to control the problem.

Iron Deficiency/Anaemia

Iron deficiency is another problem that can trigger hair loss. It is actually one of the commonest factors that lead to hair loss in women. Iron is very essential in the production of hair cells and when it is lacking in the body, the hair follicles will surfer. This will not only slow down hair growth but will also cause the hair to start falling off more easily.

Considering the fact that women lose significant amount of blood during their period, they need to eat iron-rich food to replenish the red blood cells. Anaemia is simply when there is no adequate amount of red blood cells in the blood and iron deficiency is one of the prime causes. The condition causes several problems including hair loss.

When hair loss is caused by iron deficiency/anaemia, the best way to approach it is to improve the diet. Iron-rich foods like beef, pork, fish, fortified cereals and beans will be very helpful. There may also be need to supplement iron and take more vitamin C that facilitates iron absorption.

Over-Processing the Hair

Hair treatment can be very helpful in so many ways. When done the right way, hair treatments can help to grow the hair, prevent hair/scalp problems and boost hair growth. When they are not done the right way, hair treatments have negative consequences including hair loss. Even when they are properly executed, frequent hair processing can have damaging effects on the hair.

Such procedures as chemical straightening, perms and relaxing can affect the hair negatively when they are done frequently. The chemicals that are contained in most products used in the procedures may make the hair look better initially but they damage hair follicles and when they are steadily used on the hair, they may cause serious damages that are hard to reverse. In extreme cases, over-processing the hair may cause permanent hair loss.

It is better to prevent this problem than to start finding ways to remedy it. When the hair is damaged by over-processing, it can be really tough to correct it. Some natural hair products will help to manage the problem.

Protein Deficiency

The hair is majorly made up of protein. The hair shaft in particular is more like protein fibres. The implication of this is that once the body is lacking protein, the hair will be directly affected. In addition to stunted hair growth, protein deficiency can also lead to hair loss.

In the growth cycle of the hair, there is a process called keratinization which is very crucial. As you can tell from the name, it has so much to do with keratin, the major protein in hair, skin fingernails and toenails. Without adequate keratin, hair growth cannot happen and the condition of the hair will be negatively affected too.

The solution to hair loss caused by protein deficiency is as simple as you would expect. Eating protein-rich food will do the tricks. The damages are not often permanent so getting more protein into the diet will be very helpful. Eggs, meat and beans will be very helpful.

Stress

Stress is never good for the body. There are different ways it affects the body and hair loss is one of the consequences. For a start, stress can cause hormonal changes. It has been found that stress can raise androgen level (male hormone) in women. Androgen is not hair-friendly and it is also believed that the more the level of androgen, the lower the level of oestrogen which supports hair health.

Asides from altering hormonal secretion in the body, stress can also trigger scalp problems like dandruff which will in turn result to hair loss. Stress is also linked to digestive issues that can lead to deficiency of some nutrients needed for hair growth and maintenance.

When hair loss is caused by stress, the best way to approach the problem is to find new ways to relax. Hair treatment can also be helpful in restoring the damaged hair.

Wearing Tight Hairstyle Too Often

There are some hair loss issues that are caused by wearing too-tight hairstyles too often. Tight braids are the major culprits in this issue but it is also possible when women have very tight ponytails on a regular basis. Such very tight hairstyles cause what is referred to as traction alopecia. The problem normally manifest as progressive thinning of the hairline.

When the damages done by wearing tight hairstyles are not adequately addressed, the hair follicles may be damaged beyond repair. If the woman continue to wear the harmful hairstyles, the hair loss may become permanent.

The best solution to address this problem is to avoid it at the first place. It is advisable that women do not wear hairstyles that are too tight at all. Slightly tight braids and ponytails may not be harmful but it is also important that they are not worn too frequently. It is important not to wear the same hairstyle for too long. Some hair treatments can also help to restore the damages done wearing tight hairstyle before they become permanent.

Hair loss is every woman’s nightmare! There are different factors that can trigger the problem and we have considered ten of the most important ones here. Such other factors as cancer treatment, crash diet, birth-control pills, certain medications and aging can also trigger hair loss. Good diet and hair treatments can help to address most of the problems discussed above.