Hair Loss in Women By Marcia Trotter noticeable bald spots. The thinning can occur on the front, sides, or top of the head. Everyone experiences hair shedding, and it happens to each of us every day. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle, more on days you wash your hair. Styling, bleaching and heat treatments can increase the natural shedding.
Less than half of women get through life with a full head of hair.
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ereditary hair loss usually starts after the age of 40. Approximately 40% of women have experienced hair loss by the age of 50. More than 80 percent of men experience significant hair loss during their lifetime. For many, the thinning starts well before middle age. Hair loss tends to be subtler in women than it is in men. Often an overall hair thinning rather than
We have hundreds of thousands of hair follicles on our heads and everyone is at a different growth stage, they last 2-5 years. Hair grows and dies in phases, and nutrition, stress, hygiene, and daily styling all play a role in how much hair you lose daily. The growing phase is called the “anagen” phase. The majority of hairs are in the growing phase. Hair grows about 1 centimetre per month during the anagen phase. When something stops your hair from growing, it’s called anagen effluvium. Anagen effluvium is what you would typically think of when you think of “hair loss.”
The next phase is catagen, a very small number of hairs at any one time are in this phase. In this phase the hair stops growing and lasts 2 – 3 weeks. The last phase of hair growth is the telogen phase. During this phase, a hair strand will be at rest as it prepares to detach from your scalp. Less than 10% of hair is in this phase at any given time. Telogen effluvium describes having more than 10 percent of your hair in the telogen phase. Telogen effluvium is temporary, but more hair will fall out while you have it. Stress, surgery, or even having a fever for a few days can bring on telogen effluvium, but your hair will probably be back to normal within six months. Possible causes of hair loss include stress, poor diet, underlying medical conditions and a change in hormones – pregnancy and menopause. Menopause is a natural biological process that can happen to women at different ages. During this time, the body goes through numerous physical changes as it adjusts to fluctuating hormone levels.
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