Women Lose Their Hair Too: By Dr. Murray Feingold

Hair loss in women is not uncommon. Studies have shown that it takes place in more than one-third of all women sometime during their life.

Although certainly not life threatening, it can have a significant emotional effect.

The most common type of hair loss in women is female pattern hair loss.

Although female pattern hair loss can take place at any age after puberty, it occurs more frequently in older individuals. By age 70, 38 percent of women experience female pattern hair loss. Typically, the hair loss occurs in the center of the scalp, although the sides can also be affected.

Other types of hair loss include the loss of hair that takes place after certain physical or emotional situations such as stress, surgery, a major illness, rapid weight loss, hormonal abnormalities and poor nutrition.

In these situations the hair loss usually doesn’t appear until two or three months after the onset of the problem. If the physical or emotional situation is corrected the hair frequently returns.

A variety of medications may also cause hair loss. Some of these medications are allopurinol, used to treat gout; catopril that treats high blood pressure; and tegretol used to manage seizures.

A less common cause of female hair loss is alopecia areata in which clumps of hair are lost. At times there can be complete loss of hair. Alopecia areata appears to be due to some type of immunological problem.

Treatment of female pattern baldness includes medications such as minoxidil. Studies have shown that minoxidil used twice a day results in minimal hair growth in 50 percent of the patients and moderate hair growth in 13 percent after eight months of treatment.

An increasing number of women are undergoing hair transplantation for this condition. Hair is taken from the back of the scalp and transplanted to the center of the scalp where the hair is sparse. Hair transplantation can be fairly expensive.

Although sometimes difficult to do, it is important to determine the cause of the hair loss so the most effective treatment can be started.

What is the most effective treatment for preventing hairloss? What can I do? What is my first step?

You can telephone us on 0207 976 6868 and speak directly to us and seek professional qualified advice from a Trichologist. This will allow our trichologists to diagnose your problem correctly and recommend the correct trichologically prescribed treatments on the same day.

However, not all cases are treatable. But with early diagnosis and treatment you will give yourself and us the best possible chance to help you.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

Hair Loss Immediately After Pregnancy Is Often Considered Abnormal: POSTPARTUM HAIR LOSS IS NORMAL.

Hair loss immediately after childbirth is common and totally normal. Women are concerned for postpartum hair loss and consider it abnormal. Immediate thinning or hair loss convinces them into thinking that they have a fatal disease or illness manifested in the form of hair thinning. 

Studies show postpartum or after pregnancy hair loss is totally normal and a part of regular hair growth life cycle. Your hair grows from hair follicles. Each follicle gives rise to a single hair shaft.

Each hair shaft undergoes a regular life cycle for its development and replacement with a new one. Anagen is the first phase of hair growth cycle in which it grows and takes 2 to 6 years. The longer the anagen phase, the longer the hair you will have.

Catagen is second phase starts just after ending of anagen. Catagen is intermittent or transitional phase lasting 2 to 3 weeks. During this phase, the hair shaft neither grows nor rests.

Telogen Phase is the third and last phase of the hair growth cycle. During this phase old hairs are lost and the hair enters an anagen phase again in order to maintain a normal hair growth cycle. It is this period when you notice hair in your comb and on your brush.

The duration of each phase is influenced by internal and external stimuli. During pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes uncontrolled hormonal fluctuations, irregular periods etc. It is often caused due to the lack of nutrients needed for healthy growth of cells and completion of pregnancy. Folic acid and iron are essential for pregnancy, while most women lack these due to junk foods and an insufficient diet.

Therefore, postpartum hair loss is usually not a result of fatal disease but merely a result of hormonal fluctuations and lack of nutrients.

To counteract postpartum hair loss, herbal hair loss treatments are often used to meet the nutrient requirements of the hair follicles and normalize severe hormonal fluctuations after pregnancy. These treatments are used topically twice or thrice a day for follicular nourishment.

To read more about these types of treatments go to: http://www.thewestminsterpractice.com/hair_stimulants.asp

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help