Information on hair loss, which denote a physical ailment.

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http://www.womentowomen.com/womenshealth/femalehairloss.aspx

Why do certain hair follicles break their normal cycle and switch into a resting or “off” position — temporarily or permanently? And why do some women experience thinning hair on their head and darker thicker hair on other parts of their bodies? The reasons are highly individual, but can include any combination of the following:

Stress (emotional and physical) Hormonal imbalance, specifically androgen sensitivity Genetics Immune system irregularities Thyroid disorders Nutritional deficiencies (especially iron or vitamin A) Cosmetics (allergies and harsh treatments) Radiation/chemotherapy Dental treatment Blood loss Drugs Disease Surgery Scarring

The thing to emphasize about the resting or telogen phase is that it is designed to be temporary. Hair follicles can be shocked into the resting phase by so many stressors — emotional, physical or cosmetic — and just as suddenly switch back to “on” when the stress is reduced. Hair appears to be amazingly adaptive, which is why so many scientists believe that a cure for hair loss is right around the corner. But the lack of a remedy now doesn’t mean you should give up hope. A majority of women with moderate hair loss may notice big improvements just by paying more attention to their stress levels and their diet.

No one knows for sure why some women maintain a thick, natural head of hair throughout their lives while others don’t. My grandmother was always very proud of her hair, which remained on her head with only minimal graying or hair loss until she died at age 95. Why was she so lucky? Probably some good Scandinavian genes and healthy living (which included a daily helping of native Maine blueberries). She had her battles, too, suffering thyroid disease and a thyroidectomy, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. On the plus side, she managed stress well, did not drink or smoke and kept a regular sleep schedule. Somehow in the individual give-and-take of her body’s needs, her hair was able to maintain its resilience.

But, before you know how to proceed, you need to know whether or not your hair loss is unusual. Let’s take a look at what causes hair thinning in women and how it is diagnosed.

Diagnosing hair loss

As I said before, human beings lose hair every day, typically 50–100 strands a day. You can test hair loss with the “pull test.” Take about 60 hairs between your fingers and pull gently but firmly. Normally about 5–8 hairs will come out — reflecting the average 10% of hair follicles that are transitioning towards the resting phase at any one time. More than 15 hairs may indicate a perfectly normal but more unusual period of hair loss called telogen effluvium.

Telogen effluvium is sudden and uncharacteristic loss of hair that is usually not localized. More follicles than average are shocked or move into the resting state. When this happens, you may notice more hair than usual in your hairbrush or on the bathroom floor. But I’ve also had patients suddenly lose a clump of hair or their eyebrows after shock. Keep in mind that the darker and thicker your hair is, the more noticeable it will be against the shower floor or sink. You may think you are losing more hair than you actually are.

You often hear of this kind of hair loss after a pregnancy or change in hormonal birth control. It is also a very common side effect of emotional stress (like a death or divorce) and physical stress (such as surgery or illness). Other causes of telogen effluvium are crash or liquid protein diets leading to sudden, dramatic weight loss; yeast overgrowth or fungi; hypothyroidism and other endocrine-related upsets; anti-coagulants and anti-convulsants; heavy metals; antithyroid medication; hormone therapy; and severe psychological distress or life-threatening situations.

There are also dietary causes of hair losses, such as vitamin D, vitamin A, iron and protein deficiencies. Working with your practitioner, you should be able to diagnose and treat any of these nutritional deficits with a more optimal diet and nutritional supplements.

Some women may experience periods of noticeable hair loss (and growth) at different times in their menstrual cycle, or during different seasons. If this is your experience, be assured that it is very common and tends to resolve itself naturally.

If you are currently under a lot of stress, providing your body with a little more support through supplements and TLC can really boost your hair growth. For this reason, I always tell my patients who report surprising hair loss to follow our Nutritional and Lifestyle Guidelines for three to six months, including hair–specific vitamins and supplements, before proceeding to more intrusive diagnostic methods.

Testing for more severe hair loss

If hair loss does not improve with some basic stress reduction and positive lifestyle changes, I often recommend that my patients look at all of the markers that indicate their hormone and thyroid status, including a hormone panel (testing specifically both free and total testosterone levels); metabolic panel (for kidney and liver function); fasting insulin test (to measure insulin resistance); ferritin stores (for iron deficiency) and CBC with differential (a hematological panel); allergy testing; and thyroid function test.

It’s important to know that conventional doctors have a wide range of test results that they consider “normal”; specifics vary by the type of test, but for argument’s sake, let’s say it’s 1–100. If your number falls near the edge of this range but still within it (say 2 or 99) you are still considered normal. At Women to Women, we look for test results that fall at the midline. Anything way below or above we take a hard look at. In our opinion, clinging to the edge of normal is not conducive to good health