Most women view their hair as a part of their identity. They mold it to express their taste and personality, and consider it an important symbol of their beauty. For this reason, hair loss can be depressing and even devastating for some women. Although an average of 100 hairs a day can shed normally, excessive hair loss in women may be attributed to a number of different sources.
Heredity
Female pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, develops with age, depending on heredity. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, this type of hair loss affects roughly 30 million American women.
As androgenetic alopecia advances, hair begins thinning out over time, falling evenly throughout the scalp, or targeting specific areas like the crown of the head and the frontal hair line. Female pattern baldness is permanent and its onset depends on genetic factors.
Stress
Hair loss can occur shortly after the body has experienced a severe shock or stress, whether physical or psychological.
As documented in the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, high fevers, surgery and depression can trigger up to 70 percent of hair in the scalp to stop growing and eventually fall out, creating a condition known as telogen effluvium.
For a period of three to six months, premature entry into the telogen, or resting phase of hair growth, will cause excessive hair fall out.
Treatments & Diseases
The Mayo Clinic says certain medications that treat arthritis, gout and blood pressure as well as treatments such as chemotherapy can lead to hair loss. In addition, diseases that target women like lupus, diabetes and thyroid disease, can produce higher hair shedding than usual.
Poor Nutrition
A deficiency in certain nutrients like vitamin B12 and silica, which can result from eating disorders, crash dieting and extreme weight loss, may trigger hair fall out. Similarly, vegan diets that restrict meal selections to inadequate amounts of iron and protein do not provide enough building blocks for new hair development.
Fortunately, nutrient-based hair loss tends to be temporary, and hair can resume its normal growth cycle once the problem is corrected.
Hormones
A hormonal imbalance can occur in women when birth control pills, menopause and pregnancy complicate normal hormone levels. Once a woman is pregnant, a surplus of certain hormones may delay the hair growth cycle, and little to no hair may fall out during this period.
After childbirth, however, the body quickly adjusts its hormones and resumes the cycle, releasing a greater amount of hair than usual all at once to make room for new hair development. This type of hair loss will stop once your hormones return to their normal levels over time.
Hair Care
Using chemicals improperly to bleach or dye the hair may damage or break it. Furthermore, brushing too fast or too hard can pull out hair roots, causing women to shed more hairs than normal, a condition known as traction alopecia.
About this Author
Sky Smith has been writing on psychology, electronics, health, and fitness since 2002 for various online publications. He graduated from the University of Florida with honors in 2005, earning a B.S. in psychology and statistics with a minor in math.
