Why Hairloss Affects Women

Hair loss affects both men and women. It can lower your confidence and change your appearance. Women take losing hair more seriously then men do. According to the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA), about 40 percent that are affected by baldness is women.

Women tend to take more pride in their appearance and losing your hair can make it even harder at looking your best. The American Academy of Dermatology says that hair loss in general affects more than half of the American women by the age 50.

In the past, balding was never consider being serious, just a minor cosmetic problem not requiring any treatment. Today it is now a serious problem. Thinning of the hair, if left untreated can cause low self-esteem and disrupt your social life.

“Women suffer more from hair loss than men“, according to Amy McMichael, MD, associate professor at dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston Salem, NC. “Women are too harsh on themselves when it comes to hair loss then men are.”


What Causes Thinning Of the Hair in Women

• Hormones: Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is believed to cause alopecia or pattern baldness. It is derived from the male hormone testosterone; DHT attacks hair follicles by reducing their size. Women have less testosterone than men do, menopause can trigger hormonal changes that may cause hair loss. Birth control can be the culprit of women losing their hair.

• Androgen index: Progestin implants, hormone injections, and the patch can all contribute to hair loss in women. The AHLA advises all women to use contraceptives with a low androgen index, and women with family history of hair loss to switch to non-hormonal birth control pills.

• Stress: Childbirth and surgery affect the body in many ways, and thinning hair is one of them. Disease, malnutrition, and other forms of stress can play a role as well. Researchers from the America Society Of Plastic Surgeons found that women who experienced the stress of losing a spouse, either from divorce or death, showed more hair loss than married women.

• Autoimmune disorders: White blood cells can attack hair follicles and make hair fall out in patches. Chemotherapy has the same affect, but can lead to complete hair loss.

• Hairstyles: Braids, cornrows, or other hairstyles that causes tight pulling of the hair can cause breakage and hair loss. Flat irons and other heated hair appliances are culprits too.

Effective Hair Loss Treatments

• Testosterone-blocking drugs: Women have low levels of estrogen compared to testosterone during menopausal stages. Treatments focus toward blocking testosterone at the hair follicle, such as Eulexin (flutamide) and Aldactone (sironolactone) are helpful in treating hair loss, according to McMichael. Rogaine is an effective treatment for female pattern baldness. Its FDA approved. You can find it over-the-counter at your local stores.

• Treat the source and go deeper: There could be an issue under the scalp. That may be causing hair loss such as inflammatory disorder. It can be reversed with topical injected cortisone.

• Surgical hair restoration: Is a procedure that involves moving existing scalp hair to thin spots. “It is a very beneficial treatment for women because women usually have less bald area to cover than men, so it is easier to make the density of the hair look fuller,” say McMichael.
• Laser phototherapy: Also known as low-level laser therapy, it is a light treatment that may help regrow hair.
Hair loss is not permanent for everyone. Losing hair does not mean that the follicles are damage, but just are not working properly. Experts at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine say that the follicle stem cells may be fixable. Another study discovered that mice with deep skin wounds could regrow hair, leaving hope for a cure for baldness in humans.
Source: Everyday health

• Provillus Hair Regrowth Treatment: This regrow system is for both men and women. Digs deep to strengthen and renew hair follicles. Stops thinning of the hair and encourages new growth.