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Overview
Hair loss affects millions of women, even teenagers. Thinning hair or excess breakage is a traumatic experience for women because of the importance that many cultures place on hair as a facet of female beauty. Yet millions of women face this problem and attempt to treat it with varying results.
Heredity
Heredity is the main cause of hair loss for women. Few women with genetic hair loss become completely bald. The woman can inherit this trait from either side of her family. If both parents have hereditary hair loss, it is unlikely that a woman can escape the inevitable. This condition, androgenic alopecia or female pattern baldness, can occur at any age. The hair becomes thinner because her hair follicles stop producing new hairs. In some cases, the hairs that do continue to grow are finer and weaker.
Pregnancy
For many women the first brush with hair loss is a pregnancy. Each hair follicle is prewired to produce hairs for a certain period of time and then rest. Normally, only ten percent of anyone's hair follicles are resting at a time. The hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy can affect the hair's normal growth pattern. The decrease in estrogen during pregnancy is the culprit here. This causes sudden hair loss that is usually temporary. A woman's hair growth cycle often returns to normal within six months after delivery.
Hormonal Changes
Perimenopause and menopause cause hair loss for many women. As women age, their levels of estrogen and testosterone change. These variations interfere with the hair's normal growth and resting cycles, much like pregnancy. This hair loss is not temporary because the hormonal imbalances increase as a woman ages. In addition, some menopausal women not only have thinner hair, their hair is also finer and it breaks more easily.
Grooming
Some popular women's hairstyles and grooming techniques can result in hair loss. Ponytails, tight braids and other styles that pull the hair tightly cause stress on the hair shaft and follicles. Over time, the damaged hair follicles stop making new hairs. Receding hairlines are usually the telltale sign of this type of hair loss.
Medications
Many women experience hair loss from taking prescription medications for common health conditions. Thyroid disease is more common in women than in men. Hair loss is a known side effect of almost all drugs that doctors prescribe for this condition. Other drugs that cause female hair loss include diet pills that contain amphetamines, birth control pills and drugs prescribed for depression.
